Jealousy In Shakespeare's Othello

"And nothing can or shall content my soul till I am even'd with him, wife for wife" Iago's jealousy is so strong that he desperately wants for Othello to experience it,

Shakespeare’s play Othello is based on tragedy of Othello’s jealousy, which ironically leads Othello to kill Desdemona, his beloved (wife). Evil Iago is above all Shakespeare’s villains. Iago is a person with evil emotions, and as a result he deceives everybody, he also is exceptionally influential character who has taken in everyone, above all his own wife Emilia. His public face of bravery and honesty conceals a satanic delight in manipulation and destruction, and he will stop at nothing. Iago’s opinion on women is that he detests women in all kinds and shapes, and finds faults even when they have little or no faults.

Jealousy is the root of all evil. It eats away at the mind, and fuels the fire for hatred. It makes people act in strange ways and takes over the body. The reason that Iago hates Othello is because Iago hates himself. He hates himself because he is jealous of all the things that other people have in their lives and he does not. Iago’s ambition in the play, Othello, by William Shakespeare, shows that he will do almost anything in order to get what he wants. Iago’s jealousy fuels his fire for his hatred towards Othello and Cassio, as well as all of the other people in his life. At first Iago is jealous of Cassio’s position as lieutenant, but then it turns into more than that. He becomes jealous of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship doing anything he can to put a stop to it. Iago sees qualities that are in Othello and Cassio that aren’t in him and it makes him despise himself.

In your view how does Shakespeare’s portrayal of the complex nature of jealousy contribute to the enduring value of Othello?

Othello and Iago Comparison Othello and Iago are different in their characters as well as in their colours. It could be said also, however, that they are similar because of their fallibility. Iago is overcome with his desire for revenge to such an extent that he puts it into action. Othello's love and possessiveness of Desdemona take over him until he eventually would rather kill her than allow anyone else to have her. In this way, despite their contrasts, Iago and Othello both represent the extremity of the same thing - human emotion.

Othello’s love for Desdemona was so deep he could not bear the thought of another being with her; “If she be false, O! Then heaven mocks itself. I’ll not believe’t.” Iago uses the characters of Cassio and the obsessive Roderigo as his weapons in his cunning plan. Iago drives the idea into Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful, inciting him into a state of jealousy. “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee; and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.” Othello growing insecurities about his wife’s faithfulness only adds to his psychological suffering which in turn acts as a catalyst towards the suffering of other characters involved in the play.Iago tells these lies with the intention of driving Othello insane as well as establish his dominance and influence the situations of those characters close to Othello. Evidence of this comes in one of Iago’s soliloquies from act two, scene one; “That Cassio loves her, I do well Believe’t: That she loves him, ‘tis apt and of great credit.” This section shows that he is trying to convince himself that his own manipulative lies are true and is trying to reassure his motives by justifying his own actions. By convincing Othello

A key figure, if not the most important in the play, is that of the malcontent Iago, who sows the seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind, and presents him with ‘proof’ to back up his suspicions. Iago acts as a catalyst to Desdemona’s murder and it is his intricate

Iago's is seeking revenge on Othello eagerly because he is married to the women he all of a suddenly loves. For instance he says, “Hath leaped into my seat/The thought whereof

Due to Iago’s perception of Othello being naïve, Iago uses his phenomenal understanding of the human psyche as his ability to orchestrate pre-planned scenarios. Iago is successfully and carefully able to manipulate Othello’s thoughts into thinking Desdemona has been unfaithful and that it was false love. “I called my love false love, but what he said then?” (IV, iii, 59) This is significant because Desdemona is beginning to realize that the love Othello had for her must have been false she’s worried that Othello will leave her.

Throughout the play, Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago doesn’t change much as a character being that he tries to get revenge on Othello throughout the entire story. Despite his lack of change throughout the play, Iago affects everybody’s character and life. These effects on the other character’s lives pushed them to extreme conditions. Iago begins planning his revenge on Othello after he finds out that Othello gave the promotion of lieutenant to Cassio instead of him. In order to get his revenge, Iago plans on spreading rumors about Othello’s wife, Desdemona, and Cassio.

He successfully manipulates Roderigo, Cassio, Desdemona, and Othello into doing what he wants and he never once is a suspect due to his great façade of friendliness. Iago exploits certain personality traits of each character in order to achieve his master plan. For example, Iago uses Desdemona’s kind heart against her by making Othello believe that her consistent vouching for Cassio to earn his rank back is due to her alleged affair with Cassio. “For ‘tis most easy/Th’ inclining Desdemona to subdue/ In any honest suit/ She’s framed as fruitful” (II.iii.319-21). By abusing Desdemona’s kind nature in order to get what he wants, Iago proves that he has no concern, or empathy, for what happens to anyone else in the play, including the innocent Desdemona. Iago also utilizes Othello’s trusting nature, Cassio’s attractiveness, and Roderigo’s love for Desdemona to further his scheme, disregarding any consequences that would occur because of his

Iago created this plan out of jealousy and revenge. Cassio, Othello’s right hand man, was promoted to lieutenant instead of Iago. This was the final event that sent Iago over the edge; the first event being the rumors of Othello having an affair with Emilia, Iago’s wife. Iago’s plan is to get Othello to believe that Desdemona is unfaithful to him. Iago’s reasoning, jealousy and revenge, is what characterizes him as evil. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetrate it” (Martin Luther King Jr). He who thinks evil thoughts is as responsible as one who acts upon them. Iago himself has passive contemplations that transform into concrete

Iago also has his own suspicion that Othello had an affair with Emilia, Iago’s wife, and seeks revenge. Iago’s soliloquy at the end of “till I am even’d with him, wife for wife” (Act 2, Scene 1) has the notion that Iago might sleep with Desdemona so that Othello must feel the same destructive jealousy.

Countless amounts of theorists believe that in Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago, who is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains, has a motive other than what he provides reasoning for to destroy Othello and Desdemona’s relationship and life. The play starts out with Iago and Roderigo talking about how Iago has lost the position of officer to a character named Cassio, after exclaiming how displeased he is, the audience finds out that Othello and a woman named Desdemona are married. Theorists are convinced that Iago is agitated not because Othello has denied him this position, but because Othello and Desdemona are married and Iago is jealous and genuinely wishes to be with Othello, but tries ruining both their lives not wanting his homosexuality

Iago is angry that Othello promoted Cassio instead of him because he believes he is better suited for the position. He says that “nothing can or shall content my soul till I am evened with him” (2.1320-321), implying that Iago will stop at nothing to get revenge on Othello. Iago wants Othello to “thank [him], love [him], and reward [him], for making him egregiously an ass” (2.1.330-331) as a result of his revenge. This also shows how self-centered Iago is as he wants Othello to treat him as if he is higher in rank than him. In Iago’s plan to seek revenge on Othello, he plans to “undo [Desdemona's] credit with the Moor”(2.3.379), implying that he plans to manipulate Desdemona into not being faithful towards her husband Othello.