In the plays “The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice” and “The Merchant of Venice” the villains show us their many powers and their weaknesses. In “The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice” Igao is our villain. We see how Igao’s powers and weaknesses affect him and how affect the people he comes into contact with throughout the play. In the play “The Merchant of Venice”, Shylock is our villain. Shylock has many powers and weaknesses as well. Throughout the play we witness how Shylock’s powers and weaknesses affect him. In the play “The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice”, we immediately learn that Igao is our villain; in Act 1 Scene 1 we see his evil nature. Igao’s power is that he is an amazing liar and a master manipulator. …show more content…
Igao is jealous of Othello and Cassio which he tells us right away “One Michael Cassio, a Florentine... / That never set a squadron in the field, / Nor the division of a battle knows / More than spinster, unless the bookish theoric, / Wherein the tongued consuls can propose / As masterly as he/ Mere prattle without practice / Is all his soldiership…” (1.1.19-26). Igao is jealous of Othello’s power and influence on the people around him. This leads Igao to suspect that Emilia is cheating with Othello even though he has no proof. He is jealous of Othello and Desdemona’s loving relationship. He is extremely jealous of the promotion that Cassio received because Igao believes that Cassio is inexperienced in battle and the promotion should’ve been his. Igao’s jealously is what makes him so evil. Igao’s uncontrollable jealousy is what causes him to manipulate people into doing what he wants. He makes people make bad decisions based off of his lies. Another weakness Igao has is that he is very unhappy. It is clear to the readers that Igao is miserable. He did not receive the promotion he thought he deserved, Cassio did. Igao is unhappy with his marriage, he finds himself unable to trust his wife with Othello in the picture. Igao’s unhappiness with his marriage causes him to tear apart Othello’s …show more content…
Shylock’s weakness is his humanity. Shylock has been picked on all his life for being different because he is a Jew. A weakness that is made throughout the play is that he cares more about his missing possessions than his missing daughter. Shylock is made out to be greedy. As soon as we start to hate Shylock for loving his poessessions more than his daughter we find out that he is so upset because his daughter has run off with a gift that his dead wife had given him. Shylock’s humanity is his weakness because he hates Christian’s for the way they have treated him in the past, but he knows deep down that Christian’s and Jews are the same at heart. In Shylock’s speech he tells us how Christian’s and Jews are equal. They both bleed red, they die, and laugh. Shylock’s humanity is what makes him jealous and angry. Shylock’s humanity shows that he is angry and cannot forgive the Christian’s for the torture that they put them
“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’
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
There exists a kind of person who can be called by no other name than by “Magnificent Bastard”. They are masters of deception, bloody brilliant, unstoppable in achieving their goals even when it means grinding others into the dust, and yet they have such a flair, such a charming disposition, that they are often admired by even those who are wronged by them. Iago in Shakespeare’s play Othello is one such character. The audience may love or hate him, but either way they must admit that he commands the spot-light. In spite of this, the reason why Iago acts as he does is shrouded in mystery. Even when directly speaking to the audience about his motivations, Iago is not always truthful. In reality, while Iago derives great pleasure from manipulating others, his driving motivation throughout the entire play is his own jealousy; from being unrecognized for his greatness, to an impossible love for Desdemona, and of the virtuous characters all around him.
In the story of Othello we see how the actions of one man go on to ruin the lives of multiple people. The villain Iago single-handedly creates the tragedy of Othello through his puppeteer like control of the other characters in the play. Iago captivates the audience as his plan progresses. Readers are anxious to know what will happen next in the play. What makes Iago so fascinating is his mysteriousness as a character, his fully devious ways, and how magnificently clever he is in organizing the demise of Othello.
In everyones life there is always the one person who you think you can trust, and later come to find that they have been playing you all along. This is the exact case for Othello. Iago, whom Othello thought was a person he could trust, betrayed him in many horrific ways.As you read the famous Shakespearian play, Othello, the Moor of VeniceI, you come to realise pretty quickly that Iago is the evil charecter in this play. The readers do not actually get to see a good side of Iago, if there is any, because he is constantly using and playing people. Readers will also come to learn that no matter how evil Iago may be perceived as that he is very much a coward, using other people to do most of his dirty work for him.
Shylock is routinely viewed as a shark feeding off of those that need his assistance. However, he had practically no choice in what work he was able to do as Jewish people in this time and place were limited to being bankers. He was cunning enough to make the money that was the only thing ensuring the survival of his family in a world that sought to tear them apart. Additionally, Vladek’s money and belongings saved his and Anja’s lives many times, such as using his resources on the black market to trade for additional food due to the measly rations they received and using his savings to keep the family afloat when his factory was taken over. They cannot be blamed for their need for money as it is more than a means for happiness, but has served as a means of survival time and time
Although many arguments could take place over the blame of Othello’s fate, the one murderer no one doubts is jealousy. Although Othello’s insecurities and “blindness” along with one of the most duplicitous villains in all of literature definitely catalyze the deaths at the conclusion of the play, in the end Othello must suffer the consequences manipulated or not. Despite the number of uninteresting characters in the play, Othello, the Moor of Venice contains one of the most intricate characters in any of Shakespeare’s plays, and will be discussed and intensely argued forever.
What should be noticed in particular is that, essentially, Shakespeare invented Iago; set him down in his dramatis personae with the single epithet “a villain”; and devoted most of the play’s lines and scenes to showing in detail the cunning, malignancy, and cruelty of his nature, including the cowardice of his murder of his wife. It seems to me therefore impossible to believe, as some recent critics would have us do, that the root causes of Othello’s ruin are to be sought in some profound moral or psychological deficiency peculiar to him. (137)
Shakespeare Othello was an act of many evil traits, including betrayal, manipulation and jealousy. Evil can be described as an act of someone who causes grievance, destruction, or impairment for one owns satisfaction; Iago, unquestionably, fits the description. Othello represented these traits through character, Iago, as he reveals his true nature of evil by diminishing people lives and becoming the downfall of many people around him. “Hell and night/ Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light” (I, iii, 394-396). Though Iago may not have a purpose of participating in many of his act of evil, he presents it as a self-obsessed driven supremacy. He plots to destroy Othello and to gain dominance by observing each weakness from Othello, and takes advantage of it. He uses his aid of human nature to help with his evil schemes and plots throughout the play. Because he identified Othello’s weaknesses and was able to use verbal persuasion to not only gain Othello’s trust, but to also use that as a benefit to what he wanted to accomplish. It is great importan...
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.
Othello is a steadfast leader that the reader finds him or herself wanting to be more like. His experiences are unparalleled and that’s what makes him such a popular leader. He has seen many battles and fought many fights; his stories are legendary among those who revere him. In our day he would be the man every man wants to be like and the man every woman wants, but even those who are revered have enemies. If this were not the case then there would be no means for him to have become so revered. In overcoming so many obstacles Othello made a most convincing enemy. In this article we will explore Iago’s dark secrets and expose and examine what makes him such a great villain. William Shakespeare used various literary devices such as characterization, metaphors, irony, and symbols to portray Iago as a cunning villain.
The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice was written by William Shakespeare, and it is only one of countless notable plays he wrote. A reoccurring theme in Othello is jealousy brought on usually by deception; throughout the play people often hide their true intentions and are not always what they appear to be like W.H Auden said “There 's always another story. There 's more than meets the eye.” The relationships Iago built on manipulation, lies, and false promises were a crucial part of the play; Iago was able to deceive other characters by twisting the situation so that characters like Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello misinterpreted what they saw. However, he was not the only one to put up a front in Othello; Emilia also put up a façade when
William Shakespeare, in his play, “Othello the Moor of Venice”, brings to life one of his most complex villains, Iago. Iago plays the ancient of Othello, who is the general of the Venetian forces. As an ancient, Iago is to be a loyal servant to Othello. However, Iago has grown bitter and contempt and uses his supposed loyalty as a wedge to cause Othello’s demise.
In this essay I will try to discover is Shylock a villain or a victim, in the William Shakespeare play “A Merchant of Venice”
“Othello” is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. The play focuses around a core group of characters that includes Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Michael Cassio, and Barbantio. These characters shape the story. The protagonist is Othello, who is a high ranking member of the Venetian army. Othello falls victim to betrayal by his “right-hand man,” antagonist Iago. Iago gives Othello the impression that he is trustworthy and a close friend, but this is a mask of his true feelings for Othello. Throughout the play, Iago repeatedly expresses his hate for his general. He devises plans to try to humiliate Othello. His first plans center around Michael Cassio, who is Othello’s lieutenant. When this scheme falls through, Iago then focuses on Othello’s