Othelo by William Shakespeare

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In his play Othello, William Shakespeare depicts themes of flattery, deceit, mistrust, and manipulation. Iago, the main antagonist, exudes and exemplifies all these traits simply out of spite for Othello because Othello gave a promotion to Cassio instead of Iago. This festering jealousy will continue to breed and grow inside of Iago and will eventually dictate his actions that cause him to exude traits of deceitfulness and dishonesty. Iago will make any attempt to preserve his so called “honesty” in order to manipulate anyone he chooses. By the end of Othello, Iago clearly shows no remorse and proves himself to be fully depraved.
At the outset of Othello, the audience learns that Roderigo is asking assistance from Iago to acquire Desdemona who is rumored to be with Othello. Immediately, Iago shows his shallow, Machiavellian nature by accepting the task for the money. With a few words, Iago persuades Roderigo to confront Desdemona’s father Brabantio and make him wary of his daughter’s lack of presence. Iago instructs Roderigo by saying, “Call up her father, Rouse him…poison his delights…do, with like timorous accent and dire yell” (1.1. 64-65, 72). Instead of wholeheartedly helping Roderigo with his problem, Iago’s main goal is to get Brabantio to face-off against Othello. Due to his jealousy of Cassio, Iago is now unraveling his master plan to bring about doubt and confusion unto Othello. Whenever Roderigo awakens Brabantio from his rest, however, Brabantio appears angry at these supposedly false accusations by Roderigo. Realizing this, Iago steps in and works his magic upon Brabantio; Iago has a natural ability to manipulate words in such as manner as to acquire a certain reaction that he wants to get. Despite Brabantio yelling ...

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...o shows no grief, remorse, or compassion towards the dead. He has become truly depraved.

Works Cited

Bradley, A. C. "From Shakespearean Tragedy." Othello / William Shakespeare Criticism.
Singnet, 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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Kottman, Paul, Dr. "The Apologetics of Evil: The Case of Iago (review)." Project MUSE. Johns
Hopkins University Press, 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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Newton, Joshua. "The Green-eyed Monster and the Moor of Venice." Yahoo Contributor
Network. Yahoo News Network, 08 Jan. 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
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Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1999. Print.

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