Iago's Alter Ego : The Existential Villain

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.

Evil masterminds are always successful in their diabolical schemes, but each one does it in their own special way. Some may be highly ranked and powerful, but some may be simple people in a simple community. In the play Othello, the simple ancient, Iago is very successful at his schemes. Iago is able to get the trust of everyone around him, and to appear honest. He is also driven to continue with his schemes and to never quite.

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.

Shakespeare’s Othello explores the destructive nature of Iago’s villainy through his ability to confuse appearance with reality through his deception and trickery. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is a scheming antagonist whose goal is to destroy Othello. Iago uses foreshadowing when he says, “I am not what I am.” Iago tells the audience that his loyalty with Othello is all a scheme to destroy him, and his

Iago says, “O wretched fool That lov’st to make thine honesty a vice! O monstrous world! Take note, take note, O world, To be direct and honest is not safe. I thank you for this profit, and from hence I’ll love no friend, sith love breeds such offence” (3.3. 385-390). Othello has just told Iago for him to prove Desdemona is cheating and if he can’t his life is worthless. Iago replies with the lines above showing the role he plays when with Othello. He manipulates Othello into feeling bad for him by crying about being so honest and not taken seriously that he will never try to help a friend out. The irony is that Iago is causing a scene about Othello not believing that Desdemona cheating on him, when it is a

Iago, being remarkably wise, understood this, explaining to Roderigo: “If the balance of our lives had not one scale of reason to poise another of sensuality, the blood and baseness of our natures would conduct us to most preposterous conclusions” (Shakespeare 1.3.322-25). People require balance in their life in order to maintain stability, and therefore maintain their sanity. In the same way balance provides structure in one’s life, imbalance can also bring about one’s undoing. Iago was not traditionally at the apex of power in the Elizabethan triangle of power, but every character was still a pawn in his scheme. His manipulation over each character truly put him as the most powerful character, at least until his true intentions were later revealed. Iago deliberately offset the balance in Othello’s life, and manipulated his jealousy in such a way that allowed him to succeed in all that he had planned. His plan would not have otherwise come to fruition had Othello not allowed his emotion to overpower his logic. Iago was able to simultaneously accomplish every goal in exploiting Othello’s jealousy. Iago painted Cassio, the lieutenant, to be Desdemona’s lover behind Othello’s back. In doing this, he won Othello’s trust, ruined Desdemona and Othello’s relationship, as per Roderigo’s payment to him, and eventually became named lieutenant after Cassio’s demotion. Being the cunning manipulator ultimately brought Iago was success in

Firstly, Iago showed how he was the perfect villain with his ability to manipulate characters throughout the play. By manipulating other characters Iago can forward his plan of ruining Othello without other characters becoming suspicious. One character that Iago often manipulates is his friend Roderigo, this one character is the one that mainly does all the hard work of Iago. This quote: “Desdemona should continue her love to the Moor-put/money in thy purse-nor he his to her. It was a violent commencement in her, and thou shalt see an/answerable sequestration-put but money in thy purse. (1.3 334-338) convinced Roderigo to not kill himself and to continue to believe in Iago’s plan of making Desdemona to stop loving the Moor. Roderigo is in love and this is one reason why he is unable to realize that he is manipulated by Iago. Also, Iago manipulates Cassio to go talk to Desdemona, but Cassio is totally oblivious that he plans to use this to the Moor with jealousy. The quote: “I’ll send her to you presently; /and I’ll devise a means to draw the Moor/out of the way, that your converse and business/May be more free. (3.3 37-40) convinced Cassio to talk to Desdemona, which consequently shaped Othello to be even more jealous than before.

The following situation also proves Iago’s ability to effectively use his power over Othello’s intelligence and jealousy. Othello was very gullible and innocent, so Iago took complete advantage of that. He makes Othello believe that Desdemona is unfaithful toward him with Cassio. He does so through a multitude of ways: “If I can fasten but one cup upon him,

Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue.

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,

Iago is a powerful predator who exploits those around him by infecting their perceptions of truth with carefully chosen fallacy. His skill in finding the proverbial chinks in others' armor allows him to skillfully weave his machinations of destroying Othello into their minds and actions; by manipulating character's perceptions of Desdemona, Iago gains the leverage he needs to exploit each character. No one is impervious to Iago's seething purpose; even Othello falls prey to Iago's suggestions and insinuations about Desdemona. Iago's constant presence as the stager, as well as his ceaseless - but subtle - reinforcement of events through narration, allows him to be the pivotal force that directs

different point of view. To effectively manipulate one must know the weakness of the targeted person. Therefore, using their emotions to enable the manipulation easily. Othello is a tragedy, written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century. The play by William Shakespeare includes the character of Iago. Iago is the antagonist in Othello, who cleverly plans out his tactics. Viewing the character of Iago from an analytical point of view shows Iago exposing himself to be a psychopath. Iago can use the weakness of the characters to set up scenes, and earns himself the title “The Honest Iago.” Consequently, psychopaths act as pleasurable people, but in reality, they are different in private. A psychopath sees themselves as preferable and worthy of the respect of others. The complex character of Iago sees himself as being superior to Cassio and is inclined to seek vengeance on Cassio and Othello. The character of Cassio is similar to Othello since they both appear to be impeccable. In Othello, the complex character of “Honest Iago” creates a psychotropic weapon by using the vulnerability of the character’s emotional state to create the perfect tactics.

     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.

355,] By playing on his hopes, Iago is able to conjure money and jewels from Roderigo, making himself a profit, while using Roderigo to further his other plans. He also thinks stealthy on his feet and is able to improvise whenever something unexpected occurs. When Cassio takes hold of Desdemona's hand before the arrival of the Moor Othello, Iago says, "With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio." [II, i, 163] This language demonstrates the evil inside Iago’s goals of retrieving absolute power. He actually even says of himself, "I am an honest man...." [II, iii, 245] Iago slowly corrupts the character’s thoughts, creating ideas in their minds without implicating himself. His "medicine works! Thus credulous fools are caught...." [II, i, 44] "And what's he then that says I play the villain, when this advice is free I give, and honest," [II, iii, 299] says Iago. In turn, people rarely stop to consider the fact that old Iago could be deceiving and manipulating them; yet they are convinced that he is "Honest Iago." From these quotes from “Othello” it is proven that the dialogue used between Iago and the others is manipulative causing an evil outcome.

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.