What is it that makes a person evil? Is it their actions, their words, or their thoughts? Is it more acceptable if “the end justifies the means”? Telling a lie that doesn’t have a negative effect on anyone, and that saves someone grief, is considered good. So why is killing someone to save others considered bad? The morality of an action is based solely on the outcome. Thus, doing anything whatsoever that is required to get the desired result, regardless of the methods used, would be considered “ok” if the result was of a good nature. Human nature is hardwired in us through the brain. So, human nature, being good or evil, is hardwired in us as well. It is our choice whether or not to act on these thoughts of sinful nature. For Iago, he not only thinks about crude things he also acts upon those thoughts. The actions of a military warrior, executed in normal society, show the “ethical blindness” of a man with no filter of morality ().
The soldier’s jealousy converges with his personal injustice to direct his passion of hate towards the Moor. Iago accuses Othello of having relations with his wife, and that Othello has not given him the correct rank that he has earned after years of service at Othello’s side. Iago had devoted his intelligence and efficiency to good and, from that he gained nothing. Othello gave the lieutenant ship to Cassio and thus turned Iago’s jealousy towards Cassio as well. After this, he changes his course of action to obtaining his own personal interpretation of justice. Even though Iago is intelligent, crafty, and subtle he can’t control his jealous suspicions that “Othello has played him false with Emilia” (McCloskey). Iago then goes on to state his plot to get revenge, “nothing can or shall content my sou...
... middle of paper ...
...e can’t effectively foresee the events coming to him (McCloskey). The irony of his quest of justice and revenge is that he suffers in the end.
Works Cited
Abnernethy, Julian W. "Honest Iago." Jstor: The Sweannee Review. The John Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 Apr. 2012.
Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2012. 762-875. Print.
West, Fred. “Iago the Psychopath.” South Atlantic Modern Language Association. South Atlantic Bulletin. 43.2 (1978): 27-35. Web 11 Apr. 2012.< http://www.jstor.org/stable/3198785>.
McCloskey, John C. "The Motivation of Iago." National Council of Teachers of English . 3.1 (1941): 25-30. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. .
Machiavelli’s The Prince a summary with quotations
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
Iago, Othello’s ensign, and the villain of the play, performs his monstrous acts in a complex way by deceiving others to believe that he is honest and reliable while using this reputation to manipulate others. In this section, Iago says very little to deceive Othello into thinking that he has information that he would want to know. Iago’s clever use of silence and intimacy
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:
Iago's monologues, manipulation, and acts of others brings out the maturation of the seed and extent of
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.
Print. West, Fred. “Iago the Psychopath.” South Atlantic Bulletin. 43.2 (1978): 27-35.
Iago is a twenty- eight years old Caucasian married man and he is soldier in the Venetian army. Iago is viewed as modest, honest, and a good friend to people in public. People refer to him as “honest Iago” which lead them to trust him. Iago plans to destroy Othello by manipulating him to believe that his wife is being unfaithful to him with his promoted lieutenant Cassio, a position Iago wanted to have. Although the scandal that Iago came up with is a complete lie, Othello ends up believing him. Iago uses his ability to talk to people in order to accomplish his plan of destroying Othello because he wasn’t granted the position of the Venice army. (Sorto 1)
Characters in the play fail to comprehend Iago’s true nature until it is too late. Those interacting with Iago fall into the belief that Iago is loyal to his superiors, when Iago is actually focused on bringing them (Cassio and Othello) down. Iago constructs a false impression of his loyalty to Othello through ...
Jealousy’s true destructive wrath and the pure evil it brings out in people can be revealed through Iago’s actions throughout the tragedy Othello. Throughout the play, jealousy is a ruler over Iago’s thoughts and actions, influencing the way he feels about himself. Iago’s jealousy is exhibited while speaking with Roderigo “One Michael Cassio, a Florentine/ (A fellow almost damned in a fair wife)/ That never set a squadron in the field, / Nor the division of a battle knows/ More than a spinster—unless the bookish theoric, / Wherein the toged consuls can propose/ As masterly as he.
Iago utilizes an unassuming manner of speech that reflects his guise of loyalty to persuade Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity. Iago knows that the idea of Desdemona’s adultery will be manifest itself much more powerfully in Othello’s
The tragedy, "Othello" by William Shakespeare, is not just a play of jealousy. It is a drama about the collision of two worlds. One of them is a world of an absolute cynic, Iago the manipulator. A second world is a world experienced by all the other characters of the tragedy. The ability to understand the true nature of people around Iago makes him quickly navigate the situation. Given by nature, the psychological technique of manipulation, Iago is a master to wear different masks, because he can predict the further course and he is proficient of destroying everything to achieve success.
90) and “(For I fear Cassio with my night-cape too)” (2.1.301). According to Jonathan Lear, Iago exemplifies “a hatred that cannot be rationalized, an evil not based on reason” (Schapiro 483). Knowing he cannot support his claims, Iago still insists on revenge against the Moor, using Cassio to wreak said revenge; however, it is not because of a supposed infidelity with his wife that seeks revenge. His sole purpose is to get vengeance on not receiving a position he believes he earned, he would care nothing about Emilia having an affair. Iago’s envy of Cassio comes from his intolerance of Cassio and Othello’s relationship. He simply cannot handle Cassio being the Moor’s Lieutenant, while he has nothing-not the position he wants, not the power he craves, and not the woman he desires (Desdemona) (Segan 4). Iago also projects himself onto Othello and evil forms. Harold Bloom insists that the shock of rejection is what truly makes Iago. He becomes the evil presence that is Shakespeare’s own creation (Schapiro 486).
Iago’s power of language shines here in that not only does he save Roderigo from killing himself, but he gains his trust to let him be used by Iago however he likes. Although Iago is ultimately caught of his treacherous acts, he nevertheless, stops showing his “power of language”. In front of Othello, who he has manipulated and exploited, he says “From this time forth I will never speak word”(5.2.356), hurting Othello with words for the last time, not speaking the reason for his revenge against him. Iago, shown through his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello, illustrates his mastery of language by manipulating them to let them be exploited for his revenge plan.
Zender, Karl F. "The humiliation of Iago." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Spring 1994: 323-339. InfoTrac EF Expanded Academic ASAP 1993-April 1996. CD-ROM. Information Access. April 1996.
Othello doesn’t realize Iago doesn’t care towards him and never did after Iago wasn’t promoted to lieutenant. Iago plays the as the main director of what happens in Othello’s life. Othello doesn’t realize it thought. Iago is able to hide his emotions towards others. Which allows Othello not to notice he is faking every emotion of helping Othello. Iago is always at ease when in the eyes of his peers. “He moves jovially and at ease among the gentlemen of Cyprus, even as he sets up Cassio for a drunken fall” (Barnes 15). This shows how committed Iago was to strike revenge against his foes. Only a psychopath could hide their feelings in front of the people you want to hurt. “Iago refuses to show the "outward action" which would "demonstrate / The native act and figure of [his] heart / In complement extern" (“Where Iago Lies” 19). Because of Iago, Othello creates his own anxiety. He has anxiety because he now worries that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Iago creates Othello’s fear by twisting his words to have different meanings. “Iago: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” (Shakespeare 1816-1818). Iago is manipulating Othello into believing that Othello shouldn’t be jealous, which tricks Othello into being jealous. The green-eyed monster is another term for jealousy. It is Othello though that allows him to get trapped in anxiety. Iago exploits him to bring Othello to a tragic