Othello, By William Shakespeare Essay

“The Tragedy of Othello,” by William Shakespeare, is about the tragic downfall of a once great man named Othello by the manipulation of Iago, the antagonist of the story. However, a deeper meaning of Othello could be “[It] is a tragedy of incomprehension, not at the level on intrigue but at the deepest level of human dealings. No one in Othello come to understand himself or anyone else.” It is debated on whether or not this is truly the characters meet their demise. This quote is an excellent representation of both why and how the characters of Othello meet all of their downfalls and how they are tricked by Iago. Such evidence in the story to support this quote are Othello’s insecurity of his relationship, Roderigo’s inability to live without Desdemona, and how everyone relies on Iago for help. These are just instants where the characters did not understand each other are Cassio and Desdemona being unaware of the motivations for Othello’s hatred toward them, Iago cannot accept the fact that Cassio was chosen for lieutenant over himself, and no one realizes that Iago was using everyone to his advantage until the very end.

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.

When pairs of texts are considered together, their universal themes and ideas lead to greater understanding, appreciation and insight of both the old and the new. The texts Othello, William Shakespeare (1600) and Othello, Geoffrey Sax (2001), ring true for this statement. Despite the differing contexts and ages, the universal themes of racism and betrayal bring new meaning to each of the texts. The primary meaning from the juxtaposition of the two is that of the human condition, and how the problems faced in the 17th century are faced in modern times.

In the play Othello, jealousy is shown to be very evident through the actions of the characters. Jealousy is an emotion that everyone shares, and it is ultimately responsible for the tragic ending of the play. Everyone feels jealous at certain times of their lives, and this feeling can cause people to do irrational things. This human emotion also shows people to be weak in the sense that they are never happy with what they have. Shakespeare shows through Othello, Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio that jealousy is the most corrupt and destructive emotion.

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 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,

The most illusive character in all of Shakespeare’s drama, Iago is perhaps the most difficult to explore psychologically for the simple reason that he lacks a personal self. He dons and sheds gender like a closet of clothes, adorning each article as it suits him. Ultimately evolved from the Vice figure of the medieval English morality plays, as Bernard Spivack has convincingly argued, Iago is the Shakespeare’s dramatic and humanistic manifestation of the abstracted evil which governed the dramatic movement of the previous generations of English plays. The self he presents to the world is bound only by circumstance and not by constitution. One key to Iago’s power is his “improvisational ability” (Gutierrez 12). Like the mythical Satan as Prince of Lies, he makes up his fabulous stories as he goes along, playing off of others’ actions and reactions to his ever-spinning web of lies. Iago switches between the facades of emotion easily and fluidly. He admits and affirms his hatred of Othello in the opening lines of the play (I.i.1-9) [All citations are from the Bantam edition.] and reveals his intentions of betraying Othello at his earliest convenience (I.i.44). In the very next scene, not more than 150 lines later, we find Iago in his role as sycophant openly fawning before the

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.

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is "Honest" Iago. At first glance, Iago seems to be the essence of "motiveless malignity." However, despite Iago's unquestionable malignancy, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iago's quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evil's sake. Iago's rapacity can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello.

     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.

Critics have debated the significance of Othello’s race in terms of portraying his identity for a long time. The negative connotations of “blackness” have led to the creation of many racial constructs associated with the “Moor”; this denigration has infused the opinions of many critics, such as Albert Gerard, proposing that Othello’s “negroid physiognomy” reaches down to the “deepest levels of personality” and that he is a “barbarian”. However, many other critics like Edward Berry and Martin Orkin believe that colour is merely a “surface indicator” compared to the outward virtue of beneficence, defining identity. Beneficence could be defined by the will to practice good acts, in conjunction with the aversion of practicing evil, and the prevention and removal of evil.

saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him

Othello may be seen as a tragic hero throughout William Shakespeare’s famous play, Othello. From the get go Iago masters manipulating Othello, he continues to do so until he suffers his major downfall. Iago is not remorseful for it at all. In fact, he’s doing it for revenge of the

Shakespeare's play “Othello, the Moor of Venice” is a good illustration of Aristotle’s tragedy. The play has all of the different qualities to be considered as Aristotelian tragedy. Othello, the tragic hero imitates the basic human emotions such as jealousy and pride which becomes his flaw. The flaw creates the climax and leads to ultimate downfall of a tragic hero. The tragic hero realizes his flaw evoking the readers to feel sympathy for him. The play takes the readers through the logical sequence of the plot. Readers can see the transformation of tragic hero from a man of courage and dignity to insecure, capable of being fooled and loses sight of everything.