Othello, By William Shakespeare

Fred West’s perspective on Iago is that he is a psychopath. He argued that Iago is an ‘accurate portrait of a psychopath’. He stated that “the psychopath does not set out to lie in the self-conscious, guilt-beset way that a normal person would. Lying does not bother him.” I agree with West’s view of Iago being a psychopath. By definition psychopaths are unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy with others, both of which are demonstrated by Iago during the play. Psychopath’s are often charming, they are very manipulative, just like Iago is with Othello and how he manipulates him into believing Othello’s wife has been unfaithful and can easily gain people’s trust, Iago’s ‘honest’ facade allows people to believe he is trustworthy.

There are many people that are considered sociopaths in the world, many of which hold high ranks in our society; amongst those many people you could find presidents and CEO's of companies, all willing to do whatever it takes to step on all kinds of people to get to the top of the social classes. If the definition of a sociopath is someone with an emotional and behavior disorder, clear perception of reality save for the person's social and moral obligations and often by the pursuit of immediate gratification in criminal acts or sexual perversion then Iago fits the description perfectly. Iago of all people wields the power of manipulation like no other man in Othello; he has a complete lack of empathy, is aggressive and he is a master

Love is complicated due to the fact that there is a difference of opinion and perception and it is complicated because people see stuff in different ways and interpret things differently as well. In the 3 texts dissatisfaction or complication is shown. Firstly in Othello love is presented as ephemeral and transient while atonement love is presented as unrequited and finally in cat on a hot tin roof love is presented as painful and troublesome due to unreciprocated feelings.

In Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, the reader is introduced to the character Iago. There are many different interpretations of his character, was he a ‘skillful villain’? Or was he a ‘mysterious creature of unlimited cynicism’? Or just a ‘wronged man’ who is more sinned against than sinning?

Each situation of manipulation proves Shakespeare’s characterization of Iago. He was an evil antagonist, and would do anything to get to the top. Due

According to Mayo Clinic, a sociopath uses “charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or personal pleasure” (Mayo Clinic). Iago exhibits this characteristic by manipulating Roderigo for the whole duration of the play. He traps Roderigo in his web by making empty promises and choosing his words carefully, as seen in the following quote by Iago:

Iago is thoroughly narcissistic and unsympathetic towards the emotions he provokes from his actions. Hiss lack of a conscience and remorse “is one of the central features of psychopathy” (West). His motives exhibit more of an afterthought instead of a catalyst towards the actions he perpetuates. He is

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 frequently uses deceitful and manipulative

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.

Jealousy is the root of all evil, bringing extreme consequences that may not have been originally intended. This theme is demonstrated in William Shakespeare 's play, Othello. The story was written in the early 1600 's when Shakespeare was forty years old. Othello is about a young Venetian woman, Desdemona, who falls in love with the Moor of the land, Othello. Many people disapprove of their marriage, and attempt to destroy the wedding. Iago is the mastermind in the play who devises a plan to manipulate Othello to believe his wife has committed adultery. Iago rages Othello so greatly that he arranges to have his wife and her suspected partner, Cassio to be murdered. This web of lies and a jealous attitude causes Othello 's naive desire to be successful. Shakespeare 's work was performed in a theater setting, where he received great praise from the most noble affairs. People of all social levels would gather at the Swan Theater to watch great plays like Othello. The cost for admission into the theater depended on where the party decided to sit or stand, ranging from groundlings to kings. Shakespeare incorporated many new elements into the stage, such as a curtain, door, balcony, and drop floor. These features added many dramatic effects to the plot. His techniques entertained the audience, and it also allowed them to gather information from the play that other characters may not have known. This strategy was used in Othello, with some of his major characters including

Women, especially Desdemona but Emilia as well, are obviously targets of male violence in Othello. For some reason Shakespeare’s play often put the emphasis on the role of the female characters and their influence on the main male characters. For instance, the result of the passionate love of Romeo for Juliet, the effect of Ophelia’s insanity had on hamlet, and so on. In Othello, Shakespeare made Desdemona and the other women in the play no different; Othello’s jalousie and love made the play a tragedy. Shakespeare made Desdemona the faithful wife of Othello. She was such a kindhearted and wished to make everything work even when the situation where she lost her handkerchief she tried to fix the situation and calming Othello. However, her innocent sympathy towards Cassio made lago’s lies more credible. Overall, one can say that her naïve nature causes her to become a target for the men in the play.

“Othello” is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603. In this play, Shakespeare features three major characters: Othello, Iago, and Desdemona. Othello, a black man, and Desdemona, a white venetian secretly eloped in the play. Iago shows racism and prejudice towards their relationship because of their skin colors. In the play, Iago says: “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise! Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise, I say” (Shakespeare 1.1.97-101). Iago was against mixed race couples and therefore held a grudge against Othello and Desdemona. Modern readers today can relate to this experience in “Othello” because racism is seen almost

Present day, Shakespeare is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights that ever lived. His work is studied, analyzed and dissected throughout the world. However, Shakespeare’s original audience was mostly comprised of bakers, shopkeepers and other tradesmen. He wrote for the purpose of entertaining ordinary people of his time. In his play Othello, the character Iago directly addresses the audience in monologues explaining his plans and reasons for his actions. Shakespeare writes Iago in a way that uses his words and the power or suggestion to hide his true motives not only from the other characters in the play, but his audience as well.

Far more advanced for his time period, Shakespeare’s talent went unrecognized in the category of not just literature, but psychology as well. During the Elizabethan time period, it was unaware that a human could have psychological defects, let alone have characters who express these faults in a play. Shakespeare’s Othello was produced with two of the main characters having significant behavioral disorders. With a changing motive, the antagonist Iago expresses the symptoms of a narcissist and a sociopath by manipulating the protagonist Othello with lies about his wife. The infected Othello becomes caught up in Iago’s deception which causes him to show the traits of having low serotonin levels and appears to be going