Motivation for Iago's Actions in William Shakespeare's Othello
There are many different motivations to Iago's actions. Reading
through the materials I have been given, I have come to the decision
that Iago is a 'homosexual' and is actually in love with Othello, but
I will also explain the different motives behind Iago's character.
Iago is shown to be a good character in the eyes of Othello,
Desdemona, Emilia and Cassio, but when their backs are turned towards
him he speaks the truth to the audience. Iago is a strong character
and is able to hide his emotions towards people very well. Other
specific motives for Iagos plans could be that he has desires to be
with Desdemona by making Othello go crazy and turns desdemona against
him, another one is that he could be acting out in hatred towards
Othello for not making him his lieutenant, or possibly as professor
Stanley Wells says "He's evil because he's evil".
Iago could not have any motives at all and could just be using
everybody like he uses Roderigo by telling him to give him all his
money to him and he would make sure that Desdemona would be his, "Put
money in thy purse" (Act 1 scene 3 line 336).
There could be other explanations to his motives, Iago is a good judge
of character and can make good observations about them, even if he has
not met them before he knows what they are planning. Iago could be
naturally making trouble between Othello and Cassio, so Othello kills
Cassio and then Iago can become Othello's lieutenant. At the start of
the play Iago is upset that Othello made Cassio his lieutenant when he
is talking to Roderigo "In personal suit to make me his lieutenant"
(Act 1 scene 1 line 9).
Iago believes that the society is he lives in is male dominated and
that women shouldn't get involved with what the men are doing. He also
believes that women should stay in the home where they should be "Be
wise, and get you home" this is what he tells her when they have found
“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’
then think that he was on their side he could manipulate them and make them
In Othello, Shakespeare forms the villainous character, Iago through his complex language. Iago shows his evil nature towards Roderigo through his use of demeaning animal imagery. Iago also uses an extended metaphor to try and trick the ignorant Roderigo and (unknowingly to Roderigo), insults him. Lastly, Iago uses repetition to beguile Roderigo to keep paying him. Iago’s slyness is clearly seen through his deceiving language towards the end of Act I.
Iago is the main antagonists against Othello, throughout the entire play. Iago is not realistically motivated. Even though Iago makes many of his decisions with careful thought, he does have a main flaw that will come back to haunt him in the end. Iago unlike other characters, doesn’t have true honorable morals. Because of this, he makes many situations which are manageable, and takes them further out of proportion he does this for his own pure enjoyment to create havoc for sport. Iago manipulates the characters who trust too easily, such are Roderigo and Othello. Iago uses them as an addition to his plans, which he manages so they will work in his favor in the end, or so he believes they will.
When the concept of murder is brought, it is thought of weapons being used for reasons such as crime and for justice. Nevertheless, what if a particular attribute exhibited by someone ends up being the root cause of somebody’s death? No doubt, Iago is a devious character who would get away with about anything to fulfill his obligation into acquiring a higher position of authority. The overall concept of the play can be perplexing to the reader when it comes to who is to blame for the death of several major characters – Othello’s inability to control his emotions or take other people’s feelings into account leads to death of his beloved with and himself; none of this wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for Iago who made this plan in the first place.
Critics such as M. R. Ridley believe that the ability to hurt is the most
The Motivations of Iago in Othello 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 uncover Iago's motives. Iago is the most controversial character in Othello. He is able to keep his true thoughts and motives from everyone.
Everybody knows that the most enthralling stories have a good villain. A “good” 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 Pierce. Both of these villains are similar in their manipulative nature, their motivations, and their impacts on the characters and stories.
Iago's Manipulation of Characters in William Shakespeare's Othello. Introduction The play 'Othello' was created by William Shakespeare. Othello is a tale set in Venice at the time when adultery was a hanging offence. It is a tale all about jealousy and manipulation by one of the main characters, i.e. the characters, Iago.
Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue.
her off to school. She tells him that he should "keep a strict eye on her,
The events that occur in the first half of Act 1 are all in anticipation of the lead character Othello who we are not immediately introduced too. We learn Iago’s name in the second line of the play and Roderigo’s soon after, but Othello is not mentioned by his name once. Instead he is referred to as ‘he’, ‘him’ and is frequently described as ‘the moor’ (1.1.58) he is also described as having ‘thick lips’ (1.1.67) and later as being a ‘Barbary horse’ (1.1.111) is continuously described by his critics, mainly Iago, as a ‘moor’, demonstrating Iago’s frequently concerning nature of race and also portraying Othello as something of an alien. From this reference we are able to immediately understand Iago’s true feelings and motives for Othello.
How does one create the perfect villain for a story? What qualities are needed in such a character? A good place to start when constructing a villain is to look at William Shakespeare’s villain in Othello, a man called Iago. Iago is wonderfully devious. Throughout the play, he not only poisons Othello’s vision of Desdemona, he does this with no one, excepting Roderigo, the wiser. There are several reasons that make Iago such a terrifying villain. Shakespeare gave certain qualities to his creation that made Iago more than just a evil character. These qualities transform Iago into the truly insidious character seen in the play. From the beginning of Othello to the time that Iago is revealed as the culprit, everyone trusts Iago and looks to him for advice. This gives Iago the means and opportunity to pull off his villainy.
Iago is a powerful predator who exploits those around him by infecting their perceptions of truth with carefully chosen fallacy. His skill in finding the proverbial chinks in others' armor allows him to skillfully weave his machinations of destroying Othello into their minds and actions; by manipulating character's perceptions of Desdemona, Iago gains the leverage he needs to exploit each character. No one is impervious to Iago's seething purpose; even Othello falls prey to Iago's suggestions and insinuations about Desdemona. Iago's constant presence as the stager, as well as his ceaseless - but subtle - reinforcement of events through narration, allows him to be the pivotal force that directs Shakespeare's Othello.
Iago has been to blame for the downfall of Othello because he is the one that created the jealousy within Othello. Iago started this because he was jealous of Othello because he was not made lieutenant, and Cassio was. Iago has been selfish and takes it upon himself to get revenge against Othello.