Iago Is An Artist Of Evil

To be evil, villainous or Satan-like, is to state that one does hurtful things to other citizens for the pure enjoyment of themselves. Hitler, Stalin and Napoleon are all leaders, who undoubtedly can be stated as evil. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the character Iago is considered evil. It is argued though that he is not evil, just simply a human. Iago throughout the play becomes insecure over his decline in power leading him to become jealous and get revenge on those who contributed to this feeling of self-doubt. Though Iago at times is satisfied with the way he treats others, his motives are humanistic and the way he deals with his envy for others makes him one of the manliest men in William Shakespeare’s Othello.

Iago takes what most of us see as good and uses those traits against characters in the play. He is able to take something as pure as Othello and Desdemona’s love or Cassio’s loyalty as a weakness that he can pounce on. “He holds me well; The better shall my purpose work on him.” (I, iii, 381-382) Iago possesses no good qualities so as a jealous pay back he takes trust and turns it against the trusting and then tries to take it even further for himself.

Iago takes what most of us see as good and uses those traits against characters in the play. He is able to take something as pure as Othello and Desdemona's love or Cassio's loyalty as a weakness that he can pounce on. "He holds me well; The better shall my purpose work on him." (I, iii, 381-382) Iago possesses no good qualities so as a jealous pay back he takes trust and turns it against the trusting and then tries to take it even further for himself.

In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, Iago demonstrates a mastery of manipulation over people who had previously trusted and confided in him. His sudden turn from Othello’s loyal ensign to rage-filled villain seems indicative of a man who can no longer accept his position in life. Iago’s plotting of Othello’s demise starts as idle talk of a disgruntled 28 year-old career military man passed over for promotion. Iago believes that such a promotion may never come after Othello rejects his candidacy and makes it clear that he did not believe him suitable. He sees Othello is only concerned with personal and political gain with his choice of Cassio as lieutenant. When Iago teams with love-scorned and desperate Roderigo, he begins

One of the first lines Iago even says is that he hates Othello. My first thought when considering this reason would be, is not being appointed second-in-command enough for him to do what he does? It’s completely possible because later in the play, he gets Cassio drunk and tricks him into attacking Roderigo and Montano, the governor of Cyprus before

From the beginning of the play, Iago is left in displeasure since he was incapable of achieving his endeavour to wind up as a lieutenant and his physical appearance, both in which Cassio has a critical contribution. In any case, what makes Iago desirous to a great degree is the way that Othello elevates

Evidence of jealousy in Iago is more prominent and very evident in the beginning of the play when he explains to Roderigo that Othello has moved Cassio to lieutenant (the position Iago desires) although three of Venice’s most noble nobleman have informed Othello and Iago has fought in front of Othello in Rhodes and Cyprus (Shakespeare 1.1. 10 - 30). Iago’s sly behavior and ability to use other character’s roles and trust such as Othello’s love for Desdemona, Cassio’s pride in serving as Othello’s trustful lieutenant, and Rodrigo's over commitment to win over Desdemona from Othello allows his plan to fall through. His motive throughout the play is to get Cassio demoted from the

Iago is not the same when he is with Othello but Iago’s character totally changes when he is not with Othello. When Iago finds out that Othello appointed Cassio as his lieutenant, Iago is extremely envious and he plots a plan against Othello by deceiving the trust that they both carry. “I’ll put this pestilence into his ear.” (II.iii.334). This refers to Iago plotting to say his lies to Othello which demonstrates Iago being overwhelmed by jealousy. Iago puts all the falsehood into the general’s ear which becomes easier for him to do as Othello puts his full trust on the rival. Iago is a harsh and a coldblooded man that wants revenge through his master by plotting an atrocious plan and putting all falsehood into his ear just to obtain the higher position.

Iago is one of the most misunderstood villains in Shakespeare literature. We side with Othello from the start because his name is on the cover of our paperback, we read Othello when learning about heroes, so we expect Iago to be a villain, a ruthless manipulator. We don’t know why, he doesn’t state it plainly or in simple English, so we assume that he’s evil, that he’s just a disgruntled sociopath out to exact his exaggerated revenge on good and noble Othello. Iago’s misunderstood reputation is a result of not truly examining his character, and answering the “why” factor behind his actions. After all, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. His goal in the play was not just to destroy Othello for the fun of it. His objective,

In act One, scene one we see Iago's conversation with Roderigo about Cassio being promoted ahead of him and how Iago believes that this is because of favourtism. This suggests one of many reasons why Iago plots against Othello. From this conversation we see that Iago is envious of Cassio being promoted ahead of him, and plotting against Othello as a means of seeeeking revenge. “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”. Iago believes that he

In the article “Othello: The Moor of Venice” critics describe him as being so evil by nature. Critics describe Iago that way because he is known for deceitful to gain a higher position and willing to do anything if necessary. He just can’t accept the fact that other people are better than him. So that’s why he’s going to steer Othello wrong because he didn’t give him a higher position in the army.

Throughout Othello, the dramatic irony of “Honest” Iago is detrimental. Iago serves as Othello’s main attendant and is expected to get the promotion to lieutenant. Unexpectedly though, Othello gives the promotion of lieutenant to Michael Cassio. In all, this catalyzes Iago’s plot for revenge and destruction that will destroy every

While Iago claims to be carrying out this plan for the sole purpose of Othello’s misery and his own enjoyment, he seems to be also motivated by his envy towards Cassio. While encouraging Roderigo to kill Cassio,after lying about Othello and Desdemona's plans to go to Mauritania once Cassio takes over, Iago steps aside and declares “If Cassio do remain, he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly” (V i l.19-21). Through this it is clear the Iago despises the lifestyle Cassio has and feels that he can not live up to his full potential with such competition. The first time we meet Iago he rants about his hatred and envy over Cassio being promoted. This anger was the spark that motivated him to fight back. If you look at the line in a literal sense Iago could also be acknowledging his evil nature by saying his constant envy towards Cassio makes that cruel and ugly part of him come to the surface. If Iago received the promotion to lieutenant, he would not be as motivated to ruin Cassio and Othello’s life.

There is a reason why Iago betrayed Othello. It all started with Othello choosing his lieutenant as Cassio. Iago was the perfect guy for the job he was involved with the military and knew how to fight. He got upset because the cause of Cassio winning was him being book smart and of a higher social class. In the play Iago even says "My career is cut short because by some bookkeeper, even though the general saw my fighting skills at first-hand in Rhodes and Cyprus” (Shakespeare 1-2).

At all points of one’s life, one has desires; what separates and defines a person is determined by how that person goes about dealing with those desires. Some believe in working honestly towards his or her aspirations and others in seizing it at any cost. Iago, the antagonist of the play Othello is one of those people who would do anything in order to get what he wishes. Because Othello names Cassio lieutenant instead of him, he begins to device a plan in vengeance to bring Othello and Cassio down, which ends up tragic for all of the major characters. Iago’s obsessive need for revenge stems from jealousy and ambition, and because he is a master manipulator, the plan goes extremely smooth for the majority of the play.