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Iago the villain
William Shakespeare, in his play, “Othello the Moor of Venice”, brings to life one of his most complex villains, Iago. Iago plays the ancient of Othello, who is the general of the Venetian forces. As an ancient, Iago is to be a loyal servant to Othello. However, Iago has grown bitter and contempt and uses his supposed loyalty as a wedge to cause Othello’s demise.
It has been said of Iago that he is the devil incarnate or that he personifies the devil (pg. 244) this accusation comes to life as you read the play and discover for yourself that in each scene in which Iago speaks one can point out his deception. It is not clear whether Iago has a master plan or if he is just winged it moment by moment with his ultimate gain in mind. However, what is clear, and what we will point out in the following, is that Iago has the ability to use word play to say the right thing at the right time. He is quick witted and that is what makes him a successful villain.
Iago’s is filled with rage and envy because he was passed over for a position he felt he deserved. Without conscience, Iago vows to take back what he feels is rightfully his by whatever means necessary. As we can see right from the beginning of Act 1, Iago begins to weave his web by revealing his true intentions to Roderigo as he justifies his hatred toward Othello. “O, sir, content you; I follow him to serve my turn upon him.” (Pg. 246, lines 41-42).
Iago snares Roderigo, a man who is in love with Desdemona, by being the barer of bad news that she has just married Othello the Moor. It appears to Roderigo that Iago has his best interest at heart and that he wants to help him to win Desdemona over from Othello. Once Iago gains the trust of Roderigo he convinces him that they must do what is right and tell of Othello’s marriage to Desdemona the senator, her father. Iago accompanies Roderigo to the door of the Senator, Brabantio, and convinces Roderigo to call up to him to tell of this news. Once the senator is waked, Iago flees to tell Othello that trouble is on its way. This was the first clue that he was up to no good.
Toward the end of Act 1, we find Iago and Roderigo speaking again. This time Roderigo is at his rope’s end and is contemplating suicide because of his lost love for Desdemona. Iago tries to reassure Roderigo that it is a matter of time that Desdemona will come to her sens...
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...sio “Ay, if you dare yourself a profit and a right” (pg. 280, line 232).
In the final Act, Act 5, we find Iago’s wife about to uncover his treachery, but before she can, Iago kills her to keep her quiet. In doing so he still hangs onto the hope that his plan is not all lost. Instead he flees to stall for time, however this is an admittance of guilt. “He’s gone, but his wife’s killed” (pg. 286, line 238). When Iago’s treachery is finally unmasked the justification he offers almost cheats the audience at first glance, as he stands there almost speechless “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know” (pg. 287, lines 303-304).
In his final words Iago offers no justification and conveys no expression of guilt for the treachery he bestowed upon Othello and the others. His willingness to lie, steal and kill is evidence that he is willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goal. One may ask what motivated Iago to commit these acts; it may seem that his motivation was his anger toward Othello for passing him over for the position of lieutenancy. However, to the contrary, true villains need no motivation, to be malicious and evil is their motivation.
...is no remorse in his answer. In fact, he asserts and defends his behavior. He even has the nerve to kill his wife. Iago clearly enjoys inflicting pain onto others. This is proven repeatedly, as he continues to hurt, manipulate, and use others. This is also proven when Iago says, “As he shall smile, Othello shall go mad” (IV.I.117). Iago is sadistic. He does not think twice about his actions, nor does he care about the repercussions and consequences that occur as a result. This also is a symptom of a psychopathic personality, which Iago certainly displays.
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
Jefferson focused on farmers’ rights and slavery was essential to many of their livelihoods. As a result, the salve population grew as well. His disinterest in changing Africans’ positions can be further seen when he tries helping French Napoleon Bonaparte retain control during the slave revolution led by Toussaint Louverture in Haiti. When Bonaparte decides to leave the western world behind to focus on the east, Jefferson makes the Louisiana Purchase. He never went back to address slavery because he believes Africans are already in their rightful place as
In his 1971 paper “Personal Identity”, Derek Parfit posits that it is possible and indeed desirable to free important questions from presuppositions about personal identity without losing all that matters. In working out how to do so, Parfit comes to the conclusion that “the question about identity has no importance” (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:3). In this essay, I will attempt to show that Parfit’s thesis is a valid one, with positive implications for human behaviour. The first section of the essay will examine the thesis in further detail and the second will assess how Parfit’s claims fare in the face of criticism.
The Reason why Iago develop such as evil plan is because Iago suspect that Othello is having an affair with his wife Emilia. He cited when he said "And it is thought abroad that 'twist my sheets he's done my office." The irony behind this line is that he then says, "I know not if't be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety." That mean, He is not sure that Othello is having an affair with his wife but he will pay anyhow, this show that Iago is so blind with his jealousy that he will do anything on his reach to make Othello for such act no sure committed.
Towards the tail-end of the play, Roderigo, fed up with Iago’s counsel and frustrated by his lack of personal progress, approaches him with the intention of severing all ties. Iago, though, manages to maintain a leash over of him by playing on his jealous desire for Desdemona, promising him that he will have her in love in the coming days. This proves to be enough for him to convince Roderigo stay, and he resumes his manipulation. Despite his strong affinity for Othello’s wife, any romantic progress is halted due to Iago’s persistent interventions; he knows that merely mentioning the potential for a relationship between the two is enough to persuade him to do his bidding. While this seems desirable to Roderigo, in actuality, Iago is using his imaginative fantasies against him, and preventing any real advances in his journey for Desdemona, effectively destroying any possibility of this
In the first scene we are thrown right into the action with the argument between Iago and Roderigo. This first argument shows us how Iago is cunning and sly because he has already manipulated a weak Roderigo into paying him for something he hasn't even done yet. Roderigo who is obviously weak and simple has asked Iago to help him woo Desdemona in exchange for money, he thinks Iago has not done this because Desdemona is now at this moment marrying the moor. Yet Iago manages to convince Roderigo of his sheer hatred for Othello and swindle him out of his money. As he later exerts in his soliloquy at the end of Act I.3 ' thus do I ever make my fool my purse' this shows his attitude to Roderigo he is just money for Iago a pawn in his plan. This attitude shows how to a certain extent Iago primes the character he will use later in his plan showing a consistent strategy, he knows he can use Roderigo in the future so keeps him on his side instead of being rude and sharp with him. You can see that Iago finds Roderigo tedious but keeps him a friend for his money and possible use in the future.
In the play, Othello, written by William Shakespeare Iago is one of the most unique and interesting characters. Not only is Iago a main character, but he is also one of the most controversial, causing more drama and quarrels than any other character in the play. Shakespeare does a good job with the character of Iago by creating an atmosphere where Iago can keep the reader's attention on each and every individual scene throughout the entire play, as one tries to figure out Iago's true intentions. When reading the play it is easy for an individual to view Iago as an evil person who gets pleasure from malicious acts he inflicts upon others around him.
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.
The Motivations of Iago in Othello Have you ever met a devil who does evil for his own sake? Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello could seem like he has good motives, but I feel that he uses them as his excuses. The first thing that I did was uncover Iago's motives. Iago is the most controversial character in Othello. He is able to keep his true thoughts and motives from everyone.
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”,
Iago has been excellent at saying the what is needed to get to people, he misleads them to get a reaction he wants out of them. He is clever with his words to avoid confrontation that can easily happen. “Othello 's confusion is the human experience of language. In other words, language itself, not the outside world, determines meaning” (Christofides 2). Iago uses his words against Othello to get him to do Iago’s doings. Iago has an eloquence with
I want to pursue a career in Multicultural Community Counseling, because, I seek to fulfill an absence of leaders who are passionate and empathetic in building stronger and safer communities. I am applying to the Community Based Block Program at SDSU, because I want to develop a cross cultural knowledge of how to be therapeutic to others. My hope is to earn a M.S. in Counseling that prepares me for working in underserved urban schools. I hope to obtain the skills needed to work with historically disadvantaged and low income communities. I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy and successful life. By being a counselor I will continue to empower the youth to reach their full potential and encourage my community to be civically engaged. I believe that together we can build a stronger and safer
Iago, the evil villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is more than just a villain. In many ways he is the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago shows superiority over the rest of the characters in the play. He has the ability to manipulate the characters in the play, therefore controlling the play with every sequence of events. His intelligence shines through his ability to deceive, his ability to strategize, and his ability to twist the truth. Iago is appealing to the characters of the pay because he gives them what they want. Iago is appealing to the reader as well. His character is totally unconflicted about being evil, making him known to some authors as the villain of all villains. Iago is, in many ways, the most intelligent and appealing character in the play.
Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a character that builds up anger throughout the play. As the play continues, Iago seeks to destroy all those in his path. However, it is not clear what motivates Iago to go as far as he does. When he has destroyed Cassio’s reputation he could have secured his partnership with Othello and lived on happily. Instead of being happy to take Cassio’s position, Iago wants to mess up Othello’s life by tricking him into thinking Desdemona has cheated on him. This random desire to destroy others’ lives is a huge part of Iago’s character.