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Analysis of othello character
Othello analysis character
Character analysis of othello
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis of othello character
Othello analysis character
Character analysis of othello
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Analysis of othello character
The sympathy felt for a character often remains through character revelation. In spite of the change in personality and morals the first impression of the character is not forgotten. Othello who commits violent acts throughout the play ends his life with honour, reminding us he was originally introduced as a respected man of high position. A person can be manipulated by others to act outside of their character, and their emotions can blind them from making good decisions. In the end a person’s true character is reflected upon the way they react to the results of their wrong doing.
Abstract- This paper intends to explore the concept of Iago, performing his role as the absolute antithesis in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. The ‘I’ that is spoken of in the paper is taken as consciousness as a whole, capable of recognizing the other if not being able to reconcile with it. "Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould me Man, did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me?" (Paradise Lost, X, 743-45, John Milton)
Throughout history many of the great generals often had a right hand man or lieutenant to help make important decisions. When Iago was passed over for this great position he was willing to go to any length to achieve the position he felt he deserved. In the play, Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago became the antagonist in one of Shakespeare's most well-known plays. Iago used manipulation, deception, and creative thinking to hatch a plan that would cause the death of nearly every main role in the play.
Othello’s actions are motivated in the belief that Desdemona has been dishonest, however; Iago has blinded Othello with his dishonesty. Othello’s quest for honesty allows him to be manipulated by the fear of dishonesty and therefore he becomes oblivious to falsehood. Through Othello, Shakespeare raises the idea of honest reputation, and how quickly it can be ruined by dishonesty in the shape of
It is with deep sadness that I inform you that our greatest general Othello has committed suicide. The man responsible for his death and the death of Desdemona, Emilia, and Roderigo is our very own ‘honest’ Iago. This man is so much more than we thought he was. He has betrayed Othello and the sweet Desdemona.
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.
Though given the nickname “Honest Iago”, his acts throughout William Shakespeare's, Othello, is not so honest. Iago is an intelligent, convincing, and manipulative man. He enjoys feeding off of people's misery especially when something is in it for him. His intelligence allows him to convince people using the sway of his words so fluently and make them blind to the truth by eluting them with false appearances and telling half truths. This allows him to numerous characters throughout Othello by using their personal beliefs, jealous tendencies, and misleading them into false assumptions by twisting the truth around in his own words in a way that will be beneficial to himself.
Throughout the soliloquy Iago has created numerous negative thoughts towards Othello. Shakespeare develops many central ideas of racism and relationship. Shakespeare creates conflict based on racism which demolishes relationship, friendship, romance, and family. Iago’s shade to Othello reveals racism in order to justify how he destroys different relationships for each character. However Iago’s bigot towards black men which him to influence the thought that they were way more sexually dominated towards other women.
The opening scene of Othello presents Iago’s character as duplicitous, manipulative and nature. With his shady nature he strategically uses people as pawns to plot evil plans against Othello. His scheme against “the Moor” is highlighted in “I follow him to serve my turn upon him/we cannot all be masters nor all masters/cannot be truly followed”. His analogy outlines his duplicitous nature as a mask for his evil plans. He foreshadows that his deception will be his main force for his plot of Othello’s downfall.
Iago, the manipulative wordsmith, seems to be one of Shakespeare’s best depiction of a maniacal character who can not only deceive others but also make those around him trust what he is saying while also moving them in the direction of their eventual sad end. He is a man who has loose morals and has no problem using his place and power in the military to any advantage that he sees fit. The seeds of deceit In the beginning of any great play we see the characters and make assumptions of their character, yet with Iago we do not have to do this because he tells us of his plans and deceit early on.
Character can be broken despite how strongly it is shaped. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, Othello was a brave Moor who was quick to marry his lover Desdemona. His sinister ensign Iago deceived him into believing his loyal wife had committed adultery. Although Othello believed the alleged accusations, he also gave up his moral character to Iago. Regardless of the lack of trust from Othello, Desdemona did deceive her father prior to the situation.
In the same way, Iago and Othello face unforeseen consequences at the end of the play. Iago’s reputation, the same as Othello, is ruined when the truth comes out. Before the drama ends, Lodovico says to Iago, “O Spartan dog/More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea/Look on the tragic loading of this bed/ This is thy work-The object poisons sight/Let it be hid” (Shakespeare 5.5.415-419). Lodovico calls Iago a “dog” that shows contempt for Iago.
Iago is a unique and complicated character. He is intelligent in that he is able to manipulate people and events in his favour, which he thrives on throughout the play, classifying him as the antagonist of the play. Driven by jealousy and hatred, Iago plots against Othello to destroy his character and reputation. Knowing that if he foolishly attacked such a respected man directly, he would be sentenced to death. As a result, he devises to use other people to obtain what he desires by influencing the characters in the play to suit his plan.
In many stories, there are villains who seem to control how the characters act by manipulation. These kinds of villains use multiple techniques to get what they want and to execute their plans. The techniques are used to affect the characters in a negative way in favor of the villain. In Othello, the antagonist Iago, plays that role. Iago affects the characters’ lives in a negative way by his honest reputation, his ability to “read” people, and how he “proves” to be Loyal.
‘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.