Shakespeare's Othello - Essay on Iago as the Hero of Othello?

Iago as the Hero of Othello?

In the play Othello, by Shakespeare, the character Iago is perceived to be a sinister and wicked individual to readers who have just read the novel. If people give more thought to Iago's character and the actions that he took in order to attain the things that he wanted, then they can find some admirable traits in him. There is not one character in the novel that is entirely good or entirely bad. Each character is complex in his/her own way.

After reading this Shakespearean work of art, I found that if the reader wanted to find fault in everybody then they could. Does this make the characters villains? Maybe it makes the characters individuals who are subject to certain emotions and problems that up rise and occur during the struggle for power.

From the start of this play, friction between characters was prevalent. What's a Shakespearean play without conflict of characters? In Act One of Scene One, Othello angered both Iago and Roderigo when a promotion was given to Cassio. In line nine of Act One, Scene One, Iago says, "In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp'd to him." Iago wanted and even pleaded lieutenancy. When the reader learns of that, then the play starts to unfold. From this point on, Iago holds on to his anger and does several things to get back at Othello and everybody who is around him. In lines 36-38 of the same act and scene, Iago states "preferment goes by letter and affection, and not by old gradation, where each second stood heir to the first." By saying that, Iago showed that he took Othello's promotion to another person extremely offensive.

Iago brushed the insult off of his shoulders and posed as if he had forgotten about it. He stated, "We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly follow'd" (Act One, Scene One, Lines 44-45). A master was what Iago was determined to be. Iago was the character in the play that held the trust of an abundance of characters. How worthy of the trust was he though? He played games with everybody’s emotions. To a certain extent, the people who put trust into him are at fault also. Iago seldom told people things directly. He spoke of things happening in his dreams or assumptions that he made.