Is Iago A Hero Or A Villain

Iago is Shakespeare's most used character in the play. The events in the story are controlled by him, he has the most dialogue out of any character, and he is proven to have relationships with nearly every character in the cast. One could say that he is the tool that Sheakspeare uses to teach the lesson in this tragedy. Despite being the central character in the play Othello, Iago is a villain. Shakespeare uses the villain Iago to show how easily one's weaknesses can be exploited. Within the story, Iago exploits the weaknesses of not only Othello, but also Roderigo, Cassio, and Desdemona. By watching these characters, the audience sees how easily their weaknesses are exploited, and how often these flaws lead to their downfall.

In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the Iago is the most important character. It is his dreams, hopes and desires that turn him evil, bringing out the worst possible characteristics in order to achieve all the things he wants. Iago’s manipulative traits, deceitful actions and love for Othello eventually cause the death Emilia, Desdemona and Othello himself.

Iago is the antagonist of the play, and one of the most evil Shakespearean villains. Iago is extremely clever in the way he uses unsuspecting power- especially psychological power. He gets into people’s heads in many dishonest ways- by spreading false rumours, telling lies and psychologically tricking people and secretly controlling certain situations. His power to manipulate is a key point in the play, as it results in major consequences and the deaths of some main characters. Iago’s schemes are multi-levelled- he conspires with roderigo, and makes him believe that Desdemona will take him back. On another level, he leads Othello to believe his wife is having an affair with Cassio. He uses his wife Emilia (unknown to her), to bring back the handkerchief he uses to deceive Othello. Iago is an extremely resourceful and talented man, but he uses these resources and talents in detrimental ways. Iago is constantly referred to by numerous characters as ‘honest’. He himself also refers to honesty. Numerous characters believe that they know and trust Iago and that he would not lie, nor deceive them. Iago’s soliloquies also provide invaluable insight into his wicked mind and evil schemes and plans.

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,

In conclusion, Iago is far from a villain because of the time that he lives, the situation which was unfair, and the rumor which smears his reputation with infamy. For the people, who live in 16th century, Iago was the only brave soldier defies against Othello, who is a foreigner with great power. Excludes time period, it is an error to define him as villain. Also, Iago can be a role model of today’s hero. A society without obvious rules dealing with crimes, there is anarchy and war. Iago is the only guy resists against regionalism and kinship. His careful behavior and extraordinary strategy deserves that he is a heroic figure. People should get out of stereotype and evaluate him

In “Othello,” William Shakespeare creates a devious character, Iago. He is a very educated young man, who lacks ethics enabling is character to deceive those around him, disguising his true character. With audience perception, opposing character perceptions, Iago portrays a brilliant, manipulative villain who is concealed with false sympathy, integrity and empathy.

In Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello, Iago is an evil character. However, he is one of the most dangerous examples of evil. He is often able to convince people that his motives are meant only for good. Iago displays many morally ambiguous and downright dirty traits. These traits contribute to his overall evil character.

Iago's character abounds with amorality, extreme self-love, and cynicism. He does not value loyalty, love, honesty, or nobility. He declares to Roderigo: "I am not what I am" (I-1-71), demonstrating that he is completely void of integrity, acting instead in a duplicitous manner. Iago changes his personality entirely depending on whom he is interacting with - with Othello, Iago is valorous and noble; with Roderigo, he is harsh and brusque. His frequent use of superficial actions is exemplified by his comment, also to Roderigo: "I must show out a sign and flag of love?" (I-1-173).

can be interpreted in many ways, each person views it differently. Each account being influenced by the viewers [audience] own life experiences. Rosenberg and McCloskey, unlike Stempel, are very sympathetic of Iago. I think that when trying to understand the character Iago, first we need to recognize what Shakespeare’s original intentions for the play were, and also the style of plays he tended to write, as they all have obvious similarities. Rather than writing about ‘stock’ characters, which was common in the theater during Elizabethan times, Shakespeare wrote about people who seemed real. Rosenberg believes that Shakespeare's intentions for the play was to be a story of betrayal between two friends, “it is quite possible that Shakespeare was drawn to this story because it was one of betrayal; the theme was one of his

William Shakespeare has some of the most memorable villains in all of drama. One of them is known as Iago. Many people argue that Iago was the protagonist but that simply is not true. People also think that since Iago manipulates Othello, they think the reasoning behind this is because Iago truly thinks he is being honest, kind and steering him onto the right path. This is not right since Iago knows what he is doing. Iago is the villain in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, uses morals to prove that Iago is the villain.

Othello is a steadfast leader that the reader finds him or herself wanting to be more like. His experiences are unparalleled and that’s what makes him such a popular leader. He has seen many battles and fought many fights; his stories are legendary among those who revere him. In our day he would be the man every man wants to be like and the man every woman wants, but even those who are revered have enemies. If this were not the case then there would be no means for him to have become so revered. In overcoming so many obstacles Othello made a most convincing enemy. In this article we will explore Iago’s dark secrets and expose and examine what makes him such a great villain. William Shakespeare used various literary devices such as

What is it about how Iago is characterized in the play Othello and how he acts that makes him such a vivid villain, even today? We still use the expression “an Iago” to describe someone evil and underhanded. Iago is characterized in the play Othello by William Shakespeare as a vivid villain because he manipulates the other main characters. Iago contains so much jealousy and hatred against Othello for being a general in the army, a position he feels in righteously his that he victimizes everyone around him. “He is mad at Othello for he granted Cassio as his lieutenant instead of him, this affects his pride, “forsooth a great arithmetician one Michael Cassio, a Florentine” (Meyer, 2017, pp. 1072). Iago is mad at Othello for choosing Cassio over him; he is already upset that Othello receives a promotion to general instead of him, to Iago he has battled wars and proves himself worthy of such a title.

Iago represents evil and cruelty for its own sake. He is deeply unpleasant and this is revealed to the audience in no uncertain terms in his numerous asides. He even acts as an advocate for Othello's character, telling the audience that he is noble and in doing so, comes across as even more villainous that he is prepared to ruin Othello's life despite his acknowledged goodness (Zender, K.F 1994).

Shakespeare's' Othello introduces us to arguably the greatest villain in all of his plays, Iago. Iago is skilled in the art of manipulation, he is an apt tactician, to the point of military precision in the art of persuasion, he is a genius of unfortunate proportions. Shakespeare is telling a story as old as time at the expense of most of the characters in Othello, a story of Jealousy, deceit, and how they can corrupt beyond absolutely, tear through the purest love, the mightiest of warrior, and the most honorable of men with no regard as to the damage done, all the while even Iago himself has no true grasp on what his jealousy and deceitful web of lies and destruction have cost him. The greatest tragedy of the actions of the villain Iago, is not the lies that seethe from every word he speaks, or the machinations of his demi-devil schemes, but how these things tear a rift through the very fiber of him as they do all men.

The critic GaryDay shows,in The British Critical Tradition: A Re-Evaluation,the mixture of the characteristics of Iago stating that “the features of Iago’s character are closely related, they are the extreme belief in the will- to power, thirst for danger and the desire to be the author of the plot”.( Day, 1993).Moreover, Shakespeareemploys a great allegory in act 3 scene 3 when Iago tells Othello” o, beware, lord of jealousy; it’s the green eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on”. This quote shows that Iago is the villain who leads Othello to kill Desdemona and destroy his life. No one can deny that Iago and his non reasonable desires are the main reasons behind the tragedy of Othello.