A psychopath is “calculating and measured in their actions” which makes is harder for one to be identified ("Characteristics of a Sociopath."). Although there is no clinical diagnosis for a psychopath one can be determined through their characteristics and actions for one is more “likely to construct a complex scheme or plan and to carry it out” if they suffer from this mental disorder ("Characteristics of a Sociopath."). They are the most dangerous personalities in society as they have the capacity for extreme violence and the intelligence to blend into a community as an average citizen. It is the personality Iago from Othello that could be diagnosed as a psychopath as he is cold, calculating, manipulative, and is elaborate in his plans. Iago …show more content…
Iago was very blind to seeing the faults in his actions. At least the personal faults. He was able to identify certain characteristics of himself but just assigned them onto other people. In some case a psychopath can “Projects his own views and shallowness … upon others” excusing themselves from the responsibilities and pressures of theirself (West 30). This behavior could be one of the reasons that Iago says he hates Othello. He sees these things in himself, attributes he does not like and projects them on Othello, the person who most recently wronged him, as a way to fight those unliked characteristics. Iago “does not regard his own actions as horrendously evil” because he believes that it is deserved in a way (West 28). As if with the mentality of “What else can he expect from appointing someone who has no experience. He deserves it.” Being “egocentricity is his vanity” prevents himself from seeing his flaws (West 34). Although who is to say that in the brain of a psychopath if they see their actions as a flaw. This prevention of seeing and accepting these flaws results in a hindered reality of wrong and right. Because if vanity is a characteristic of a psychopath then no psychopath will see what they are doing as wrong, at least not the average one. This would cause an inverse of morals creating a backwards thought of right and wrong. To make matters more confusing Iago mockingly knows what he's doing in wrong and subconsciously contests it with sarcasm. He even if the entire arguments hold no ground he still has to knowingly be aware that he is lying to everyone and yet he still asks “as honest as I am” (II.i.220). Yes it could be sarcasm but that joking attitude alone lightens up the tone for the severity of what he has done. Joking can in some
There are many people that are considered sociopaths in the world, many of which hold high ranks in our society; amongst those many people you could find presidents and CEO's of companies, all willing to do whatever it takes to step on all kinds of people to get to the top of the social classes. If the definition of a sociopath is someone with an emotional and behavior disorder, clear perception of reality save for the person's social and moral obligations and often by the pursuit of immediate gratification in criminal acts or sexual perversion then Iago fits the description perfectly. Iago of all people wields the power of manipulation like no other man in Othello; he has a complete lack of empathy, is aggressive and he is a master deceiver.
Driven by an overbearing lust for evil that only a pure psychopath can have, Iago is not only one of literature’s worst villain’s, but he also is a heinous psychopath, whom possesses absolutely no capacity for human kindness or virtue. While Iago claims to be motivated by obtaining revenge of Othello and by jealousy of Michael Cassio, his actions suggest that of a diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder, as his motivations contradict each other, and are not sufficient to constitute the level of destruction he employs. According to the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of mental disorders, an individual can be diagnosed as a psychopath if they show a minimum of five out of eight of the following symptoms: 1) deceitful, conning, and manipulative behaviors, 2) absence of psychotic and neurotic symptoms, 3) lack of remorse, 4) lack of empathy, 5) inflated and arrogant self-appraisal, 6) pathological lying, 7) need for constant stimulation, and 8) glibness and superficial charm. Throughout the play, Othello, Iago displays all of these symptoms, and therefore is a psychopath. He especially manipulates and cons others, has a grandiose self-perception, and lacks empathy and remorse. He also needs constant stimulation.
Iago, the antagonist of Shakespeare’s work, Othello, is often considered purely evil or sociopathic. At first glance, Iago appears to be a static, two-dimensional villain, but he is much more. Shakespeare, renown for his awareness of the human condition, leaves many important aspects of Iago’s life up to interpretation. In published works and critical interpretations, Iago is commonly attached to a myriad of mental illnesses and personality disorders. Because it seems that Iago’s life revolves around Othello and Desdemona, it is understandable how people may suggest that Iago is in love with Othello, or that he is a psychopath with no true motives. Shakespeare never discloses much about Iago’s past, raising the questions:
In Othello, Iago is Shakespeare’s most malicious character and serves as a vehicle to these two themes. Iago despises Othello; he has a strong will to destroy Othello’s life, yet the motive behind his plan goes unexplained. Iago is a great manipulator of the tongue and lies to everyone in order to advance his plan; however, every character in the play considers Iago an honest character, and Othello even associates Iago with light and eyesight. Othello continuously asks Iago to explain or make something clearer. Until the very end, Iago appears to be honest and helpful to the other characters, but underneath this seemingly harmless façade, Iago is a demon with the strongest will; he will stop at nothing until he ruins Othello’s life. Iago uses a positive appearance to enact his
A psychopath easily demonstrates several discernible quirks. Iago, one of Shakespeare 's most notable characters from Othello, regularly displays unholy habits. Iago is a man who is determined to achieve his goals by manipulating and scheming plans to get what he wants. His shallow heart shows no mercy for those who oppose. A psychopath Iago undoubtedly fits the role of a psychopath because of his manipulative, emotionless and devious behavior throughout the entire play.
The reader can see Iago’s drastic difference from what he said in the beginning of the play, compared to his actions in the end of the play. Iago says “Though in the trade of war I have slain men, Yet do I hold it very stuff o' th' conscience To do no contrived murder. I lack iniquity Sometimes to do me service.” (Act I, scene, ii, lines 1-4) Iago tells this straight to Othello’s face that he truly finds murder of another man sickening, and that even though he has killed men before, he believes it to be wrong and will not kill out of his own reasons but only when his is forced to. Contradicting Iago's on words, in Act V, scene I, line 65, Iago murders Roderigo out of cold blood. Iago also murders his wife Emilia in Act V scene ii, line 149, because she wouldn’t obey him to shut up, when she is telling the truth about Iago’s horrible ways he has manipulated Othello into believing Desdemona was unfaithful to him. “Be wise, and get you home.” (Act V, scene ii, line
The old cliché "One bad apple ruins the bunch" is what enters one's mind when discussing the villainous, deceitful, protagonist Iago in Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello." It is amazing how one person alone can completely destroy, or deteriorate a group of good natured, trusting, loyal peoples' lives in a matter of days- three to be exact. What is the motive behind Iago's heinous, selfish acts, one may ask? A rather obvious theme in the Shakespeare's tragedy, "Othello", is that of the many facets of jealousy, which instigate the evil-doings of protagonist, Iago. Jealousy can be best defined, in the thinking of Renaissance, as a derivative or compounded passion. It is a species of envy, which is in turn a species of hatred. Hatred finds its opposite in love and is opposed to love. Envy is opposed to mercy. Yet while jealousy is opposed to love, it often rises from love. Like envy, it has something of the grief or fear that comes from seeing another in possession of what which we would possess solely for ourselves. Though jealousy is compounded, it still partakes in the nature of hatred, and hatred brings in its wake anger and revenge (Nardo 122). This could not be more accurate in the horrid actions Iago resorts to in his insatiable desire to get what he feels is rightfully his, regardless of who he hurts along the way. Iago serves as a prime example that keeping your enemies closest does not always work to your advantage. Let us now examine the heights of deceit to which Iago rises in his selfish, tactless rage to acquire what he wants. The best demonstration of Iago's jealous ways are shown through his twisted motives and his strategically planned out course of action in which he...
Is a man that plans his every move, anticipating the reaction of his victims and leading them to their definite doom a madman or a scheming, coldhearted villain? In the play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare, Iago reveals his impressive and intricate plan to bring Othello, his commander, to his tragic demise. Throughout the play, Iago exhibits extraordinary organizational skills and the ability to strategically use language to deceive many characters, including Othello, Desdemona, Michael Cassio, and Roderigo. At first glance, he appears to have good intentions, giving characters helpful advice and guidance about their problems. However, it is soon revealed that behind every good intension is a well thought out plan that will destroy the unexpected character, proof that Iago is truly a villain, the master of deceit.
Have you ever met a devil who does evil for his own sake? Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello could seem like he has good motives, but I feel that he uses them as his excuses. The first thing that I did was uncovered Iago's motives. Iago is the most controversial character in Othello. He is able to keep his true thoughts and motives from everyone. Are his motives only excuses for his actions? Iago pretends to have so many motives that they seem more like excuses. Iago then uses these excuses to justify his actions, which are pure evil. I also feel that Iago has motives and actions that cause his actions. Does Iago have many different excuses, or does he only have one? This paper will prove that Iago has one clear motive and reason for his madness. Iago is not looking for justification that causes him to act the way he does. There is much more though to Iago. He is not a man of only excuses, he has goals with his motives, which causes him to act the way he does.
That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages.
The fascinating intelligence of Shakespeare begins Othello, unlike other tragedies that begin with ancillary figures point out the character that will turn out to be at the center of the tragedy, with his genius creation of truly evil Iago instead of Othello. Shakespeare gave Iago the honor of being a main character, an antagonist too, in one of his blood soaked tragedies and made him survive the experience. Iago the genius villain whose intrigues and deception brought the downfall of the main hero Othello, is considered in today’s society a truly Sociopath. Sociopathy-as noted by Preston McAfee-is a personality disorder defined by certain characteristics such as manipulations, lack of empathy, sense of entitlement, and has a grandiose sense of his own importance. Those traits were manifestly shown by Iago in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello.
If Iago is evil personified, cite specific incidents that help us to see and explore his physiological
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is naïve and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
Evil masterminds are always successful in their diabolical schemes, but each one does it in their own special way. Some may be highly ranked and powerful, but some may be simple people in a simple community. In the play Othello, the simple ancient, Iago is very successful at his schemes. Iago is able to get the trust of everyone around him, and to appear honest. He is also driven to continue with his schemes and to never quite.
Iago, the evil villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is more than just a villain. In many ways he is the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago shows superiority over the rest of the characters in the play. He has the ability to manipulate the characters in the play, therefore controlling the play with every sequence of events. His intelligence shines through his ability to deceive, his ability to strategize, and his ability to twist the truth. Iago is appealing to the characters of the pay because he gives them what they want. Iago is appealing to the reader as well. His character is totally unconflicted about being evil, making him known to some authors as the villain of all villains. Iago is, in many ways, the most intelligent and appealing character in the play.