The Tragedy Of Othello By William Shakespeare

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

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,

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the antagonist Iago is arguably the most heinous villain in all of literature. His ability to shape shift in and out of character is what makes him unique. His tactics are similar to that of a cold blooded chameleon. Iago’s art of persuasion, his mastery of rhetoric as well as his ability to sense his victims’ insecurities and weaknesses, is what makes him so diabolically ruthless. Throughout the play, one can truly see the power of words and their delivery, and the massive influence that they can have over people. Iago employs charlatan techniques to appeal to his victims’ emotional, logical and ethical weaknesses for his own selfish political gain. Iago’s rhetorical methods entrances many of the key characters and leads them to arrive at the assumptions he wants them to reach. Through these methods, Iago is able to transform Othello from a calm, collected, composed general to an insecure, emotional, and malleable puppet. Through his manipulation of all the key characters, Iago is nonetheless able to remain in favored perception, as he is ironically referred to as “honest Iago”. What makes Iago so intriguing, is his ability to carry out his selfish agenda without being detected. Iago utilizes reverse psychology, indirect insinuations, and explicit imagery to deceive others and force them under his spell. Iago’s intentions are always

Shakespeare has effectively constructed Iago as a deceptive villain, whose manipulative persona gained the trust of those around him, allowing him to exert his authority through the actions and aspirations of others. By doing this, Shakespeare had an

A psychopathic killer fueled by anger and revenge will stop at nothing to reach his goal. Iago, in his hunt for revenge against Othello, fits this role. Or does he? In Shakespeare 's play, Othello, Iago is the driving force of the plot and one of the most cunning villains in four hundred years. Without looking into it, Iago could be considered just another generic Shakespeare villain; however, his shallow emotions, high self esteem, and his dishonest nature prove him to be much more.

Iago is a powerful predator who exploits those around him by infecting their perceptions of truth with carefully chosen fallacy. His skill in finding the proverbial chinks in others' armor allows him to skillfully weave his machinations of destroying Othello into their minds and actions; by manipulating character's perceptions of Desdemona, Iago gains the leverage he needs to exploit each character. No one is impervious to Iago's seething purpose; even Othello falls prey to Iago's suggestions and insinuations about Desdemona. Iago's constant presence as the stager, as well as his ceaseless - but subtle - reinforcement of events through narration, allows him to be the pivotal force that directs

William Shakespeare's Othello is a play that mostly revolves around jealousy, trust and revenge. Throughout most of Shakespeare's plays, evil characters are not uncommon, but in my own opinion, Iago has to be one of – if not the most - interesting. Even though Iago might be described by some as being just "pure evil" or even "intolerable", the truth still remains that people will read deeper into the play just to see what Iago will do next. Through his words and actions, which are carefully thought out, Iago is able to manipulate others for his personal benefit. Not only that, but he also manipulates people to get him closer to his goals. He is no doubt the driving force of the play, pushing Othello and everyone else towards the tragic

Iago, is Othello’s master of deception. Iago plots with real sophistication, carefully manipulating Othello (the protagonist of this play) into believing that Desdemona(his faithful lover) has been unfaithful. Iago’s ability to orchestrate complicated pre-planned scenarios is amazing. Iago's deception is effective because of his patience, his cleverness, and what seems to

In every play there is at least one character that jumps of the page and begs for your attention. In The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare this character is Iago. Iago is a devious man, liar, manipulator, and psychopath. It seems as though in the world of Shakespeare there is always consent power struggles throughout almost all his plays (list several examples) However, to me the most interesting of all of these, is in the play Othello. Where Iago seeks revenge on an unknowing Othello. Iago Othello’s trusted ensign betrays him in the most deceitful ways. One would conclude that Iago would have motive behind his ruthless and elaborate plans. My theory is that Iago had committed these moral

Shakespeare’s Othello is considered to be cone of the finest dramatic works by William Shakespeare. The theme of deception is rife in the story and is captured well by characters such as Iago, who is masterful in deception throughout the play. Iago is always scheming something evil and anywhere he is encountered in the play, he is either putting his evil plans to work or scheming to do so. Iago also has very intricate plans and works on many things at once.

Usually, people have the belief that evil human beings are ruthless and coldhearted, or at least disconnected from the people they hurt. On the other hand, Iago is capable of harming Othello so much because he is able to read Othello’s mind so excellent. Because of Iago’s grasp on Othello, he is able to exploit him so expertly that at times it seems he is actually inside Othello’s head. Typically in Shakespeare’s plays, characters do bad things in order to achieve a particular goal. What makes Iago different from the others is that it’s never revealed for sure why it is that Iago wants to destroy Othello. Throughout the play, Iago provided many conflicting motives for hating Othello. At one point, Iago said he’s angry because Othello overlooked him for a promotion. Later, Iago insists that Othello is having an affair with his wife, Emilia. Being impossible to imagine, Iago must have had an extensive ability to devise and deploy such a plan to convince everyone else of various trickery along the way. It has to be believed that Iago will be punished, but it’s left open for the audience to wonder whether he will be sentenced or try to get away with his evil plans by throwing together some other kind of destructive act. Different from the other personalities that are molded by their actions, Iago’s

Being passed over for promotion to Lieutenant, Iago decides to take revenge from Othello with his deceiving words and behaviors. His talent of manipulation managed him to deceive all the characters in the play in a way that serves his goals, which makes him a very powerful figure. Iago is not considered to be a classical villain in any play or story. His role in this tragedy is very complicated and distinct, faraway from anyone might imagine. being an expert judge character along with his high cleverness gave him a major privilege in the play. For instance, Iago is aware that Roderigo will do practically anything to win Desdemona, so he uses Roderigo’s weakness to assist him achieving some of his goals by removing Cassio from being a lieutenant. He tells him to “put money in thy purse” so that Roderigo can buy some gifts for Desdemona to win her heart as well as to go to Cyprus, where he thinks (Iago) when they are far from Venice it would be much easier for him to get rid of Othello. During his soliloquy that followed after their talk, Iago demonstrates that he would never support and partner somebody as Roderigo unless it serves him, “thus do I ever make my fool my purse; For I mine own gained knowledge should profane; If I would time expend with such a snipe; But for my sport and profit” (act:1 scene 3, 362-383). Iago is so good at manipulating and deceiving

William Shakespeare has some of the most memorable villains in all of drama. One of them is known as Iago. Many people argue that Iago was the protagonist but that simply is not true. People also think that since Iago manipulates Othello, they think the reasoning behind this is because Iago truly thinks he is being honest, kind and steering him onto the right path. This is not right since Iago knows what he is doing. Iago is the villain in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, uses morals to prove that Iago is the villain.