othello

The play Othello by the late William Shakespeare follows the story of a black army general who is blinded by jealousy for his wife, Desdemona. Throughout the play, every major character who played a significant role in the development in the plot experienced a downfall of some sort. These characters initially possessed positive values that ended up playing a role in their defeat or loss. Iago, the antagonist of the play who sought out revenge against Othello, possessed the value of power to prove he was a leader which later resulted in the corruption of his morals. His value of pride demonstrated his confidence which later resulted in his egotistical personality. Also, Iago’s value of ambition towards succeeding in his ruthless plan against Othello helped portray Iago’s trait of devotion towards achieving his goals. However, this ambition overtook his priorities. Othello’ ancient, Iago, may have succeeded in taking away the lives whom he wanted to get revenge against, however, due to his actions in play, Iago’s positive values of power, pride, and ambition turned against him in the end.

Iago’s thirst for power over Othello and everyone else was clearly evident throughout the play which made him a reliable person; however, this power that Iago gained was later abused for the wrong reasons. Othello first made Iago his ancient (captain) for the army which made people believe that he was to be trusted and was reliable. Othello thought of Iago as a great leader who he was able to deliver him reliable news when he said, “I know, Iago,/Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,/ Making it light to Cassio” (2.3.246-248). This quote is significant because it makes it clear that Othello believes that Iago is honest by being his ancien...

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...wrong about this plan. At the end of the play, Iago was successful in getting revenge against Othello. On the other hand, many unexpected casualties and fatalities resulted from Iago’s ambitions. Only at the end did Iago realize this when he said, “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. / From this time forth I will never speak word” (5.2.316-317). This is significant because Iago says that he will not be speaking one word after realizing that Othello was not dead at the moment but Desdemona and Rodrigo were, both of whom he never intended to get revenge on. This ambition towards getting revenge on Othello proved to be fatal for Iago because his morals became corrupted which ultimately led to his imprisonment. Although Iago’s initial ambitions may have been pure, this value of ambition turned in the wrong direction when he was ambitious for the wrong reasons.