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Machiavellies Character
Machiavellian villains in Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare heavily utilizes a machiavellian character in his tragedy Othello. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a machiavellian character is an individual who “[uses] clever lies and tricks in order to get or achieve something”(CITATION). In Othello, Iago is the exact literary illustration of a machiavellian character.Iago has become so self-involved in seeking Othello’s position that he begins to manipulate other crucial characters in order to cause Othello’s destruction. Overall, Iago mainly manipulated Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello in order demote and steal Othello 's position as general. In addition, Iago has no regard for anyone but himself, despite the consequences that may arrive. In Shakespeare 's play Othello, Iago is a machiavellian character who sets out to destroy all characters who stand in the way of his success. …show more content…
Othello seems to be a man that knows who and what he believes in, but his flaw outweighs the trust he so strongly puts in the individuals who surround him. Since the beginning of Iago’s career alongside Othello, he has slowly been gaining Othello’s trust and Friendship. Othello blindly trusts him because of the outward appearance of Iago’s nature. Slowly Iago begins causing doubts in the mind of Othello, but he advises him to “beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” (CITATION). Iago falsely gives faith to Othello that everything might be a lie in order to further gain his trust as honest Iago. In addition, Iago retains his lies in order to make Othello 's think that he is trying to be a good friend to Cassio as well by keeping this a secret from Othello. The way Othello begins to trust Iago so greatly is his fault. Iago uses Othello 's throughout the fourth act heavily through a series of lies he construes, these lies are not only the end of Othello, Desdemona, and other characters, but the end of Iago as
Othello is such a gullible character with so much trust in the wrong people. He trusts Iago before he trusts his own wife, Desdemona; he let Iago get into his mind. Iago arises any doubt Othello has for anyone he ever trusted making them all seem untrustworthy. More then anything Iago uses pathos to appeal to emotion. “ But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am” (Othello, Shakespeare, Act I Scene I Line 65-66). Iago talks about being open and honest; although this is not true it makes the other characters feel secure. Othello is a strong character, but Iago is his downfall. Blinded by jealousy and questions Othello will no longer trust Desdemona nor Cassio, because of this he will meet his
In a passage from William Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago dramatizes a subsequent conflict between Othello and Desdemona when he warns the former of a green-eyed monster, the manifestation of jealousy. As the play progresses, Othello becomes more like this beast that Iago told him about. Instead of being the honorable and respectable character he was, Othello now displays a more questionable personality, one that causes him to doubt his wife of infidelity. Even though Iago does play a role, it is mostly due to Othello’s insecurity that transforms him into a monstrous person.
While both Othello and Iago are guilty of murder in Shakespeare’s play Othello, Iago is undeniably the villain of the play. Othello tells the story of a Moor general of the same name who marries Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, an Italian senator. Using deceit and manipulation, Iago, whose pride has been injured by Othello after he is overlooked for promotion, gets revenge when he convinces Othello that Desdemona has been having an affair with his lieutenant, Cassio. Othello’s jealousy builds until he murders Desdemona in a fit of rage in the final scene. Immediately after, it is revealed that Iago orchestrated the entire plot and he is executed. Iago has been characterized as a Machiavellian villain by numerous authors. Is this a just characterization? In Ken Jacobsen’s article “Iago’s Art of War: The “Machiavellian Moment” in Othello” Jacobsen reasons that Iago is the perfect example of a Machiavellian villain. He thoroughly examines excerpts from Machiavelli’s works and compares it with examples gleaned directly from the play. Jacobsen argues Iago fits the image of a Machiavellian villain as he is strategic, well-spoken, duplicitous and able to understand and manipulate the psychology of others. I would agree with his assessment based on the evidence he presents along with further examples I have found in the play.
Iago wanted Othello’s position and used others to shame Othello and gain stature. Iago dressed himself up a trustworthy man and worked his way into Othello’s trust with tricks and lies. He wore a very convincing mask; often temporarily defending the person he was trying to ruin to further his honest visage. He says to Othello, “Men should be what they seem…” (3.3.127) through these methods, Iago convinces Othello that Cassio, an officer, was having an affair with Othello’s beautiful wife Desdemona. As a vicious result, Othello is driven mad with anger and sadness and throttles Desdemona in their bed. The death and want left by Iago’s deception is vast hurting everyone involved most frequently on a mortal level. When the truth finally comes out, Othello, in his grief and remorse, ends up stabbing himself with a dagger. In the end, many die due to Iago’s deception, through villainy or despair, and none gain what they truly want because of it. This just goes to show that the mask of deception that a man wears can cause an unbelievable amount of harm, bodily and worse,
Implicitly targeting Othello’s doubts about marrying Desdemona and insecurities about her actions with infidelity, Iago eventually impacts Othello enough that the General himself confides in Iago about his own wife. Earlier in the play, ‘honest Iago’ needs to first gain Othello’s confidence and he does so by expressing his loyalty to Cassio, “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth/ Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio”, while Othello is present in a conflict (2.3. 203-204). Then, later in the play Iago baits Othello by suggesting that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. Immediately, Othello wants more information; however, Iago nervously responds with, “…vicious in my guess-/ As I confess…” and tries to calm Othello by saying, “My noble lord-” (3.3 46-47, 93). When voicing his devotion to Cassio, Iago immediately begins to play on his false reputation as ‘honest Iago’. He enables Othello, and his fellow characters, to think highly of him and to respect that even when his partner, Cassio, has not been following orders, Iago would even endure physical pain and have his “tongue cut from [his] mouth” and proves his locality (2.3. 203). This leads to when Iago responds to Othello’s queries, about
Iago is a twenty- eight years old Caucasian married man and he is soldier in the Venetian army. Iago is viewed as modest, honest, and a good friend to people in public. People refer to him as “honest Iago” which lead them to trust him. Iago plans to destroy Othello by manipulating him to believe that his wife is being unfaithful to him with his promoted lieutenant Cassio, a position Iago wanted to have. Although the scandal that Iago came up with is a complete lie, Othello ends up believing him. Iago uses his ability to talk to people in order to accomplish his plan of destroying Othello because he wasn’t granted the position of the Venice army. (Sorto 1)
Characters in the play fail to comprehend Iago’s true nature until it is too late. Those interacting with Iago fall into the belief that Iago is loyal to his superiors, when Iago is actually focused on bringing them (Cassio and Othello) down. Iago constructs a false impression of his loyalty to Othello through ...
The three characters of Iago, Desdemona and Othello are gradually revealed to the audience as Act One unfolds. All three are linked to one another and talk to and about each other. Their characters unfold through their interaction with others and how they behave in isolation. The first impression formed of Iago comes from what Roderigo says. Being gullible, Roderigo has given Iago his purse. A character who accepts an offer like this is likely to be of doubtful reputation. The first words spoken by Iago are a strong oath. Already it is obvious that he has little respect for religion. Iago also sees little point in fighting purely in theory. He despises Cassio, partly because he has never fought physically. It becomes apparent that Iago is the dominant one in his "friendship" with Roderigo. He talks the most and has many opinions. Iago looks down upon those who serve others and explains that he is only serving Othello for his own gain:
Iago is one of the most complex characters in William Shakespeare’s Othello. To most of the characters, he is “Honest Iago” (Shakespeare, 5.2.73). however, the audience knows that Iago is the furthest thing from honest. Iago is a devil bent on destroying the lives of everyone around him. At the beginning of the play, the audience learns that Iago is determined to ruin Othello’s marriage to Desdemona. He has appointed a new lieutenant, Michael Cassio. This angers Iago because he feels that he has much more military experience and should be the lieutenant. Iago has also heard rumours that both Othello and Cassio have slept with his wife Emilia. He concocts a malicious plan to ruin the lives of all who have wronged him, and consequently establishing
Iago, manipulative and complicated depicts the villain in the play Othello. He sucks the resources out of the characters in a non literal sense planting seeds in their mind allowing them grow by using lies and deceptions. Throughout the play he gradually gains more power through the cultivating of ideas in the characters minds within the play using what he has planted and going off that. Although, Iago didn’t plan his actions in a personal planner or a step by step table he did structure a strategic sketch that formulated into a brilliant scheme.
Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue.
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.
Othello has had Iago as his ensign for many years. They have gone to battle many times over. In war, every little thing can affect the outcome, everything is vital information. During this time, Othello, when he was upset or unsure of what to do, has learned to trust and listen to Iago’s insights about strategy and war. Othello shows that his trust in Iago extends beyond the battlefield when he asks Iago to take care of his wife during the voyage to Cyprus. It’s this trust that backfires on him. When Othello hears Iago’s off hand remark about Cassio, he trusts that Iago would not have said anything if it wasn’t something to worry about. Then, Iago, knowing how Othello thinks of his character, makes Othello think there is more to his thoughts than he is willing to speak of. Iago knows just what to say and how to articulate it to make Othello think the worst. He even manages to look like a friend who wants to keep...
Othello doesn’t realize Iago doesn’t care towards him and never did after Iago wasn’t promoted to lieutenant. Iago plays the as the main director of what happens in Othello’s life. Othello doesn’t realize it thought. Iago is able to hide his emotions towards others. Which allows Othello not to notice he is faking every emotion of helping Othello. Iago is always at ease when in the eyes of his peers. “He moves jovially and at ease among the gentlemen of Cyprus, even as he sets up Cassio for a drunken fall” (Barnes 15). This shows how committed Iago was to strike revenge against his foes. Only a psychopath could hide their feelings in front of the people you want to hurt. “Iago refuses to show the "outward action" which would "demonstrate / The native act and figure of [his] heart / In complement extern" (“Where Iago Lies” 19). Because of Iago, Othello creates his own anxiety. He has anxiety because he now worries that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Iago creates Othello’s fear by twisting his words to have different meanings. “Iago: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy/ It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” (Shakespeare 1816-1818). Iago is manipulating Othello into believing that Othello shouldn’t be jealous, which tricks Othello into being jealous. The green-eyed monster is another term for jealousy. It is Othello though that allows him to get trapped in anxiety. Iago exploits him to bring Othello to a tragic
Othello is a very gullible person and believes everything that Iago throws at him. He is very easy for Iago to lure and fall into his evil plan due to the fact that he is so in love with Desdemona. For example he was tricked by Iago, into thinking that Desdemona was really having an affair with Cassio. When Iago told Othello that Cassio had a dream about Desdemona, Othello replied “Oh, monstrous! Monstrous!" He trusts Iago too much and totally relies on Iago therefore making him really vulnerable to his evilish schemes. He lets his thoughts take over, he loses control of himself and acts on his emotions. He lets his thoughts clutter his mind and good judgment. Another example would be when Emilia told Othello about Desdemona death, and he admits to murdering his honest wife Desdemona, but says that he killed her because she was untrue to him. When Emilia told him that it was false Othello said “Ay, twas he that told me on her first. An honest man he is and hates the slime that sticks on filthy deeds.” By reading that quote, Othello gullibility is fully observed. Othello believes Iago and his lies because he thought that Iago was an honest person. Iago’s plan was so powerful that Othello praised him for his “honesty”, which led to the demise of