When reading Shakespeare's “Othello the Moor of Venice”, the two main hero's seem to be very different, both in character and actions.
Othello seems to be an honest man who believes other people. He is respected by society for his nobility and bravery. Iago is a villain, plotting around not only against Othello. Othello demotes him to a lower status, and despite beeing a trained soldier, Iago is quite a coward when it comes to confronting an enemy with a sword.
Although these two figures seem so different, they are [much more] alike, in more than one way. They both share the army way of life, and they tend to curse and use harsh language when upset. They both betray the people they are close to.
Othello and Iago are suspicious towards their wives, threaten them and eventually murder the innocent women.[In this essay we will see that] [D]despite their differences, Othello and Iago are two soul mates, that one way or another let their inner darkness out [and][TO] rule their actions.
One way in which these two characters differ is in their character.
From the beginning of the play, Othello lets Iago get close to him despite the fact that Iago is expected to be jealous of Cassio. This trust develops throughout the play. "O, thou art wise; 'tis certain" (IV, i, 72), Othello says to the villain, completely blinded by his lies. Iago, as can be seen from act one, made up his mind to ruin Othello. "I follow him to serve my turn upon him" (I, i, 42), he tells Roderigo, as he describes the plot against Othello. Another difference is in the way they are viewed by others.Othello is so respected for his services[,] that he doesn't fear any complaints from Barbantio. [HE PROUDLY STATES,]
"My services which I have done the signiory
Shall out-tongue his complaints" (I, ii, 19).
When the senate needs someone to do the job, they ask for Othello
"DUKE: Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you
Against the general enemy Ottoman" (I, iii, 48).
Iago was demoted by Othello, who chose Cassio to be his officer instead of him. Iago is of lower class, and his wife is a servant of Desdemona.
The final major difference between their characters is bravery. Othello, on one hand, is brave. He is c...
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...h, thou liest!” (V, ii, 233). Iago then stabs Emilia, and runs out.
These two characters consistently degrade their wives, threaten them, and eventually murder them.
As Shakespeare shows us, Othello and Iago are different in some ways.Othello, in the beginning, is a respected and brave fellow, who is naïve enough to fall for the scheme of a coward and an upset villain.
However, as the plot evolves, the audience discovers the real Othello. Not only is he a rough army man like Iago, but he uses the same language, and doesn't hesitate to betray a fellow officer and plot to kill him, as Iago does to his friend.
The audience can further see that Othello's attitude towards Desdemona turns out to be suspicious and degrading, just like his villain companion's attitude towards Emilia. Othello's dark personality gives only one conclusion, to what he thinks to be the infidelity of his wife: Murder. As a second half, Iago inevitably murders his wife too.Are they two of a kind? Although Shakespeare separates them to a hero and a villain, the audience can clearly see two characters[,] whose actions, personality, and state of mind, lead them to the same outcome.
Both Iago and Othello are emotional characters with a lot to offer. Othello is a gullible character who places too much trust in the wrong people. He trusts Iago over his own wife, Desdemona, allowing Iago to manipulate his mind. Iago instills doubt in Othello about anyone he has ever trusted, making them all seem untrustworthy. More than anything, Iago uses pathos to appeal to emotion.
In Othello, Iago is Shakespeare’s most malicious character and serves as a vehicle to these two themes. Iago despises Othello; he has a strong will to destroy Othello’s life, yet the motive behind his plan goes unexplained. Iago is a great manipulator of the tongue and lies to everyone in order to advance his plan; however, every character in the play considers Iago an honest character, and Othello even associates Iago with light and eyesight. Othello continuously asks Iago to explain or make something clearer. Until the very end, Iago appears to be honest and helpful to the other characters, but underneath this seemingly harmless façade, Iago is a demon with the strongest will; he will stop at nothing until he ruins Othello’s life. Iago uses a positive appearance to enact his
From the very beginning of Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is held in very high regard within the community in Venice. He is often called “honest Iago” by many people, including his superior, Othello. There is a large juxtaposition between Iago’s character in the beginning of the play, and the general perception at the end of the play, due to Iago’s many character flaws that cause him to create devious plans and a web of deception and lies, spun by his intense anger and hatred. The exposition of Othello holds many indications of the negative traits Iago possesses, and they escalate quickly as the play progresses. There are many points within the play that present Iago falling prey to his issues and therefore lets them control him. Iago’s anger and hatred kept him from dealing with these character flaws and lead to his descent into moral
Othello: The play's protagonist and hero. A Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, Othello is an eloquent and physically powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. He possesses a "free and open nature," which his ensign Iago uses to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful and destructive jealousy
Iago is a man wronged by Othello in the fact that he was not chosen to be Othello’s lieutenant, which is what put the dastardly idea into Iago’s head to trick them all and bring them to their knees. As Iago tells Roderigo within the first act and scene of “Othello”, Despise me if I do not. Three great ones of the city,/ In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,... ... middle of paper ... ... n the end of the play.
Iago is a twenty- eight years old Caucasian married man and he is a 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 leads 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.
Othello is the opposite of Iago in that he does not pride himself on killing people. It may be his strong point, but he feels that it should not be bragged about, especially in noble company.
Othello and Iago Comparison Othello and Iago are different in their characters as well as in their colours. It could be said also, however, that they are similar because of their fallibility. Iago is overcome with his desire for revenge to such an extent that he puts it into action. Othello's love and possessiveness of Desdemona take over him until he eventually would rather kill her than allow anyone else to have her. In this way, despite their contrasts, Iago and Othello both represent the extremity of the same thing - human emotion.
In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Othello, the power of jealousy rips relationships apart and destroys the peace amongst a once pleasant society. The principle character for the aggravation of the other characters is Iago. Iago is angry at Othello for not appointing him as his lieutenant and refuses to let it go. For selfish reasons, Iago plots an evil schemes of revenge towards Othello by making him, and everyone necessary to bring Othello down.
Iago is a very strategic and clever person, and he despises Othello because Othello appointed Cassio as a lieutenant over Iago. He plans to ruin Othello’s life by ruining his relationship with Desdemona. He starts off by telling Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, of Othello and Desdemona’s secret marriage. Iago goes to
Of Shakespeare’s five greatest tragedies, Othello is by far the most passionate and gripping. It is a tale of love, deception, evil, honesty, and virtue. Othello himself is set apart from other Shakespearean tragic heroes by the absolute feeling of affection the audience feels for him even unto the very end of the play. Any discerning reader painfully recognizes the virtue and goodness of Othello throughout the entire play, in contrast to the general degeneration of character so typical of a tragic hero. It is this complete pity that makes the death of Othello so tragic as the audience lends their full hopeful support until the inevitable and unavoidable fall. The evil side of Othello’s tragic flaw came from without, in the form of Iago. The internal flaw exists only in his heartrendingly unshakable goodness and honor.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is the antagonist and villain who causes all the trouble and disorder. Othello is the protagonist, and is the main person Iago’s destruction and revenge is aimed towards. Othello is nave and gives everybody his trust even though he may not know them or they haven’t earned his trust yet. He often refers to Iago as “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289).
In Othello, Iago presents two different motives behind his hatred of Othello. The first motive that Iago uses is that, he was passed over for a promotion, and that the job he deserves was given to Cassio. Cassio was someone who had never seen the battlefield. To Iago this is a complete slap in the face. Two scenes later Iago presents another reason for his hatred for Othello. Rumors have spread around that Othello and Emilia have slept together. Whether or not this is true, Iago sees this as enough reason to get his revenge. As he sets out to destroy more than Cassio throughout the play, Iago was able to plant seeds of doubt, insecurities, and lies. He put this into action with all the supporting characters around him to cause Othello to believe that his wife was in fact having an affair with Cassio, and that was the furthest thing from the truth. He is a master manipulator because he was able to plant these ideas into the other characters heads, and he was able to have other characters around him carry out the actions that nurtured these lies into perceived...
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.
Iago has been excellent at saying the what is needed to get to people, he misleads them to get a reaction he wants out of them. He is clever with his words to avoid confrontation that can easily happen. “Othello 's confusion is the human experience of language. In other words, language itself, not the outside world, determines meaning” (Christofides 2). Iago uses his words against Othello to get him to do Iago’s doings. Iago has an eloquence with