In the play “Othello”, the antagonist,Iago , has multiple weakness like jealousy, disloyalty and his manipulations. If the story had not gone the way it did, these weakness could have resulted in the failure of Iago’s plan with Othello and the demise of Iago’s reputation.
Iago’s biggest weakness is his jealousy of Cassio. Othello has promoted Cassio to lieutenant even though he has never seen war before. Cassio being promoted causes Iago to be extremely jealous of Cassio and annoyed at Othello for promoting him. The jealousy and annoyance is the roots for Iago’s plan to exploit other character’s weaknesses in the play. Throughout the play Iago’s jealousy could have been exploited by Roderigo. During the play Roderigo seems very oblivious to what is happening when it comes to Iago. However, if Roderigo had taken a minuted to stop and think about his conversations with Iago, he would have been able to identify Iago’s jealousy. He would have been able to see
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Iago’s weakness because in most of the conversations between Iago and Roderigo, Iago professes his dislike of Othello and how he believes that Cassio is not fit for the job, by saying that he has never experienced war besides in a book. If Roderigo had recognized this jealousy then it would have been easy for it to be exploited by simply telling someone what he had heard for Iago. Another one of Iago’s weakness is his disloyalty to every character in “Othello” ,but himself.
Iago only pretends to be loyal to people if it in some way benefits himself. For example he is not loyal to Othello but pretends to be, so that when he tells Othello about Cassio and Desdemona’s relationship Othello believes what is being said without much question. Another example of Iago’s disloyalty is that he does not really care about what Roderigo wants, but likes the money that Roderigo gives Iago for ‘helping Roderigo get with Desdemona’. Iago never does anything that would helps Roderigo’s relationship but just keeps saying that he is, so that he gets more money. Iago’s disloyalty could have been exploited by anyone in the play. If Othello had overheard a conversation between Roderigo and Iago then Iago’s disloyalty would have been exploited because in the conversations between Iago and Roderigo, Iago often calls Othello the moor, which is not a name that a loyal friend would call another
friend. A third weakness of Iago is his tendency to manipulate people to get what he wants. In the middle of the play Iago manipulates Othello into believing Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. This statement is false, but the fake loyalty cause Othello to be easily manipulated by what Iago is telling him. Another example of Iago’s manipulation is when he convinces Roderigo to start a fight with Cassio that will hopefully Cassio finally get demoted and Iago promoted. Iago’s commonality of manipulation could have been exploited easily if Emilia had put the piece together before the death of Desdemona. Since Emilia is a very good minded person and knows the difference between right and wrong. She would have been able to expose his plan to the world. Therefore, Iago’s manipulations would have also exposed. During the play “Othello” Iago often exploits other people’s weaknesses. Iago has three major weakness jealousy, disloyalty, and his manipulations. If these weakness had been exploited throughout the play, the outcome of the play would have been very different and his plan to break down Othello’s good reputation and the demotion of Cassio in the lieutenant position would not have been happened.
Like every Shakespearean tragedy there is often an untimely doom that ends the life of the "hero" or main character of the play. The main character’s doom only becomes the outcome when they are unable to better the wrongs they or others had committed. However, in this Shakespearean tragedy the person who drives the participants of this play to their doom, isn’t the main character Othello, but Iago, the motiveless character whose jealousy and rage drives him to commit crimes towards the people who believed him and considered him a trusting friend.
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.
Tragedy is an intrinsically human concept; tragic heroes are damned by what they themselves do. Othello is not so much felled by the actions of Iago, but by a quality all people possess-- human frailty. Accordingly, Othello is not a victim of consequences, but an active participant in his downfall. He is not merely a vehicle for the machinations of Iago; he had free agency. Othello's deficiencies are: an insecure grasp of Venetian social values; lack of critical intelligence, self-knowledge, and faith in his wife; and finally, insecurity-- these are the qualities that lead to his own downfall.
...e used Roderigo to do his dirty work and without him he would have never been able to compromise Cassio in the first place. Roderigo seems to know Iago the best, possibly having figured out that he may have been betrayed by him, he writes letters he keeps with him which later serve to compromise Iago’s character and motives completely. Iago throughout the whole play feels like he is justified in his actions and does not let sympathy or understanding as a result.
	The first scene of Act I illustrates Iago's use of manipulation. Iago knows that Roderigo is upset about losing Desdemona to Othello. Iago himself is angry at Othello for being passed over for promotion to lieutenant for Michael Cassio. Realizing that by playing on Roderigo's jealousy he can gain an ally to work against Othello. Iago does this in a subtle manner. He explains to Roderigo that he was passed up for promotion by Othello. While doing this he makes Othello look inferior by reinforcing the fact that he is a Moor. By pointing out that Othello is a Moor Iago causes Roderigo to become even more jealous, because of the fact that he lost Desdemona to someone who he feels is of a lesser race. It even seems that Iago is toying with Roderigo when he reveals that he is a fraud when he says, "I am not what I am." (I.i.62) By using these tactics, Iago has almost gained total control of Roderigo.
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 ...
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.
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)
One person Iago deceives is Roderigo. Throughout the play, Iago tells him that he hates Othello and that Roderigo should make some money so he could give gifts to Desdemona, who he admires from afar. Thinking that this is sound advice, Roderigo does just that. However, Iago is actually keeping the gifts that Roderigo plans to give Desdemona for himself. Eventually, Roderigo begins to catch on to the act and confronts Iago, but he falls right into Iago’s trap again when he tells him that killing Cassio will help him win over Desdemona. Roderigo is then lead to his death by the hands of "Honest Iago."
“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’
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
Iago has a sophisticated way of deceiving the characters of the play, making him a very intelligent person. Early in the play Othello introduces Iago to the Duke of Venice as, “My ancient / A man he is of honesty and trust” (!. iii. 284-85). This is but one of the times in the play that Iago is referred to as honest and true. Throughout the play Iago is considered to be honest, but is actuality the villain. In order to maintain this false image one has to have a beguiling character. After Othello and his lieutenant, Michael Cassio, return from the war against the Ottomans, there is a celebration. At this celebration Iago puts his manipulation to work. He knows that Othello and Desdemona’s love for each other is very true, but he tells Rodrigo that Desdemona had love for Cassio: “With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. / Ay, smile upon her, do…” (II. I. 164-65). This quote shows that Iago deceives Roderigo into believing that Desdemona loves Cassio, when in Roderigo’s eyes it is virtually impossible. Iago basically controls Rodrigo because Iago deceives him into believing that he can have Desdemona, by both Cassio and Othello.
The evil side of Othello’s tragic flaw came from without, in the form of Iago. The internal flaw exists only in his heartrendingly unshakable goodness and honor. One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers.
In conclusion the downfall of Othello was because of his own weaknesses. His traits were the reason why Othello was responsible for the plays tragic outcome. Iago was able to control Othello like a puppet because of his easily manipulated conscience. He chose to make the poor decisions, trusting the wrong people. His mind got clouded by the obsession and jealousy of Desdemona. Othello’s own weaknesses were what led the tragic hero to his tragic
From the first scene of the play to the last, Iago is able to be trusted by everyone. This is one of the many reasons why Iago is so successful in his schemes, he is always trusted. In the first scene of the play we learn that Iago is helping Roderigo, win the love of Desdemona. Roderigo is trusting Iago with his own money to gain the love of a woman, which is already loved by another man. Roderigo is not so smart to realize that he will not be able to get Desdemona, but Iago is able to get his scheme moving. We continue to see how much trust Roderigo puts into Iago because later on in the play we learn that he gave jewelry to Iago to give to Desdemona. Iago...