Iago : The Tragic Hero In Shakespeare's Othello

“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (King James Version, Mt. 23.28); this is reflective of Iago’s character in Shakespeare's Othello. Throughout Othello, the antagonist Iago is often seen as an allusion to Satan. In this analysis of Othello, Iago’s actions will be discussed in comparison with Satan. Specifically, this essay will use Iago’s deceptiveness and motives to better compare Iago to an embodiment of Satan. Like Satan and Eve, Iago will use deceit to make pawns of his peers, while being driven by the very sins that damned Satan. While Iago is very reminiscent of Satan in his actions and intentions, he also admits it, being quite aware of how similar he is to Satan. Iago’s own admittance of being like Satan will also be discussed.

Shakespeare is universally revered for his characterization of flawed and psychologically unstable protagonists. Hamlet is a crazed, murdering prince, Lear is narcissistic, senile, and a verbally abusive father, and Macbeth is a murderous traitor to his king and country. These unfavorable and evil attributes serve Shakespeare's main characters by presenting them as realistically written men, and there always seems a degree, however small, of sympathy associated with their respective downfalls and tragedies. Othello, however, is an anomaly.

In other words, Cassio is a man who knows as much about war as an old woman does, unless it is what he has read in books. Therefore, Iago finds him hardly qualified for the job he has gained. Iago is also jealous toward Othello because it is rumored that he has slept with his wife Emilia. (Find Quote In Book) Iago now has a motive to make Othello think that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair to get revenge on Othello and achieve his goal. His hatred and jealously toward Othello and Cassio seem to turn Iago, himself into “the green-eyed monster” (III.iii.1203) that leads him down a path of destruction.

In any story with a recurring dark theme there always must be an outsider from humanity who somehow stands out from the seemingly equal community. In the case of Shakespeare’s Othello the outsider from humanity would be Iago for he truly stands out from the rest of society. Although Othello may be physically put out of the community, it seems that on an emotional and egotistical level Iago puts himself out of society further then Othello’s blackness does. He is not merely manipulative, as other villains are; he turns aspects of truth and good qualities, which he does not possess, and uses them as weakness for his own scheme. He deceives people to follow his plans by telling them the truth and what seems to be good advice. By standing on

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

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.

Since the two used to be so intimate, the key to understanding Iago’s superobjective is to understand what made him harbor such hatred for Othello. To put it simply, Iago was hurt that Othello gave Cassio the lieutenant job instead of giving to him. At face value, that reason doesn’t seem to be a strong enough motive to destroy another man’s life. There had to have been more to this than just the fact that Iago didn’t get a promotion. Iago “believes Cassio got the appointment because of an old friendship with Desdemona, and probably because he carried messages between Othello and Desdemona during their courtship.” (Crawford). Iago, knowing this, felt as if the entire system of military honor and merit had crumbled. Had the promotion been based on merit, Iago would’ve gotten the job, because “…[Othello’s] eyes had seen the proof/ At

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

Iago’s revenge plan started because he wanted a higher position in the army. The position that Iago wanted was the one that Cassio had. So he knew the only way to get this was through the “easy prey” (spark notes) Othello. Iago saw Othello as an easy target because of his insecurities of marrying Desdemona and his trusting nature. Othello was insecure because he was a man

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

Iago plans to ruin Othello because of Iago's jealousy towards him is by carrying out a plan to get back at Othello based on lies and deceit. This plan will make Iago the only person that Othello believes he can trust, and Iago will use this trust to manipulate Othello. Iago plans to remove Cassio from

In Othello, Iago is upset because Othello, the military leader of Venice, gave Cassio, an arithmetician who was inexperienced at war, the position of being his lieutenant. Iago began to devise an infallible plan. This plan was to manipulate Othello into thinking Cassio and Desdemona were having an affair so he could denote Cassio and give Iago the position of lieutenant. This plan involves manipulation, lies, and pre-domination. At first, he succeeded, however his lies will catch up with him, revealing his true, schemer way.

     Iago, the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello, is a round character of great depth and many dimensions. Iago works towards an aim that is constantly changing and becomes progressively more tragic. Yet, at times, "honest" Iago does actually seem honest. This essay will explore the complex character of "honest Iago.

Iago’s vengeful hatred is responsible for the suffering and in some cases, the tragic deaths of several innocent characters. Iago cleverly reaches at the final stage of his plan and reaches to a point where he becomes the cause of deaths of innocent people. Iago continues lying to Othello to break his calmness resulting in action against Desdemona and Cassio. Othello says to Iago that “ay, let her rot and perish, and be damned tonight, for shall not live! No, my heart is turned to stone: I like it, and it turns my

In some plays or books, the title character is in the focal role. However, this is not the case for other books where characters in the title character’s orbit are the focal role. In Othello this is how it works. Othello is not the focal role in this play Othello, but it concentrates more on the character that manipulates Othello and everybody else the most, Iago.