Essay on The Incomparable Evil in Shakespeare's Othello

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.

Shakespeare’s Othello explores the destructive nature of Iago’s villainy through his ability to confuse appearance with reality through his deception and trickery. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is a scheming antagonist whose goal is to destroy Othello. Iago uses foreshadowing when he says, “I am not what I am.” Iago tells the audience that his loyalty with Othello is all a scheme to destroy him, and his

Evil appears through the menacing Iago and his devilish undertakings in Shakespeare’s Othello. Perceived as a sociopath, Iago antagonizes and fuels conflict. Through an interpretation by Ralph Berry, the literary critic identifies a “fairly clear-cut pattern of good and evil that can be closely identified with the three main personages: that is, of evil, personified in Iago, struggling in the soul of Othello for possession of the goo, Desdemona” (3). The conflict throughout the story is fueled by the good versus evil narrative. Firstly, evil shows its presence when Iago manipulates Othello into thinking his love, Desdemona, cheated on him. In response to Iago’s insinuation Othello speaks, “Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw/the smallest

The relationships in Shakespeare’s plays are never simple and even less so when one narrows the field to his tragedies. In the case of Iago and Othello this complicated relationship is made more so by the interwoven theme of appearance verses reality. The idea of Iago, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, fighting both for and against his master that permeates the play. Othello, however, a seasoned warrior being unable to see through the guise is a flaw his companion takes advantage of. Iago’s hatred is the biggest mystery of this play, making the reader wish Shakespeare had written a prequel.

Secondly, Iago is Shakespeare’s perfect villain as a result of his motivation to ruin Othello and Cassio. Every villain should have traits similar to this for reasons; it keeps the villain interested on the target, and the villain has reasons to why he

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

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 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,

“Some men just want to watch the world burn,” (Alfred [Michael Caine,] Batman; The Dark Knight). William Shakespeare uses a variety of literary devices throughout his works, but his use of dramatic irony specifically puts his readers at the edge of their seats. Being full of jealousy and betrayal, the plot of Othello is guided by this playwright’s usage of dramatic irony. Through the use of dramatic irony and characterization Shakespeare creates Iago, the most sinister character in all of literature.

     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.

William Shakespeare’s Othello uses different and unique techniques in his language to express the nature of evil throughout the play. Verbal twists and the characters most importantly stress the act of evil. Iago, most of all is portrayed as the “villain” or “protagonist in the play. Shakespeare uses this character to set the basis of evil. Each plot point is spiraled further into tragedy due to the nature of Iago and his manipulative language towards the other main characters.

The evil in Iago becomes visible from the very beginning of the play. He explains at the beginning how he was passed over for the

    Who can compare in depth of evil to the villainous Iago in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? His villainy is incomparably destructive on all of those around him.

In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, the audience encounters characters that are manifestations of evil and dark desires of the subconscious. This theme is portrayed through the characters of Iago and Othello. From the start, Iago’s malicious intents are clear. Because of his feelings of incompetence, particularly to Othello, he succumbs to very human emotions like jealousy. However, his proceeding actions seem to lack awareness and thought for others. Iago manipulates Othello until he too becomes mad and overpowered by envy. Both characters are immersed into their sinister roles because of accessible motives, but they experience fluxes of instability that ultimately dehumanize their characters. At each of these transitions, the motif of bestial and monstrous themes are present to mark the characters’ demise.

Iago’s relationship with Othello becomes a power struggle where Iago attempts to degrade Desdemona in order to position himself so he can ‘poison’ Othello. Here Shakespeare is showing how powerful and manipulative Iago can be with his use of words, and how powerful they can be. This power struggles is exemplified