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The Character of Iago in Shakespeare's Othello Essay
What are the character traits of Iago in the play Othello by william shakespear
Character analysis of Iago in othello
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Recommended: The Character of Iago in Shakespeare's Othello Essay
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 in Iago 's motives. Iago is the most controversial character in Othello. He is able to keep his true thoughts and motives from everyone. Iago pretends to have so many motives that they seem more like excuses. Iago then uses these excuses to justify his actions, which are pure evil. Iago has motives and actions that cause even moreover his actions. Iago is not looking for justification that causes him to act the way he does. There is much more though to Iago. He is not a man of only excuses, he has goals with his motives, which causes him to act the way he does.
In first scene of the play Iago shows us strong motives for his actions. In this first scene we see Othello, a general of Venice, has made Cassio his new lieu ant. Iago feels he truly deserves his promotion as he says "I know my price, I am worth more no worse a place Iago over here is confused why Othello has made such a stupid decision. Iago is a man with a tremendous ego. Roderigo, a Venetian gentleman, understands Iago. Iago wants to use Othello for his personal goals. We also must put ourselves into Iago 's shoes. He is a man whose self-esteem and professional carrier have just been torn apart. Iago makes his actions of
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He admits, he does love her. Not for nothing but for revenge. This claim of love for Desdemona is way Iago to seek revenge on Othello. Again, Iago does still believe that Othello had an affair with his wife Emilia. His motive is to seek revenge and get even with Othello as he says that he swears upon everything that his wife is his only wife. Iago’s motive is to make Othello overcome by jealousy, "At least into a jealousy so strong”. that he will not be able to see or think straight. Iago says that jealousy is an affective
“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 is widely known as one of Shakespeare’s most famous villains and this is because of the way in which Shakespeare has presented him. Iago is presented to be a man of pure evil who eliminates any form of happiness of hope within the play. The quotation: “Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” shows Iago diminishing the virtue of Othello and pointing out that everyone is willful and has virtue until their true intent comes to light. Iago’s attitudes towards women are also very poignant within the play and are one of the aspects of his archetype that are remembered the most. Furthermore, a majority of villains have a reason or an intention to want to cause havoc or to turn to the side of evil. For example, in Hamlet, he is motivated by revenge and achieving what was once lost. In Romeo and Juliet, honour is a prominent theme, alongside the need to keep an age old rivalry that has descended from other generations. However, Iago has no real intentions apart from despising Othello for not offering him the promotion and then later suspects that Othello could be having an affair with his wife, Emilia. Therefore, the fact that he has no hard intention for wanting to ruin the life of Othello and others, is a reason as to why he may be despised by
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.
As early as the first scene of the play Iago shows us strong motives for his actions. In this first scene we see Othello, a general of Venice, has made Cassio his new lieutant. Iago feels he truly deserves his promotion as he says "I know my price, I am worth more no worse a place."(l.i.12) Iago over here is confused why Othello has made such a stupid decision. Iago is a man with a tremendous ego who knows, sometimes overestimates, his worth. Roderigo, a Venetian gentleman, understands Iago when Iago said that he is "affined to love the Moor."(l.i.41-42) What Iago really means is "I follow him to serve my term upon him."(l.i.45) Iago wants to use Othello for his personal goals. We also must put ourselves into Iago's shoes. He is a man whose self-esteem and professional carrier have just been torn apart. Iago makes his actions of revenge toward Othello almost immediately by informing Brabantio, a Venetian senator and father of Desdemona, that "an old black ram (Othello) is tupping (his) white ewe (Desdemona)."(l.i.97)
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.
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 to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits him; all the while he is pushing Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, Emilia, and Cassio to their tragic end.
To better understand Iago’s effect on these different characters, it is important to look in to his own character. Iago’s motives are not clear, however, it is true that he despises Othello, and that he is jealous of the fact that Michael Cassio had taken over the role of lieutenant; a role that Iago wanted very badly. It is in the beginning of the play that Iago confesses to follow Othello but not be loyal to him,
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, Iago demonstrates a mastery of manipulation over people who had previously trusted and confided in him. His sudden turn from Othello’s loyal ensign to rage-filled villain seems indicative of a man who can no longer accept his position in life. Iago’s plotting of Othello’s demise starts as idle talk of a disgruntled 28 year-old career military man passed over for promotion. Iago believes that such a promotion may never come after Othello rejects his candidacy and makes it clear that he did not believe him suitable. He sees Othello is only concerned with personal and political gain with his choice of Cassio as lieutenant. When Iago teams with love-scorned and desperate Roderigo, he begins to construct Othello’s downfall. Iago is declaring an all-out covert war on Othello, Cassio, and anyone else who gets in his way. In Iago’s first speech in Act I Scene II, he proclaims hatred for Othello and lays out his plan for seeking vengeance. “After some time, to abuse Othello’s ears that he is too familiar with his wife (Shakespeare 1473).”
He is greedy for power and jealous of Cassio for being promoted above. him, and will do anything to stop Othello and Cassio. In Act 1 Scene 1, Iago starts to manipulate Othello straight away. Iago speaks to Roderigo about how he despises Othello and wants revenge. I will be a sailor.
Shakespeare develops the character Iago into an instigator and evil man. Iago attempts and succeeds to convince Othello that his wife has had an affair with his friend Cassio. We see Iago beginning his plans at the very start of the play. “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at, I am not what I am.”(Oth 1:1:64-65) He immediately tries to start trouble with Brabantio and Othello over the marriage to Desdemona. Iago want to get in Othello’s way because he was passed over for general and Cassio was chosen instead. We see from the start how he plots against Othello and he involves several characters in his plans. “And what’s he then that says I play the villain? When this advice is free. I give and honest, probal to thinking, and indeed the course to win the Moor again? For tis easy Th’ inclining Desdemona to subdue in any honest suit; she’s framed as fruitful…”(2:3:295-300).
He says: "I love the gentle Desdemona", and this suffices to explain his feelings. It is obvious that Othello is a much 'deeper', more sensitive man than Iago. Another contrast is that Iago's motivation is himself and his self-interest. Iago desires success and gain for himself and no other. It appears that his major grudge against Othello is that he promoted "a fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife" (that is, Cassio) above himself.
...ctions, Iago is merely seeking his own happiness. Iago, just as Othello, is entitled to pursuing his happiness to whatever extent is pleasing to him. Unlike Iago, Othello is naive and unable to see through deception. Also, it is because of Othello's unfair decision to grant Cassio the promotion, that Iago is forced to protect his happiness and his dream. Iago's desire to secure the lieutenancy and create a better life for himself, and his willingness to stop at nothing in achieving his dream, is not villainous, but noble and acceptable.
Iago was the main character who caused all the destruction at the end of the play, however there was always some worries going along in the play because Othello was a black man and he was married to the young, very much younger than him, Desdemona. Who also is a white lady. Neither the less this essay is not about Othello and Desdemona. Iago had Othello believe that Cassio was having an affair with Desdemona. There isn't really any conclusion or reasoning for Iago's doings, perhaps besides the only reason which he knows. And that reason none of us know of. The only conclusion i can come up with on why Iago has done what he done is because he was looking out for himself. This reminds me of a saying i use to always hear. "Nothing is going to happen for yourself unless you make it happen yourself." I don't know if Iago knew what the outcome of his doings would be, which was death for him, but i do believe he did the things he did because he was looking out for himself.
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 naïve 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 has “Honest” Iago, which is a direct showing of irony because Iago is not honest at all (Shakespeare, I, iii. 289). Iago is so angry that Othello didn’t give him the promotion that was given to Cassio that he plans to seek revenge against Othello. He seeks his revenge against Othello by manipulating and lying to all of the people around him including his closest friend Roderigo, Cassio, Othello’s wife Desdemona and even his own wife Emilia. In the end, Iago’s lies and manipulation led to the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, Othello and Desdemona. This isn’t the first time many of these individual characteristics have shown up in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
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.