Iago has the ability to manipulate and hurt many characters for his personal gain throughout Othello. Iago uses flattery to Brabantio to stir bad emotions. Iago desires for Brabantio to seek out his daughter and separate her from “the Moor.” In order to achieve this, he must convince Brabantio of his honesty. Iago twists the truth and says to Brabantio, “I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (Shakespeare 5). Iago gives a sense of offense and rudeness, making Brabantio feel uncomfortable. Iago manipulates the situation and turns Brabantio feelings towards Othello bitter. Iago uses racist and animal imagery to relate to Othello, which he knows will stir anger in Brabantio. This…
Shakespeare has created the character of Iago as the villain of the play. He drives the plot as he schemes and manipulated other characters. He fascinates and terrifies the audience with his revengeful plotting which he has no real motivation for.…
In analysis of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of “Othello,” famed 20th century literary critic W.H. Auden suggests that all the dastardly deeds are of Iago’s doing, and that “everything he sets out to do, he accomplishes”. I personally agree with this stance, as well as Auden’s proclamation that Iago is a “triumphant villain”. To fully understand how Iago fits the role of the “triumphant villain,” however, one must understand that there are two parts to this claim.…
From the onset of Othello, the audience is unknowingly subject to Iago’s manipulative customs. Despite being a stereotypical Shakespearian antagonist, Iago is a complex, two faced, yet three dimensional, character. Despite being an eponymous play, suggesting Othello’s importance, his absence in light of Iago’s presence allows the audience to be influenced and therefore misled by Iago’s representation of Othello…
In 1603, William Shakespeare wrote a tragedy called Othello about a Spanish moor that ultimately fell victim to his own skepticism and emotions and murders his wife due to the machinations of his ancient, Iago. Iago is the most interesting character in this Shakespearean play and in fact, has more speaking parts than even Othello himself. A man that can even convince his own wife to help with his masterfully manipulated puppetry of Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, Cassio, and Emilia is an exquisite character. This villain seemed to have no real motive for his actions, but the enjoyment of the trouble he caused and the fact that Othello passed him over for his lieutenant. Although, Iago seems to quite, passionately want Othello’s affections, whether…
In the play Othello written by Shakespeare, Iago is characterized as an individual who is both manipulative, egoistic and troubled. He had previously suspected that Othello, otherwise known as Moor had slept with his wife Emilia. Leaving Iago with a strong desire for revenge. Shakespeare successfully uses diction and symbolism throughout the passage. These devices are used to provide the reader insights regarding Iago’s character and motivation.…
B. Iago suggests to Othello that Cassio will gloat to others about his conquest of Desdemona before telling Othello that Cassio boasted to him that he did indeed sleep with Desdemona.…
Iago is seen, by other characters in the play as honest and trust worthy and is often referred to as “honest Iago.” Through dramatic irony it is revealed, to the audience, that Iago is in fact a cunning, evil and insidious character as he is “serving [Othello] to take advantage of him” for not promoting…
A thorough analysis of the play Othello tends to reveal that the focus of the play is actually about Othello’s flaws and weaknesses rather than Iago’s villainy. This conclusion has been reached due to the fact that many elements of drama as well as a characteristic of Shakespearean tragedy are centered on Othello and his imperfections. In essence, the conflict and thematic concerns which Shakespeare addresses, surround Othello’s flaws, whereas his downfall as the protagonist fulfills the requirements of a Shakespearean tragedy. Despite this, Iago has undoubtedly contributed to the play with his masterful manipulation as a Machiavellian villain. In solidifying this theory, four key factors must be examined; the first three points address the fact that Othello’s flaws and weaknesses are the focus of the play through his involvement in the dramatic elements of the play. They are: his involvement in the major conflict, his involvement in the main theme and Othello having a tragic flaw. On the other hand, the final point is Iago as the foundation for the conflict.…
Humans are born with a natural capacity for good and evil. As an individual develops, he or she is taught to distinguish between the two in order to strengthen a sense of right and wrong. Through Shakespeare’s play, ‘Othello’ (Heinemann Advanced Shakespeare, 2000) we are introduced to a meticulously devious character, Iago. Ironically affiliated with the military, a substandard moral compass, channels his unreasonable code of conduct. Well educated on human behaviour, his lack of ethics enables his character to exploit this skill set to deceive those around him, ultimately disguising his true character. Between self-perception, opposing character perceptions and audience perception, Iago portrays a brilliantly, manipulative villain whose two dimensional nature is concealed beneath sheets of false sympathy, integrity and empathy.…
Othello, a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603, is a tragedy that was driven by both vindictiveness and racial prejudice. Iago is the antagonist of the play who persuades Othello into thinking that Desdemona, Othello’s wife, is committing adultery behind his back. Through the story, we will be able to identify adultery as the main theme of the play, and it plays a major role in Iago’s plan to destroy Othello. Iago can be characterized as a very malicious and manipulative character who uses his wordplay to deceive others. In this essay, I will be analyzing the text to exhibit that Iago’s motives were both vindictive, malign, and racially motivated.…
Throughout the play Iago displays an ability to identify flaws and weaknesses of others, which allows him to create devastation through subverting others who follow their own agenda, to achieve a web of events. In the quote “Where I the Moor, I would not be Iago. In following him, I follow but myself” – Act I, Scene I, Iago explains to Roderigo, that he follows Othello, not out of love or duty, but because he feels he can exploit Othello’s flaws. Iago identifies Othello’s trusting nature, as seen in the quote “That thinks men honest that but seem to be so” Act I, Scene II and plans to use Othello’s trust in him, which he considers is a flaw, to bring about Othello’s downfall. Shakespeare uses the character Iago to highlight issues relating to trust and betrayal “I follow him, to serve my turn upon him”- Iago, Act I, Scene I. Iago is the ultimate protagonist, his lack of morals, duplicitous nature and ability to manipulate others allows him to make Othello trust in the untrustworthy, Iago, and betray the people loyal to him, Desdemona. The central themes of trust and betrayal in Othello are reliant on the character Iago to create and accentuate. It is this reliance on Iago that suggests that he is a central for the understanding and interpreting of the play…
In Shakespeare’s “Othello” the character Iago is considered to be the most dangerous of villains. He is a genuine schemer and manipulator, as he is often referred to as “honest Iago”, showing his skills at deceiving other characters so that not only do they suspect him but rely on him for the help that he promised to give. Iago repeatedly betrays other characters while keeping up his reputation as being an honest and noble man. His true thoughts are only revealed through his soliloquies. Iagos soliloquies shows he is searching for motives that he can’t find and only does the terrible things he does to benefit himself, which is inherently evil.…
Iago is not only an ingenious villain but also a manipulator with the utmost skill. Iago creates hatred and jealousy in Othello, tricks Cassio and makes a fool of Roderigo. He holds everyone that is important in his plans in the palm of his hand and he does with them as he so wishes. But how is this? How is one man able to manipulate so many and create so much hatred and jealousy that all sense is no more?…
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the characters’ personalities and motivations influence the plot heavily. Iago is driven by his jealousy of Cassio and his desire to exact revenge on Othello. Othello’s trusting nature leads to his undoing in the play. Iago takes advantage of how he’s seen in the eyes of those around him to carry out his plans. Although Othello is the protagonist of the play and Iago is the antagonist, the two characters are not the ultimate portrayals of good and evil. Othello is not a war between good and evil, but instead a demonstration on how destructive jealousy and gullibleness can be.…