Shakespeare wanting to give the characters qualities that were indeed human. Many of these traits that have negative connotations, like greed,jealousy, and anger which then motivates the villains, and even our main heros, to try and “change destiny” by manipulating situations to change the outcome. This can be seen in Othello where it is mentioned several times the possible reasons as to why Iago is doing what he is. While we are “hunting about for [his] motives,” (MR 150) we as readers can’t help but wonder if his real reason is not even mentioned or if he doesn’t have justification for any of it, but is going off of what he believes to be true, not that actual truth. Because there is no justification, it is clear that Iago was really the …show more content…
The motivation behind his act of killing his brother in the first place is told by MB where “Gertrude is uppermost in [his] mind It is to possess her that he has killed his brother. He enumerates the prizes of his crime: ‘My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.’ The queen is at the top of the series.” (185) Claudius is motivated by his greed for power and for the love of a person that he previously could not have to commit the first crime to trigger the order of events after. In addition to this his “trick of sending Hamlet to England” (AT 142) is motivated by the fear of Hamlet being after him because he knew that Hamlet was suspicious of him. As many know, the tables turn when Hamlet returns to Denmark and reveals to Horatio that he actually sent Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to their deaths. This is act is motivated by his will to of course, return and do what he need to do, not thinking of the consequences that will result in the death of his two previous friends. Throughout the entirety of the play, “revenge remains the dominant motive,” (AT 170) so the motivation to take “revenge by a son for a father that is directed by the latter’s ghost,” is the first motivation that can be seen within the play. As Hamlet continues to try and “assure us that he has strength and means [to take revenge],
In Othello, Iago is Shakespeare’s most malicious character and serves as a vehicle to these two themes. Iago despises Othello; he has a strong will to destroy Othello’s life, yet the motive behind his plan goes unexplained. Iago is a great manipulator of the tongue and lies to everyone in order to advance his plan; however, every character in the play considers Iago an honest character, and Othello even associates Iago with light and eyesight. Othello continuously asks Iago to explain or make something clearer. Until the very end, Iago appears to be honest and helpful to the other characters, but underneath this seemingly harmless façade, Iago is a demon with the strongest will; he will stop at nothing until he ruins Othello’s life. Iago uses a positive appearance to enact his
This is a crucial element in the development of the revenge plot for the reason that it will confirm that the murderer is indeed Claudius, thus allowing Hamlet to further proceed with his revenge. If, on the other hand, Claudius does not show any signs of guilt, the revenge plot will be delayed as Hamlet will have to find other ways to prove that Claudius is responsible for his father’s death. Furthermore, through Hamlet’s display of antic-disposition, it results in Claudius to come to a decision to send Hamlet off to England. In this particular scene, further character development of Claudius can be seen as he explains to Gertrude, “The sun no sooner shall the mountain touch / But we will ship him hence; and this vile deed” (IV.I.29-30). As noted from the previous act, when Claudius attempts to repent for his sins, he explains that he wishes to keep all that he received as a result from killing the King. For the reason that Claudius decides to send Hamlet away in fear that he is in danger, his character is further developed as being a man of fear who values materials and power more than anything else. All in all, it is evident that external conflict between Hamlet and Claudius is present throughout the play as they continuously plot against each
Iago is widely known as one of Shakespeare’s most famous villains and this is because of the way in which Shakespeare has presented him. Iago is presented to be a man of pure evil who eliminates any form of happiness of hope within the play. The quotation: “Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” shows Iago diminishing the virtue of Othello and pointing out that everyone is willful and has virtue until their true intent comes to light. Iago’s attitudes towards women are also very poignant within the play and are one of the aspects of his archetype that are remembered the most. Furthermore, a majority of villains have a reason or an intention to want to cause havoc or to turn to the side of evil. For example, in Hamlet, he is motivated by revenge and achieving what was once lost. In Romeo and Juliet, honour is a prominent theme, alongside the need to keep an age old rivalry that has descended from other generations. However, Iago has no real intentions apart from despising Othello for not offering him the promotion and then later suspects that Othello could be having an affair with his wife, Emilia. Therefore, the fact that he has no hard intention for wanting to ruin the life of Othello and others, is a reason as to why he may be despised by
Critics such as M. R. Ridley believe that the ability to hurt is the most
act but he gets other people to do it. He is motivated by one main
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)
Fred West addresses the fact of Iago misrepresentation, “It is not sufficient to simply drape Iago in allegorical trappings and proclaim him Mister Evil or a Machiavel or a Vice. Such a limited view of Iago is an injustice to the complexity of his character, since Shakespeare’s studies in personality are acclaimed by psychologists for their accuracy and profundity” (27). West seems to be reminding us that just seeing Iago as the representation of evil within the play of “Othello” is the wrong way to paint him. Iago is a man wronged by Othello in the fact that he was not chosen to be Othello’s lieutenant, which is what put the dastardly idea into Iago’s head to trick them all and bring them to their knees. As Iago tells Roderigo within the first act and scene of “Othello”,
In the prelude of the play Iago makes it known to others that he loathes Othello. Going out of his way to make known his hate for Othello, is why Iago is characterized as a villain. This brings a sense of plot in the story since without Iago there would be no conflict.
Shakespeare develops the character Iago into an instigator and evil man. Iago attempts and succeeds to convince Othello that his wife has had an affair with his friend Cassio. We see Iago beginning his plans at the very start of the play. “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at, I am not what I am.”(Oth 1:1:64-65) He immediately tries to start trouble with Brabantio and Othello over the marriage to Desdemona. Iago want to get in Othello’s way because he was passed over for general and Cassio was chosen instead. We see from the start how he plots against Othello and he involves several characters in his plans. “And what’s he then that says I play the villain? When this advice is free. I give and honest, probal to thinking, and indeed the course to win the Moor again? For tis easy Th’ inclining Desdemona to subdue in any honest suit; she’s framed as fruitful…”(2:3:295-300).
Hamlet is unlike the other two characters in the way that he uses reason and logic before he acts and decides to kill his uncle, Claudius, because he is aware of the consequences. For example, when Hamlet is trying to determine how he can prove Claudius the murderer, after conversing with the players about the play, following Hamlet’s reasoning that the ghost could be a devil trying to deceive him, in his soliloquy he states, “I’ll observe his looks… If he do blench, / I know my course… I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” (II, ii, 625-634). He reattaches himself to his revenge based on the logic of Claudius’ guilt. If Claudius does not feel guilty and has no reaction to the play, Hamlet will not act because logically Claudius was not to blame. Subsequently, Hamlet discovers that Claudius is guilty and commits himself to taking his life, but when Hamlet approaches Claudius and sees him praying he thinks to himself, he shouldn’t kill him there saying, “That would be scanned:/ A villain kills my father, and for that, / I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ to heaven… this is… not revenge.” (III, iii, 80-84). As Hamlet over thinks his actions he reasons himself out of killing Claudius because he compares how Claudius would die, to his father’s death. By over thinking this he stalls and has more time to think about w...
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.
There would be No Othello without Iago Though the name of the play written by William Shakespeare is called "Othello," the character Othello is not the main character, but rather Iago is. Iago is the character who drives the play, he is the one who makes things happen. Without his greed and hated, there would be no play at all. The whole play is centered around Iago's revenge and in doing so, he is willing to make other people's lives miserable. Through "Othello," Iago uses the other characters to avenge the wrong doings which Othello has inflicted upon him, and will go to any means to do so.
Hamlet's character lends itself to a possible motivation for his unwillingness to kill Claudius. He is a scholar, and a student of theology. It is a moral dilemma for Hamlet to kill without a just cause, or kill at all. He wants proof of the part his uncle and his mother played in his father's death. His royal birth leads him to consider his responsibilities to his country, which is Hamlet's internal conflict throughout the play.
Most of the antagonists present in Shakespeare's plays have valid reasons for the troubles they cause. Iago doesn't for the most part; he just has a burning hatred for the world, especially Othello. Iago is the only reason there is no conflict in Othello. If he were not a character, Othello and Desdemona would have lived happily ever after. From the beginning to the end, he causes conflicts.
Almost all of his actions, plantings seeds of doubt (III, iii) or giving dangerous instructions (II, iii) lead to the tragic ending of the play. Even at the end, Iago refuses to explain his motives, by simply saying, “What you know, you know.” (V, ii). Perhaps this was Shakespeare’s way of saying not to look for a reason, but rather to appreciate what an amazing amount of cunning and patience this would’ve taken to pull off.