Iago in Shakespeare's Othello Essay

You have told me she hath received them, and returned me expectations and comfort of sudden respect and acquaintance; but I find none” (IV, ii, 186-190). Roderigo started to see that Iago is cheating on him, but Iago is smart enough, and Roderigo is dumb enough for Iago to confuse him. In the second act during the party after the defeat over the Turks, Cassio becomes very drunk and easily taken advantage of. He then runs into the room where everyone is and attacks Roderigo. Montano intervenes and is then wounded by Cassio; Othello is forced to demote Cassio from his position of Lieutenant. With Cassio devastated he asks for advice from Iago, he then informs Cassio the only way to gain his position back is to talk to Desdemona. Cassio then leaves “good night, Honest Iago” (II, iii, 306). Shakespeare put in those two extra words on purpose; he is trying to show how Iago is already able to play with people’s minds and how manipulative he can be. Us, the audience knowing what Iago really wants to do, but Cassio puts trust into Iago with his position and future. The last person to believe Iago is honest and to trust him is Othello. Iago started to tell Othello of how Desdemona might be sleeping with Cassio, and how she is cheating on him. Othello does not believe him as there is no proof, “I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove; and on the proof there is no more but this” (III, iii, 190-191). Othello knows

Throughout the entirety of Shakespeare’s play Othello, it is apparent that one of the play’s main characters, Iago, has a persistent mental disorder that causes him to make unreasonable actions throughout the course of the play. Showcased by Iago are symptomsareIago exhibits symptoms such as a lack of empathy for others, strong and inappropriate emotional outbursts, strong changes in emotions, and a history of unstable relationships with others. These symptoms can be observed throughin how Iago interacts with the other characters, such as Desdemona, Othello, Cassio, and Roderigo. In addition, Iago’s thoughts have put on display shown his unstable mind, as well as the way in whichand how he sorts out his unethical actions. For these reasons, Iago exhibits symptoms that can be identified as Borderline Personality Disorder.

By taking advantage of this fact, he is able to kill two birds with one stone. Iago feeds on Othello's jealousy by setting Casio up to look like he is conducting an extra marital affair with Desdemona, refuting Othello’s initial denial.  However, eventually, Iago has Othello so angered that he accepts Iago's offer to kill Cassio for him.

     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.

The relationships in Shakespeare’s plays are never simple and even less so when one narrows the field to his tragedies. In the case of Iago and Othello this complicated relationship is made more so by the interwoven theme of appearance verses reality. The idea of Iago, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, fighting both for and against his master that permeates the play. Othello, however, a seasoned warrior being unable to see through the guise is a flaw his companion takes advantage of. Iago’s hatred is the biggest mystery of this play, making the reader wish Shakespeare had written a prequel.

Iago takes on many different persona’s to enact his plan of revenge upon Othello. He plays the friend, a trustworthy and credible source of

And looking within Iago for the cause can yield the answer that the ancient is psychologically sick. In Shakespeare’s Four Giants Blanche Coles comments on the mental illness that appears to afflict the despicable Iago:

Epilepsy on the part of the protagonist is unusual and physically abnormal. But the more serious abnormalities in the play are psychological. Iago is generally recognized as the one character possessing and operating by abnormal psychology. But Lily B. Campbell in Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroes tells of the time when the hero himself approached “madness”:

Iago is very notorious for his villainous acts throughout the play “Othello”, by William Shakespeare. Iago’s motives drive him to manipulate and deceive other characters so his “monstrous” (I, iii, 395) plot would succeed. Iago manages to con Roderigo to take his money. Iago also tries to ruin Othello and Desdemona’s relationship by using Cassio as a bait. In this passage, Iago explains how he will manipulate Rodrigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello to achieve his goals.

Othello, not knowing that Cassio was in fact speaking with Desdemona in hopes of being reinstated as Lieutenant, mistakenly believes that the two are having an affair and that Desdemona has lost her chastity. Iago skillfully capitalizes on the situation by developing his attack further: "She did deceive her father, marrying you" (3.3.220). Othello begins to see Iago's reasoning: if she could deceive her father, she could just as easily deceive her new husband. Once Othello's bliss has been decimated, Iago concentrates on weakening Othello's perception of himself; Iago very carefully and very tactfully chooses words and metaphors that subconsciously pit Othello against the Venetians. Othello begins to perceive himself as an outsider in his own country, "a malignant and turbaned Turk" (5.2.365). A fruitful marriage with a Venetian woman becomes out of the question in Othello's mind. Iago's successful manipulation takes a self-confidant man and reduces him to one at ends with himself and with the woman he loved.

Iago plants ideas in Othello’s head, uses the innocent actions of others as his proof; and Othello, who is not practiced in worldly matters, believes his the misnomer of the “honest Iago”, and eventually is consumed by the lie.

The most illusive character in all of Shakespeare’s drama, Iago is perhaps the most difficult to explore psychologically for the simple reason that he lacks a personal self. He dons and sheds gender like a closet of clothes, adorning each article as it suits him. Ultimately evolved from the Vice figure of the medieval English morality plays, as Bernard Spivack has convincingly argued, Iago is the Shakespeare’s dramatic and humanistic manifestation of the abstracted evil which governed the dramatic movement of the previous generations of English plays. The self he presents to the world is bound only by circumstance and not by constitution. One key to Iago’s power is his “improvisational ability” (Gutierrez 12). Like the mythical Satan as Prince of Lies, he makes up his fabulous stories as he goes along, playing off of others’ actions and reactions to his ever-spinning web of lies. Iago switches between the facades of emotion easily and fluidly. He admits and affirms his hatred of Othello in the opening lines of the play (I.i.1-9) [All citations are from the Bantam edition.] and reveals his intentions of betraying Othello at his earliest convenience (I.i.44). In the very next scene, not more than 150 lines later, we find Iago in his role as sycophant openly fawning before the

And looking within Iago for the cause can yield the answer that the ancient is psychologically sick. In Shakespeare’s Four Giants Blanche Coles comments on the mental illness that appears to afflict the despicable Iago:

In reference to Iago’s character, critic William Hazlitt had stated that Iago was an extreme instance of “diseased intellectual activity with an almost perfect indifference to moral good or evil rather a decided preference for the latter”. This linked to Iago’s ‘motiveless malignity’ as he attempted to justify the deceptive plans he was carrying out in the play which is represented in his soliloquy “But for my

Far more advanced for his time period, Shakespeare’s talent went unrecognized in the category of not just literature, but psychology as well. During the Elizabethan time period, it was unaware that a human could have psychological defects, let alone have characters who express these faults in a play. Shakespeare’s Othello was produced with two of the main characters having significant behavioral disorders. With a changing motive, the antagonist Iago expresses the symptoms of a narcissist and a sociopath by manipulating the protagonist Othello with lies about his wife. The infected Othello becomes caught up in Iago’s deception which causes him to show the traits of having low serotonin levels and appears to be going