How can Iago's actions justified in the shakespearean play, Othello? Othello, a play written by Williams Shakespeare about a moor named Othello. Iago, a character who tries to exact his revenge on Othello by making Othello jealous, which in turn causes Othello to kill his wife, Desdemona. Iago's actions can be seen as justified through his motives, goals, and his plan to get his revenge on Othello. Iago had a couple of motives of which he felt important enough to seek revenge. One motive would be Iago not being promoted to lieutenant by Othello, instead the position was given to Cassio. ¨In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp'd to him,¨ Iago, not happy about not being made lieutenant, thinking it justified to seek revenge on both Othello and Cassio. Also, Othello had allegedly slept with Iago's wife, Emilia.. ¨Till I am even´d with him, wife for wife,¨ Iago …show more content…
Part of his plan was to trick Othello into killing his wife, Desdemona. Iago achieved this goal by causing Othello to be overcome by jealousy, which in turn caused Othello to kill Desdemona. Iago also planned for Cassio to lose his job as lieutenant. To get Cassio to lose his job he got Cassio drunk because of his low alcohol tolerance, next Iago convinced Roderigo to fight Cassio resulting in Cassio losing his job. ¨If I can fasten but one cup upon him,¨ Iago talks about him getting Cassio drunk enough to fight someone and lose his position. Iago's plans to get his revenge can be justified because he got Cassio to lose the position as lieutenant, a position where Iago can be seen as overlooked to become lieutenant, a place rightfully earned by Iago through his experiences and hard work as a military officer. His plans can also be seen as justified because he wanted Othello to kill Desdemona since Othello had allegedly slept with Emilia. Iago had said wife for wife and he held true to his word by getting Othello to kill
Yet, no matter how strong Coleridge’s view may seem, it is completely incorrect, the motive is there it just may seem to be hard to see. One thing that can be concluded about Iago is that he is not an honest man, and that Othello has mislabeled him drastically. Iago’s character through a strategic and well planned manipulation process eceive many of the other characters. He uses carefully thought out words and actions to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits himself, while also pushing Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, Emilia, and Cassio to their tragic death. Not only is he betraying his commander he is also using his wife,
Over the course of the play, Iago offers numerous reasons for him desiring revenge. The first motive is the loss of a promotion to Cassio. “’Tis the curse of service: preferment goes by letter and affection, And not by old gradation,” (I.i.33-35). Iago feels that Cassio was chosen over him because he is more likable instead of earning it like Iago felt he had. Bloom describes this anger in terms of religion. “His religion is war, and his god is Othello, and so his fury when Cassio is preferred to him is the fury of the priest or worshipper who has been found unworthy,” (Bloom). Iago feels that Othello must make amends for his rejection. The next reason he gives is the supposed infidelity of his wife. Iago says “And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets H’as done my office.” (I.iii.378-379).
In order to gain favor with Othello. No. All of his acts and his plans are surely for revenge against Othello for his promotion of Cassio to lieutenant rather than Iago himself. His jealous nature and just evil being is what drives his violent acts against those around him and with that being said is the most important part of the entire play. Without Iago being fueled by his jealousy towards Othello there wouldn’t be no play such as Othello.
Revenge is the main theme in the play Othello by William Shakespeare and it is portrayed from the character Iago. Through Iago’s soliloquies he reveals his horrible doings. Iago wants to get revenge on Othello and his loved one Desdemona. The reason why he wants to get revenge at Othello is because he promotes Cassio to Lieutenant. Iago takes advantage of his reputation “Honesty Iago” to manipulate other characters in the play to get revenge from Othello. Iago is aware that he can easily manipulate the people around him to get revenge from Othello that he does not stop and think about the harm he is causing. Iago is a brilliant character that he successfully manipulates Cassio, Desdemona, Roderigo and his own wife Emilia to fulfill his
Iago is undoubtably the villian in William Shakespeare's 'Othello', however the reason behind his evil deeds are less clear. There are many possibilities as to why Iago betrayed his superior Othello. Was he simply envious of Othello's status or did Iago plot to destroy Othello for his own enjoyment?
Iago presents himself to the world as a faithful and honest man. In fact other people speak of him as “honest Iago”. Beneath the surface of his identity that he portrays to the world is his manipulation through lies. He uses his lies to manipulate other people and desperately wants revenge on Othello. He hates Othello so passionately because he gave the position of lieutenant up to another person instead of him. I think it could also be because of jealousy. I think he’s jealous of Cassio and Othello because later on in the story after he finally becomes lieutenant he brings up another reason to seek revenge on Othello, which was rumors of Othello sleeping with his wife. Iago is good at using people’s weaknesses to manipulate people and persuade
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
As the villain in Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago has two main actions. They are to plot and to deceive. Iago wishes to plot and to deceive because he is jealous of Othello and hates him. Iago's reasons for why he hates Othello is because he believes that Othello made love to his wife, and Iago is mad that Cassio was chosen to be Lieutenant instead of himself. From this hate comes the main conflict of the play.
Iago’s reasons for wanting Othello to murder Desdemona are never satisfactorily explained. As Iago himself says, "What you know, you know" (5.2.306). He gives various reasons for wanting to destroy Othello, but none ring completely true. He is disgruntled because of Cassio’s promotion over him. He suspects Othello of bedding his wife. But why is he determined to have Othello murder Desdemona? His plot seems based on sport rather than reason. Iago truly hates the Moor, but his hate is not grounded in any firm reason. As the play progresses, Iago’s motive never fully crystallizes, but his determination to dupe Othello into murder, thereby destroying his sense of honor, grows stronger.
Othello’s high position and his overall happiness is what led Iago to be resentful and seek revenge. For Iago, this means that he “can find relief from his conflicts by projecting his feelings of hopelessness, thus destroying the peace of others and killing their joys.” This shows that he doesn’t have a motive or anything he hopes to achieve from his revenge other than solace in the misery of others. In fact, Iago’s scheme from the beginning had always been risky and the truth could have easily been unravelled at any point with a bit of communication between the characters. Therefore, Iago is perceived as someone who is fearless and gets a rush from running along the lines of danger but the risk would only be justifiable if he had something to gain.
Iago's need for revenge on Cassio and Othello could originate from the inadequacy he must of felt when Cassio was promoted, and finding out that his wife might be having affairs must have wounded his pride and bruised his ego greatly. All
Iago sees the path he wants to take and saunters down said path almost gladly. His goal is revenge on Othello, and he desires this so much that sometimes it seems he cannot decide what motive he wishes to have as a driving force. At points, Iago states that he acts out of jealousy towards Othello, and at others it seems his jealousy over not being promoted is his main reason. Still other times his motive is that he suspects Othello slept with his wife, seen when he says, “For that I do suspect the lusty Moor; Hath leaped into my seat” (2. 1. 293-294), meaning that he believes Othello slept with his wife. Whichever motive he chooses, he will not be diverted from his revenge.
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.
Iago not only wanted revenge on Othello, but as well on Cassio for stealing his job away from him. "If I can fasten buy one cup upon him, with which he hath drunk tonight already, he'll be as full of quarrel and offense as my young mistress' dog" Othello. Act II. iii. 49-52. Iago got Cassio so drunk that he got into a fight with another officer, and when Othello found out about this, he quickly fired him. Iago, befriending Cassio, told him to speak to Desdemona about getting his job back and this was done for a reason. Iago states his motives clearly. He intended to use Desdemona's righteousness against her.
Iago has many reasons to hate Othello, including the fact that he had been passed over for a promotion, in which Othello had snatched the position, and he also suspects Othello had slept with Emilia. These reasons were given to the audience, as Iago, himself, reveals his reasons to Roderigo, “ I hate the Moor; and it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets 'has done my office. I know not if't be true; yet I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety.” (1.3.378-82). Iago is never turned back on his plan to ruin Othello and the people surrounding him, since he is always contemplating on how Othello doesn’t deserve his accolades, and how Iago is plotting revenge against him. This keeps Iago to consistently, and deliberately continue with his strategies, which keeps the audience empathetic for the rest of the story. Iago is also jealous of Othello’s ability to woo and lure Desdemona, “It cannot be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor ... She must change for youth. When she is sated with his body, she will find the error of her choice.” (1.3.340). However, Even if Iago had received the promotion; even if he had no suspicions or jealous feelings, he would still invent new motives for hating the Moor, as he is the devil of the story. Iago is not capable of performing good deeds, sustaining good relationships, or even