Iago is a clever calculating villain. I found it ironic that in Othello, Iago was known as an honest person, when in reality he was anything but honest. Through my research, I was able to find out that Shakespearean’s definition of honest, and the definition of honest that we use today, are not the same thing. Today’s definition of honest implies that someone is truthful. In Shakespearean’s time however, it carried a completely different definition. An honest person was someone who gave the appearance
Iago, More than Just a Villain 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
Iago of "Othello" What makes a good villain? What qualities make one villain stand out from another? Is it their demeanor, ruthlessness, or the methods that they employ to accomplish their tasks? In any case, a great villain must leave the reader with a respect for their methods and a question about their motives. In Shakespeare's Othello, there is one character in Iago that fulfills all of these qualifications. Iago is a wonderful villain because he gains other's trust, relentlessly takes advantage
If I were to tell you that typing “famous selfish characters” into Google would produce a link to a Iago analysis, would you be surprised? English poet Samuel Coleridge might have had mixed feelings. He once described Iago as a motiveless malignity during a lecture given the winter of 1818. According to Coleridge, motive was not a factor in his actions but instead a natural instinct to commit evil acts. Shakespeare gives us clues to Iago’s perspective that instead explain those unseen motives as
the main one that settles in this reading would be anger. The anger is coming from a man named Iago. Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that helps him in the long run. He is the main reason of why this reading’s out come is a tragedy. The role he plays in my eyes is just a selfish man who doesn't care about anyone but himself and will only do things that will benefit him. Iago is smart. He is an expert judge of people and their characters and uses this to his advantage. For
The Master Manipulator It should come as no surprise that the motives of a man like Iago, who openly claims "I am not what I am," are no clearer to the audience than to the characters in the play(1.1.65). Iago's intentions are clearly not to help, but to hurt the other characters, often maliciously. Always willing to go to whatever lengths necessary in order to achieve his goals, Iago is a character motivated by something more intense and deep inside of him than what immediately meets the eye.
Iago is a man who has been molded by his experiences. Shakespearean characters traditionally act merely as stock characters; they fulfill a role that is necessary to the story and they are merely characters created in the vacuum of that play. The action of the play and the circumstances surrounding the story dictate how characters act and respond to events. Interesting to Othello, each character is guided by their experiences outside of the play. What happened to them before the play started guides
Honest Iago The poet Coleridge appropriately described the character of Iago as being one of "motiveless malignity." Throughout the play Iago’s motives are secondary to, and seem only to serve as justification for, his actions. Iago is driven by his nature of character. To discuss Coleridge’s assessment we must look at Iago’s character—from Iago’s point of view and that of the other characters—his motives, methods, and pawns. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able
Iago’s Subconscious Motive 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
Iagos Justice In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, there lurks an evil that far is surpasses the darkness of the devil, it lies in the antagonist Iago. Othello who passes Iago up for a promotion simply because Iago is not a arithmetician, swears to take his revenge and destroy the moor and every thing Othello holds dear. Through this Iago plays judge, jury, and executioner, but is Iago’s justice justified or does his justice go far beyond the point of justice that he crosses the line. Once
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
Using diction, imagery and metaphor, and the three rhetorical appeals, Iago is able to fool Brabantio, Othello, and Roderigo, respectively, despite the epithet, “Honest Iago,” that he is given, all to reach the fulfillment of his vengeance towards Othello and destroy him. The play begins by exposing the reader to Iago’s evil intentions and plans to ruin Othello’s reputation. Act 1 introduces the reader to this aspect of Iago as he informs Brabantio of Othello and Desdemona’s elopement, through his
In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago plays the evil villain whom everyone deems trustworthy. Throughout the play Iago is responsible for the deaths of many characters including Desdemona, Othello, Roderigo, and even his own wife Emilia. He is motivated mostly by his wicked ways and enjoyment of seeing others in a state of distraughtment. Iago constantly uses his highly respected reputation for malicious purposes. His ability for manipulating those around him in order to benefit himself
hatred. Iago better known as Othello's antagonist embodies vengeance and hatred to move an agenda to squash all who oppose Iago's plans. As defined by Merrium-Webster the definition of a protagonist is a principal character in a literary work or a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work. Othello by Shakespeare is a play about Othello an example of a tragic hero with all figures centered around Othello as the protagonist yet, Othello has two main leading characters. Iago and Othello
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. To begin with, Iago in the play has a complete lack of empathy towards his peers and general surrounding; although Iago seems to care about his friends, most sociopaths are liked because of their charm and high charisma
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
machinations of Iago. Iago is the most interesting character in this Shakespearean play and in fact, has more speaking parts than even Othello himself. A man that can even convince his own wife to help with his masterfully manipulated puppetry of Othello, Desdemona, Rodrigo, Cassio, and Emilia is an exquisite character. This villain seems to have no real motive for his actions, but the enjoyment of the trouble he causes and the fact that Othello passed him over for his lieutenant. (Although, Iago seems to
How is Iago an intriguing character? Across the history of literature, we as readers have encountered many villains whom intrigue us. Iago from the play “Othello” is a prime example. Known as one of Shakespeare’s most sinister and manipulative villains, Iago commits countless betrayals without arousing suspicion. Throughout the play, we see Iago 's constant scheming to exploit lives- particularly Othello’s. Despite his malevolence however, Iago possesses a complexity that we find compelling and
villain refers to a character who is ruthless, cunning, and an all-around mastermind who keeps the audience guessing. One of the most interesting villains is Iago from William Shakespeare’s Othello. Iago is a villain who has been analyzed for 500 years and still has no clear motivations for his evil acts. Fast forward a few centuries from the time Iago was created and take one of the most interesting characters from the CW’s television series The Vampire Diaries who happens to be the elusive vampire, Katherine
Iago, manipulative and complicated depicts the villain in the play Othello. He sucks the resources out of the characters in a non literal sense planting seeds in their mind allowing them grow by using lies and deceptions. Throughout the play he gradually gains more power through the cultivating of ideas in the characters minds within the play using what he has planted and going off that. Although, Iago didn’t plan his actions in a personal planner or a step by step table he did structure a strategic