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Iago's Villain

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In Othello by William Shakespeare, there was a villain named Iago who plotted for revenge against Othello. Iago plays a huge role in Othello as he is the main antagonist in the play. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals as he uses trickery to deceive people. He goes through a series of events in order to manipulate Othello into thinking that his wife, Desdemona, has been cheating on him with Cassio. Iago also holds a grudge against Cassio as he took his role of being Othello’s lieutenant despite Cassio not having any war experience. He enjoys the pleasure of watching other people suffer rather than being killed. He was willing to use innocent people in his plot for revenge. As the villain in the story, Iago will pay the consequences …show more content…

He is selfish and willing to push it to get the job done. He goes as far as to bringing down Roderigo in order to achieve his plan. He killed off Roderigo when he wasn’t needed anymore. “Iago attempts to lure Othello into a self-incrimination display of “alien” behavior, to “transform” the general into a rash and irrational Moor by “transforming” his wife into a whore ( Emily C. Bartels).” He is a wicked villain who would involved someone else who was completely innocent for his own plan. Having Othello dead is not enough to him. He wants to see him tremble in despair and suffer while he watches. He objected to Othello’s plan of poisoning Desdemona, telling him to stranger her in bed instead. He manipulated Othello into thinking that his wife was a whore by sleeping with Cassio to which they did not. He does not think about the consequences or punishment that lies ahead of him and enjoys deceiving people. In fact, he did not care much or respect his wife as much since he used her and stabbed her when she reveals that she gave the handkerchief to her husband, Iago. In fact, Iago even called his wife a “Villainous whore (5.2 227).” His actions have taken the lives of many people in the play such as his wife, Roderigo, Desdemona, and …show more content…

He is known as a person of loyalty and honesty but that is not so true. In one instance, he made up a story about Cassio’s dream of Desdemona. “In sleep I heard him say, “Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves!” (3.3 416-417).” Iago told Othello that Cassio has been saying stuff like “Sweet Desdemona” in his sleep and even tried to kiss and lay his legs over his thigh. This catches Othello’s attention as he is now enraged about Cassio. Iago also states that he saw Cassio using Othello’s handkerchief to wipe off his beard. Iago adds lies on top of lies to anger Othello even more. This eventually leads to Othello making plans to get rid of Cassio and his wife Desdemona. Othello asks Desdemona where his handkerchief was and she told him that she does not have it. It makes Desdemona more suspicious to Othello and makes him believe everything that Iago has told him. Iago tries to gain Othello’s trust in the story little by little with the use of lies and succeeds. Othello appointing him to lieutenant was one step closer for his goal. He did not want Othello to doubt him and uses his words carefully when talking. When Othello talks to Iago about Cassio being an honest man or not. Iago keeps repeating that Cassio is an honest man. However, he states that “To be direct and honest is not safe (3.3 375).” This means that being simply an honest person is not always innocent. Iago knows that one small mistake

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