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The Role Of Iago In Othello's Evil

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‘Iago is such a disturbing villain because he seems to have no real motives for his evil.’ How far and in what ways do you agree with this view?

Iago is nothing more than a devious mastermind and Machiavellian of the Shakespearean tragedy, Othello. Whilst Iago does try to communicate multiple reasons for his motives in wanting to destroy Cassio and Othello these are mere rationalisations and excuses to provide justification for his evil actions and can only be accepted when analysing Othello on a surface level. Looking into Othello further we can see that Iago is a power thirsty character that dwells in his corruption and evil which makes him such a disturbing villain.

Iago gives a sheer numbers of excuses to try and prove his ulterior motives, conveniently adding new reasons for his hate every time he needs to encourage Roderigo to do something for him. Iago first announces that he wants to get revenge on Othello and Cassio due to professional jealousy, as he was passed up for the promotion of lieutenant in the place of “Florentine” Michael Cassio. Having fought alongside Othello in three previous battles and expressed his loyalty, Iago …show more content…

An embodiment of evil, with no moral compunction, and therefore while he does initially provide reasons for his wicked intentions, his motives are unsubstantial and merely excuses to cover up his inner evil and Machiavellian ways. Iago is an incredibly intelligent, cunning villain, who throughout the play uses his ability to think quickly and to play multiple roles to clutch on to every opportunity that will further his cause. At first, his motives are revealed to be based upon his lack of promotion, later he changes this to sexual jealousy and finally on the belief that his own made up affair between Cassio and Desdemona is true. Iago seems to be ever altering and modifying his motives, indecisive as to what his real motive is making it seem as though he is indeed nothing but a motiveless disturbing

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Similarly, it's revealed that there is another reason why Iago hates Othello so much. In act two, we see Iago lamenting to himself about his motivations. Iago says to himself, "For that I do suspect the lusty Moor / Hath leaped into my seat. The thought whereof / Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards, / And nothing can or shall content my soul / Till I am evened with him, wife for wife" (2. 1.

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From the very beginning of Othello, he was plotting and formulating every conversation and sabotage so it would execute perfectly. He lives his life for revenge and to get at people and bring them down, even people that he knows trust him. He has already formulated a plan and starts putting it into motion within the first three acts of the book (Zender and Omer). Iago is so invested in destroying people that he even takes notice to everyone’s weaknesses and uses them against the individual. This falls into the category of emotional shallowness and glibness, more psychopath

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The classic hero vs. villian storylines have been used in traditional and nontraditional texts for centuries. The creators use classic character foil in order to achieve the distinguishable hero and villain. Othello by William Shakespeare uses character foil to achieve a , protagonist Othello and an ,Iago, antagonist the play and in the movie adaptation Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago/Ben Jago is a villain because of how he manipulates others in order to get ahead and they also have some differences, but in the play Iago is more of a villain than Ben Jago in the movie adaptation. Throughout the play Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago is a villain because of how manipulative he is.

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In the beginning of the novel, Shakespeare describes Iago as a mastermind of manipulating others. Iago holds a grudge and resentment towards the Moor, Othello, because another soldier, lieutenant Cassio, has been promoted

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Othello’s confidence for a loyal man to maintain honesty and morals are contradicted through Iago’s actions: “in a man that’s just / They are close dilations, working from the heart, / That passion cannot rule” (3.3.123). Iago, due to the understatement to his name, is not perceivable as hateful. Othello’s willingness to sense Iago’s distress, and to believe his accusations, is because of the lack of awareness Othello has for his vengeance. Iago is of such little power and relevance within societal ranking that if he were to have intentions to sabotage anyone, which he does, are not considered, thus making him easily trustworthy to those of greater dominance. Society’s view of an individual determines how others consider and surmise their persona, though these conclusions may be false.

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He feels and thinks that he has been cheated, betrayed, made a fool of by others—but he has no proof. His arguments for revenge are built on suspicion, feeling, emotion, and impulse.” (Warnken) In this quote it proves that Iago wants power as a reward rather than to make himself stronger he wants the characters to feel what they made him feel. When Othello gave the ranking as Lieutenant to Cassio, Iago felt that he had been betrayed by Othello.

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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).

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Power is often the root at which conflicts begin. As those on the bottom attempt to gain power and those at the top of the power dynamic attempt to consistently degrade those below them to prevent them from gaining influence. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the surprise, seemingly societally transcendent, ability for Othello to gain power and Othello to be able to marry Desdemona, is immediately followed by those in power trying to relieve Othello of his role in society, leading Othello to even attempt to exert his own power. The powerful men of Othello attempt to destroy and subjugate the lives of others to prevent them from advancing and maintaining power.

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While he knows that his actions are immoral, he embraces it fully by calling for evil forces to help in his plans to destroy Othello’s life. This imagery shows Iago’s true nature to the audience, one that wishes for the corruption of people’s lives and actively acting it out. Moreover, Iago refers to himself as a devil in a soliloquy after Cassio drunkenly --------, saying "When devils will the blackest sins put on, / They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, / As I do now" (2.3.351-353). He reveals his intentions to harm Othello to the audience, showing that he does not have empathy for Othello or those his actions would affect, showing his ------------------------------------------------------------------------.

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In the book Othello, Iago is a very manipulating man, throughout the book he manages to manipulate three main people, Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses all their weaknesses to bring them down. Iago wants revenge on Othello, because Othello overlooks Iago and his abilities, so Iago manipulates these three characters to get back at Othello in the long run. He comes up with a very good plan to get each other to turn against one another. So in the end he ends up getting what he wanted, revenge.

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750 Words | 3 Pages

In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.

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1474 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the play, he would often talk about Iago in the same manner as in Act 2, scene 2, “a man he is of honesty and trust”( II,ii. 323-324). Given that Othello trusted who he thought was his best friend, it was easier for Iago to bring Othello down. The root of Iago’s evil intentions is jealousy, which he describes to be like a “green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (III,iii. 196-197). He speaks of it in a way that captures how it affects man because that is what he was going through after Cassio got the lieutenancy.

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He is manipulative and tells Othello to “observe her [Desdemona] well with Cassio” (Shakespeare, 3.3:197). Iago feeds Othello with countless lies and makes him miserable with something that is not factual. He is determined to get revenge and he does not realize Iago stands insincere. Furthermore, Iago is selfish when he tells Othello, “I am yours for ever” (3.3:479). He betrays Othello yet still let’s him depend on him for his own

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944 Words | 4 Pages

Iago also manipulates Othello with jealousy. When Othello is gone at war, Iago tells him that Cassio and Desdemona were getting too close. At first Othello does not believe him, but by Iago saying “nothing,my lord; or if- I know not what” Othello starts to question if it is true (III. III. 39). Iago constantly uses his “innocence” to make Othello jealous and start to assume that it is true. These actions eventually lead to a tragic event.

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Kolin observes that Iago stands out among Shakespearean villains since he is the only one to survive his own monstrous acts (25). Unlike Richard III, apart from telling stories, Iago carries out a downright fraud through other means of manipulation, which makes him the most evil and intelligent character. To be exact, Iago is a puppeteer who sets up scenes to deceive the “credulous fools”—Othello, Cassio and Desdemona (4.1.45). Iago talks to Cassio about Bianca while telling Othello that the subject of their conversation is the Moor’s wife. He is so smart and careful that he even gestures Othello to come closer when Cassio is about to illustrate how Bianca entangles him.

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