Othello: Iago's Journal III

Once a seed of suspicion or doubt is planted in a person’s mind, the noxious effect of jealousy is soon to ensue. Jealousy and suspicion are Othello’s flaws hubris throughout the play and foreshadow to the audience his imminent downfall. He believes what Iago tells him so strongly that he compromises his close relationship with his best friend and his love for his wife. Iago manipulates Othello through the use of extortion, literary techniques, and his keen judge of character. His syntax and diction are so simple yet so powerful because he uses the correct rhetorical questions and addresses Othello with respectful terms such as “my lord.” He allows Othello do most of the talking

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock / The meat it feeds on” (Shakespeare 1.1. 165-67). The notion of jealousy being coined as a “green-eyed monster” is familiar in many forms of literature. Iago, one of Shakespeare’s most infamous villains, uses this line to warn Othello of the dangers of jealousy, although it is later revealed that Iago is the most jealous character in the play. Is Iago’s description of the green-eyed monster only a symbol? How real can it become to those who become too obsessed with it? How does this fit together with race? I aim to answer these questions by examining the relationship between William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello and Kwame Anthony Appiah’s definitions of

Inside Iago’s Feelings In William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, there are many interpersonal relationships between the characters that are very significant. These attitudes are turning points throughout the whole play. Each character demonstrates their emotions towards another character through a series of actions. In Iago’s case, he is envious of everything Othello has achieved and wants to take everything away from him.

“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (King James Version, Mt. 23.28); this is reflective of Iago’s character in Shakespeare's Othello. Throughout Othello, the antagonist Iago is often seen as an allusion to Satan. In this analysis of Othello, Iago’s actions will be discussed in comparison with Satan. Specifically, this essay will use Iago’s deceptiveness and motives to better compare Iago to an embodiment of Satan. Like Satan and Eve, Iago will use deceit to make pawns of his peers, while being driven by the very sins that damned Satan. While Iago is very reminiscent of Satan in his actions and intentions, he also admits it, being quite aware of how similar he is to Satan. Iago’s own admittance of being like Satan will also be discussed.

Othello the play by William Shakespeare starts in Venice with Iago and Roderigo conversing. Iago is a soldier under the order of Othello and has been paid to keep an eye on Othello by Roderigo who wants to get Othello's fiance, Desdemona. Be that as it may, Iago does not give full disclosure to Roderigo and in this manner doubting issues emerge. Othello and Desdemona wed each other, and when Brabantio, the father of Desdemona comes to blame Othello for utilizing enchantment on his girl as he says in Act 1 Scene 2 Line 64 “Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!” They both reveal to him that it was love that united them. In the meantime, Iago is infuriated that Othello did not pick him as his

Revenge is the main theme in the play Othello by William Shakespeare and it is portrayed from the character Iago. Through Iago’s soliloquies he reveals his horrible doings. Iago wants to get revenge on Othello and his loved one Desdemona. The reason why he wants to get revenge at Othello is because he promotes Cassio to Lieutenant. Iago takes advantage of his reputation “Honesty Iago” to manipulate other characters in the play to get revenge from Othello. Iago is aware that he can easily manipulate the people around him to get revenge from Othello that he does not stop and think about the harm he is causing. Iago is a brilliant character that he successfully manipulates Cassio, Desdemona, Roderigo and his own wife Emilia to fulfill his

“The best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way”. In the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare, a soldier named Iago is titled “Honest Iago”. His general (Moor) , Othello, is married to Desdemona but Iago heard rumors of Othello having an affair with his wife. Iago plots a scheme and uses his title in a malicious way. The Moor trusts Iago very much, believing everything he says and falls into Iago’s plans effortlessly.

In the play of Othello by William Shakespeare the character of Iago can be best described as what is known as a master manipulator. Iago is a professional at the art of persuasion (Beier,2014). In Othello, we can see Iago’s plans firsthand through the use of soliloquies. Iago uses these to inform the audience as he stands by himself announcing what he intends to accomplish. Iago’s feelings of hate and ultimate betrayal stem from a strong feeling of jealousy towards Othello (Bevington,2014). Iago presents a prime example of how the feeling of jealousy can be stronger and more dangerous than just hate alone.

The Art of Persuasion Act 3 Scene 3 Aluda Galla Iago would reveal something, but not to a full extent. He would instigate suspicions in Othello’s head all while acting oblivious even though he knew the answers to everything and meticulously planned it all. Iago would be persistent, but still wouldn’t say everything that was on his mind, his persistence would keep Othello thinking and ensue self destructive thoughts. Iago also played on Othello’s love and trust, he’d use it to his advantage, Othello believed him because he has always seen Iago as an honest man.

Did Iago have good intentions or was he evil? Evil is the opposite of being good. Evil is having qualities tending to injury, hurt, or be mischievous. If you read the story, you’ll know Iago was definitely an evil human-being. Iago was a man driven by jealousy, anger, and hatred.

Without a job now, Cassio is vulnerable to Iago, who cunningly feigns friendship and offers him a way back into the graces of the general – through Desdemona. Iago contrives to have Othello observe the departure of the ex-lieutenant from Desdemona’s quarters: “Was not that Cassio parted from my wife?” Building on this tiny piece of solid evidence, Iago’s sinister mind develops a grand array of fabricated evidence for incriminating both Cassio and Desdemona. Emilia assists in the betrayal by providing Iago with the key piece of evidence – the decorated handkerchief which the general previously gave Desdemona: “That which so often you did bid me steal.”

What He Knows, He knows In Othello, Shakespeare created a unique and powerful character, Iago, who dominates the plot of the play until the play reaches the tragic results. Even though he looks as a human evil easily and clearly, many critics have evaluated his motivation as many different opinion: “Critics have listed the several reasons he does what he does… The critical quandary concerning Iago’s motivation has thus lead Maurice Hunt (2005: 125) to argue that Iago has no motivation at all” Mills cites in his essay “Mind the Gap: Teaching Othello through Creative Responses” (Mills 156). It is because the inner world of human being that Iago shows is so profound and difficult to understand, so it is hard to be defined by one word in common.

Othello was written by Shakespeare during 1603-1604, which wan not published until twenty years later (Britannica 2017) Othello is said to be a tragedy, but it is also viewed as a love story. Where there is love, there can also be envy, jealousy, trust issues, deception, as well as manipulation that was all caused by one person, which was Iago. Iago the master of manipulating that feeds false ideas to the people around him in order to turn them against each other. Iago, a trusted friend that is so evil with hate and jealous of the ones that trusted and love him, but he is so blinded by their happiness, he betrays them all to gain power.

Finally, Iago is the only major character in Othello that does not experience a moment of truth. He is the inciter of lies and possesses the knowledge of the truth throughout the play. Iago takes advantage of Othello’s honesty and uses it to start his deceiving plan. Iago worked hard to be portrayed as an honest person and be in everyone's favour. For example,

For the Othello group project, I played the roles of Iago and Gratiano. I was given two roles due to the lack of members in the group. Although my parts did not have as many lines as the others, I had the responsibility of changing my character and emotions throughout the performance. This required a lot of practicing and intonation with the rest of the group, but due to our good cooperation and teamwork, it was perfected in only a few days. As for my offstage role, I was in charge of communicating with the group and planning out our meetings and practice days.