Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello
Iago has many motives for destroying the other characters in the play.
One of these is jealousy. Iago is jealous of Othello, Desdemona,
Cassio and even his own wife, Emilia. He is jealous of Othello for
many reasons. Iago wants the power and the respect that Othello has.
We see this in Act 2 scene 1 where Iago says ‘the moor- howbeit I
endure him not- is of a constant, loving, noble nature’ which hints
that he wants what Othello has as they are both opposites and these
attributes may be the ones he will need to gain power. Iago is jealous
of Othello’s marriage with the senator’s daughter as it gives Othello
even more power and an attractive wife- he envies Othello for his wife
as he states ‘I do love her too’ which suggest that Iago may have
feelings towards Desdemona making him more jealous of what Othello
has. Also Iago is crude and racist and always calls Othello the ‘moor’
which is a racist term. This could be the reason for his jealousy as
he finds the fact that Othello is above him quite unnatural. In his
soliloquy, Iago states ‘he’s done my office’ referring to Othello,
which means Othello has slept with his wife making him even more
jealous, even though he does not know if it is true or not. Iago is
also jealous of Desdemona. He wants to be in her place- he wants to be
an influential person to Othello- he wants to be closer to him thus
closer to power. He twists the fact that Othello is passionate and
obsessed with Desdemona to his own advantage. We see this when Iago
states that he will ‘put the moor at least into a jealousy so strong
that judgement cannot cure’ meaning that Iago will use...
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...om Cassio) with his words and need not use them
anymore. We are left to make our own minds up about why Iago did it.
There are hints here and there but still we do not know him well
enough to conclude what his reasons were from the evidence we receive
throughout the play. We cannot even be sure that Iago was telling us
his true thoughts in his soliloquies about Othello and Cassio having
slept with Emilia. May be he is motiveless: he just invents reasons to
be bad. We do not hear of the affair situation anywhere outside Iagos
soliloquies. He does say himself ‘I am not what I am’ so does this not
mean that anything he seems to be he is not and everything he says is
a lie. I believe that Iago is the character with the most depth that I
have ever encountered- so much depth that it becomes almost impossible
to analyse him.
Iago would most commonly be referred to as dishonest, however beyond that he is also downright amoral and uses other’s weaknesses to manipulate them into doing what he pleases. From the very beginning we see how Iago manipulates Roderigo by pretending he is looking out for his best interests in the matter of Othello’s elopement with Desdemona. He makes Barbantio angry with Othello and Desdemona by telling him about their elopement then lying about the consummation of their relationship. He then leaves Roderigo to take responsibility for his (Iago’s) actions. In the meantime he goes off to inform Othello that Roderigo is accountable for telling Barbantio about the relationship and saying horrible things about Othello. Iago later brings Roderigo back into his quest for revenge when he tries to get Cassio fired from the position that Iago originally wished to obtain. Although Cassio knows it is against his better judgement to drink, Iago manipulates him into getting drunk then stages a fight between Roderigo and Cassio. He even goes as far as to try to make Cassio look bad by telling Montano that he gets drunk regularly. Upon Iago’s explanation of the situation Othello promptly fires Cassio from his position and Iago becomes more respected in Othello’s eyes. Roderigo is a prime example of how Iago uses people to fulfil his desires. Iago convinces Roderigo that he could win Desdemona’s love away from Othello and the only man that stands in the way is Cassio. In this way when he plans to humiliate Cassio it seems as if he is doing it to help out Roderigo when, in actuality, he is seeking revenge on Cassio for taking his position.
where credit is due, Iago is very intelligent and he knows how to get his way.
cunning way. Iago used his public perception, and the insecurities of Othello being a Moor, to
The beginning of the play, Iago was just resentful and odious because of the the jealously he had
He killed Roderigo in the dead of night while the two of them were planning an attack on Michael Cassio. It was Iago’s hope that both Roderigo and Cassio would die that night, but sadly only Roderigo met that fate therefore convicting Iago of attempted first-degree murder. Letters later found on Roderigo and testaments told from onlookers suggest Iago conspired to rise against Othello and take power from the very beginning. Two women from the spectating audience of the trial rose and testified they heard Iago exclaim something along the lines of “For, sir, It is as sure as you are Roderigo, Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago. In following him, I follow but myself. Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so, for my peculiar end. For when my outward action doth demonstrate The native act and figure of my heart In compliment extern, ’tis not long after But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.” (Shakespeare, Act I, Scene I) to Roderigo in Venice a few weeks before the
...n the end of the play. Iago is not really evil or the vice character he is the misunderstood and wonderful character who can only be seen through a certain lens before it all goes back to black and white and good and evil fights one another for the main stage again. Shakespeare pulled many themes into this story but in all truth I believe that Iago is true main character, not Othello or Cassio, but Iago with all of his problems and vices, he is the truest expression of being human.
this with the character of Iago. In the first part of the play most of
Through out the play jealousy is a ruler over Iago’s thoughts and actions, influencing the way he feels about himself. Iago’s jealousy is exhibited while speaking with Roderigo “One Michael Cassio, a Florentine/ (A fellow almost damned in a fair wife)/ That never set a squadron in the field, / Nor the division of a battle knows/ More than a spinster—unless the bookish theoric, / Wherein the toged consuls can propose/ As masterly as he. Mere prattle without practice/ Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had th' election/ And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof/ At Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds/ Christian and heathen, must be belee’d and calmed/ By debitor and creditor./ This counter-caster/ He (in good time) must his lieutenant be/ And I, bless the mark, his Moorship’s ancient”(I.i.18-32) . Through Iago’s tone his enraged anger and discomfort is exhibited. Iago speaks with a sense of shame toward himself, “And I, bless the mark, his Moorship’s ancient” (I.i.32). exposing his loss of respect for himself. When Iago loses respect for himself it is certain he has lost all respect for others, bein...
Iago can be seen as a villain as he is totally evil. He is willing to
states: “Were I the Moor I would not be Iago,” begins Iago abolishing his own identify to
Iago cannot be the only one to be blamed. If Othello has a bit more
This adds to Othello’s jealousy about Desdemona and so he keeps asking more questions about what Iago may know
Iago had to take things in his own hands and do what he felt was best. As i said before i truly don't believe he knew what the outcome would be because nobody wants death and i believe Iago did not want death. When i approached these thesis as of whether Iago can be consider a hero, i had/have a point that can base him as a hero but no for himself but for others. I don't know if that is the way i was suppose to approach the topic, but i do believe Iago was a hero.
Iago's first use in the play was Roderigo who isn't very clever. At the beginning of the play Roderigo and Iago are talking about the "Moor" referred to as Othello and Desdemona. Since Roderigo loves Desdemona, Iago urges him to tell Brabantio that Desdemona his daughter is secretly married to Othello, :
So what drives Iago to commit all these acts? Jealousy is a major portion, but perhaps Iago views this all as a game as well. He prides himself on his wit and cunning and is appreciated for it by his peers. Perhaps it is ego that drives Iago to do all of this, a test of his skills to see if he can keep so many threads playing together and for his benefit.