Iago’s Jealousy
In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, good is often confronted by evil, in which almost every case is in the form of jealousy. Iago, the plays antagonist, is a very manipulative villain. Iago uses his own agony and distress brought upon him by his envy of others, to provoke the same agony within the characters in the play. Jealousy’s ability are shown to influence people to new ends and make all humanistic judgment disappear leaving that man a monster torn apart by envy. 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.
Through out 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. Mere prattle without practice/ Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had th' election/ And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof/ At Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds/ Christian and heathen, must be belee’d and calmed/ By debitor and creditor./ This counter-caster/ He (in good time) must his lieutenant be/ And I, bless the mark, his Moorship’s ancient”(I.i.18-32) . Through Iago’s tone his enraged anger and discomfort is exhibited. Iago speaks with a sense of shame toward himself, “And I, bless the mark, his Moorship’s ancient” (I.i.32). exposing his loss of respect for himself. When Iago loses respect for himself it is certain he has lost all respect for others, bein...
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...e that gave thee to the Moor!”(III.iii.427-435) Iago lies to Othello, who trust Iago dearly; the loss of respect is yet again exhibited. Jealousy’s evil effects take over Othello’s mind causing him to become a blood thirsty beast, “Oh, blood, blood, blood!” (III.iii.462). Othello desires the shed of blood because he is so jealous. Jealousy blinds his mind and sense of reason and he acts upon emotion irrationally, all because of the evil Iago and his plan, inspired and motivated by jealousy.
In the tragedy Othello jealousy is a motivator of evil, Iago uses it against people resulting in the destruction of their own lives and the people’s lives around them. Jealousy makes solid minded people go mad; it manipulates people into believing false, and loses sight of what they truly love. Iago is a scheming evil beast whose motive to destroy lives and kill was, jealousy.
“I am not what I am,” proclaims one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most enigmatic villains, Iago, in the tragedy Othello. Iago’s journey for revenge enables him to become capable of immoral acts, and whilst his malevolence excites us, we are no more intrigued by his attributes than we are of the play’s tragic hero, Othellos’. Rather, both characters’ confrontation with jealousy and their subsequent moral demise as a result of failing to control such an emotion provides the true excitement for audiences. Iago’s spiteful manipulation of Othello makes him a multifaceted character — whose corrupt attributes make the audience examine their own morality. However, the same can be said of Othello; his failure to withstand Iago’s ‘pouring of pestilence’
Act iii, scene iii, lines 108-131 of William Shakespeare’s “Othello” unquestionably shows Iago’s trickery and deceptiveness which is masked through his reputation for honesty, reliability and direct speaking. This section not only shows Iago’s slow but powerful act of deception, but also shows the jealousy and insecurities slowly depriving Othello’s inner peace and balance.
It causes people to do terrible things because once it is on a person’s conscience, it stays for quite some time. Because of these effects, jealousy can impact some of the strongest people, such as Othello. The love between Desdemona and Othello was portrayed so elevated and pure and was filled with religious words and phrases that just added to the strength and sanctity of their love. Othello has such a strong mind, but jealousy caused by the manipulation of Iago, negatively impacts him. Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with his friend Cassio.
Using jealousy as a weapon is what prompts Iago to plot the ultimate downfall of the characters in Othello and especially Othello himself.
In Othello, the jealousy factor is deliberately introduced by Iago, with the precise intention of destroying those whom he feels have wronged him. Since it is intentionally used with malicious intent, it has catastrophic results. Iago himself is jealous of Cassio; he feels that he should have been appointed to Cassio's position by Othello, and since he wasn't he hates both Othello and Cassio. Iago channels the jealousy that Othello and Cassio have made him feel, and uses it against them in a hateful plan. Iago starts the process by planting the seeds of jealousy in Othello's mind, telling him Desdemona has been unfaithful. He then proceeds to cultivate the growing jealousy by feeding it with more lies, and twisting innocent events into situations which would serve his needs (his telling Othello that Cassio and Desdemona met in secret, and convincing him that Desdemona vied for Cassio's reinstatement as lieutenant because she loved him, for example). When the seeds had flourished, and Iago had succeeded in driving Othello mad with jealousy, Iago harvested his crop and convinced Othello to kill Desdemona. Othello's killing Desdemona would both rid Iago of Desde...
Iago’s hatred for Othello has developed through the influence of not only his personal values, but the social and contextual values of the time. Thus, Iago is compelled to manipulate Othello and cause the tragedy. It is evident that Iago’s upbringing in the Venetian context of valuing and prioritising reputation and power, has caused him to have a strong sense of arrogance and selfish entitlement. Therefore, Iago is seen to be extremely greedy, as he not only seeks power, but also a better reputation and social standing. However, Othello denies him of this position, leading Iago to resent Othello and start his plan. Iago openly admits that he will “follow him to serve
Shakespearian tales always leave us with a plethora to ponder about the Elizabethan age and Shakespeare himself. “Othello” is no break in this mold, leaving us to ponder the roll of Iago within the harsh tale of love and murder. Iago is the one to tell Othello of his wife’s betrayal with Cassio, hence making up a story that will work to his favor yet betray those around him. Iago betrays his wife, Emilia, but not only her as he drags Othello, Desdemona, and Cassio into the mix of lies and the hatred he is spreading to improve his rank with Othello. But were Iago’s acts unjust and done for the sake of it? Is he a heartless man who’s only happiness is to bring sorrow upon others? No, Iago has a just reason for what he does, even though he causes the deaths of Cassio, Emilia, and Desdemona in his search for revenge; Iago is not a heartless fiend, just a man wronged.
Iago states that “Our bodies are our gardens”, this metaphor is particularly applicable to many in Othello that have voices that they allow to grow in themselves. The origins of jealousy can be sourced from Iago's exploitation of these voices that sets chaos into motion. Othello begins his journey as a great leader, calm and reasoned as illustrated in the scene where Brabantio confronts him and Othello says “Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.” The values of reputation, honour and respect are emphasised as Brabantio’s gang stop and heed Othello’s words. He shows great rationality and is the embodiment of order. However, as Iago sets his plans of corruption and jealousy into motion, Othello abandons all reasoning when judging Iago’s ‘proofs’ and his abandonment of language also marks a descent into jealousy, “I’ll tear her all to pieces!”. Othello’s world becomes ruled by chaotic, jealous emotions and primal urges seem to be taking over the more civilized aspects of Othello. Shakespeare uses imagery to portray jealousy as the ‘green-eyed monster’ and the recurring ‘monster’ motif reinforces this. The word ‘monster’ brings along negative connotations
The play “Othello” by William Shakespeare was written in 1604 during the Elizabeth era. Othello is one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s dramas. He enjoyed unheralded success in the combat zone, which gave him the reputation as one of Venice’s most competent generals. Even though he has great success in the battlefield, he has a dramatic flaw that causes a downfall in his life. The dramatic flaw that causes his downfall is jealousy. This was brought on by a simple persuasion of Iago, the evil character in the play. Even though Iago used extreme manipulation to get Othello to be jealous, Iago did not really have to try very hard to get Othello in a jealous state of mind. Othello was blinded by his jealousy which led him down a path of constant questioning of his wife and his friend Cassio. Throughout the play we see his dramatic flaw sink him deeper and deeper into a cloud of doubt which eventually leads him to kill not only his love of his life but also himself.
One of the major themes of Othello is that of jealousy, a manifestation of paranoia and obsession in itself. Iago’s burning desire to drive Othello to madness and a compulsion to disgrace those above him can be seen, with a Marxist reading, as his intense dissatisfaction with the social system he is a part of, ‘we cannot all be masters, nor all masters Cannot be truly followed’. Likewise, his intellectual superiority over his betters and peers is made evident ...
A.C. Bradley describes Othello as "by far the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heroes"(Shakespearean Tragedy, 1). This is an unusual description of a man who murders his own wife. However, Othello's feelings of hate for Desdemona started as an overwhelming love for her when their relationship began. This transformation from love to hate also inflicted the characters Iago and Roderigo and like Othello their hatred resulted in the murder of innocent people. Roderigo's love for Desdemona was transformed into hate towards any man that he thought was loved by her. Iago's love for his job and his wife, Emilia changed into a destructive hatred of Cassio and Othello. As a result of their hatred Cassio, Emilia, and at the end themselves were killed. The connection between love and hate in William Shakespeare's "Othello" is the ugly feeling of jealousy that caused such transformations. Jealousy can be described as a fear of losing something or someone that is valuable (Godfrey 2). As minor as this feeling appears to be by that definition, it can take on varying degrees of damaging behavior. Othello, Roderigo, and Iago became paralyzed by jealousy. Their thoughts, actions, and behaviors were ruled by it. Jealousy caused their inability to the act rationally. They became paranoid and unable to love. This paper will examine the jealousy that caused love to turn into hate for Roderigo, Othello, and Iago.
Corruption overcomes the Venetian society as Iago uses his crafty skills of deceit. The plan to have Othello turn against the ones he loves is the perfect example of evils nature. The power struggle is evident between these two. This situation is the start to Iagos plan to corrupt the society and take Othellos place. The root of Iagos evil is jealousy indeed, in turn changing into a power hungry manipulator. Iago is tired of acting like one "courteous and knee-crooking knave" like he always appears to be [I. i. 46]. Since Iago is reluctant to choose to be a master, he is the servant that bites off the fame and "keep yet their hearts attending on themselves," still showing his service to his master but instead is more self-preserving with no attachments at all towards the master [I. i. 52]. Irony is used diligently in Shakespeares unique language style.
Before considering the importance of Iago's words, it is important to define what jealousy means. According to The New Lexicon Webster's Encylopedic Dictionary of the English Language, "jealousy is a state of fear, suspicion, revenge or envy caused by a real or imagined threat or challenge to one's possessive instincts. It may be provoked by rivalry, in sexual love, by competition or by desires for the qualities or possessions of another."
His jealousy overcame his usual respectable, noble personality and he became irrational and violent. His jealousy and rage led him to kill his wife, something he would never have done if he had not been jealous. Iago’s initial jealousy of Cassio led him to seek revenge, thus moving the entire plot. He also fuels his hatred of Othello by convincing himself that Othello slept with his wife. His jealousy initiated many of the other characters’ jealousy, which resulted in multiple negative consequences.
I would like to touch on the impact Iago’s actions had on Othello. As the book shows Othello was not a jealous man by nature. As I stated before I think we all have a little bit of jealousy in different situations, but it is also common sense and our natural