Iago's Psychopaths In Othello

Psychopaths have attributes of detachment, insincere speech, selfishness, and violence. In the tragedy, Othello, the playwright William Shakespeare constructs an antagonist with such traits. This evil character, Iago, is known for being one of the most sinister villains Shakespeare has even written. Through Iago’s psychopathic manipulations and detached persona, Shakespeare shows that psychopaths are not redeemable in the play. Iago’s manipulation of other characters leads to ultimately brings his downfall. In Act Two, scene three, Iago tells lieutenant Cassio that celebration is essential to toast Othello and his accomplishments. “Oh, they are our friends. But one cup…” (Shakespeare 1303) Iago declares as he successfully causes lieutenant,

To Othello, Iago is more reputable now causing Iago is, at this point, reputable, meaning Othello will to believe anything that Iago says even if it is a lie. Iago’s psychopathic manipulations of Cassio then ultimately cause his downfall once Othello discovers that Iago has been dishonest, his punishment of torture and imprisonment at the end of the play is his downfall. Iago’s Throughout the play, since Iago is trustworthy to Othello, Iago plants seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind. In Act Five, scene two, Othello shows the audience how he believes that Iago is “most honest” (Shakespeare 1302). After he kills Desdemona, Othello explains his reasoning to Iago’s wife, Emilia, justifying that “Cassio did top her, ask thy husband else” (Shakespeare 1360), meaning that he killed his wife because according to Iago, Cassio and

Iago’s constant animalistic language shows that he views others as animals rather than people, thus, Iago dehumanizing the other characters. In Act One, scene one, Iago describes Othello as an “old black ram” (Shakespeare 1276). This description of Othello is comparing him to a ram, and such animalistic references show that Iago does not view Othello an equal. In his view of Othello as unhumanistic, Iago is most likely willing to treat him as an animal. The audience sees this treatment through his constant manipulations of Othello’s mind, planting seeds of jealousy. While talking to Brabantio, Iago also describes Othello and Desdemona’s relationship as animalistic. This furthers the idea that Iago views Othello as non-human, causing him to take inhumane actions upon him. He describes to Brabantio that “your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (Shakespeare 1277). This animalistic imagery shows that not only is Othello being dehumanized by Iago, but Desdemona is as well. Since both characters are not viewed as human to Iago, it shows that he is more willing to embark on manipulative acts upon them. His detachment towards the characters then drives him to do sinister deeds on to them, ultimately causing his downfall. Emilia, Iago’s own wife is another character to which he is detached from. In Act Five, scene two, Iago kills his wife for telling