William Shakespeare 's Othello - The Jealous Iago !

Jealousy plays a major role in Othello as it is the driving force which leads to the plays events being carried out. The theme of jealousy is prevalent through characterization and the dishonoring of the values of trust and loyalty. The character if Iago is the main who endures jealousy and dishonours trust and loyalty which in the end he uses as a method to lead Othello to his downfall. Iago dishonours Othello’s trust by stating “My lord, you know I love you” but this contrasts with Iago line “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”.

Any human has their jealousy no matter how honorable and trustful that person is. Othello as an honorable general has no exception. He fell into Iago's almost masterpiece plan and had to choose friendship over love. He became a monster of jealousy, he wasn't himself anymore. Othello has put his faith of his own life on Iago's words about Desdemona's betrayal with

Jealousy is a powerful emotion that can blind oneself from identifying the truth. Shakespeare heavily emphasizes this theme throughout the drama Othello, especially through the actions of characters. In the play the heinous antagonist, Iago, uses each character’s jealousy to deceive that person and manipulate the truth. His false promises and deceitfulness bring to the demise of many of the main characters in the play, including the protagonist, Othello. Othello could not have been deceived if it were not for his powerful jealousy. Therefore, Shakespeare is telling us that jealousy is an ugly trait that can hide the truth, which in turn causes many problems between characters in the play.

The downright evil and hateful nature of Iago made it easy for jealousy to encapsulate itself in his mind. Iago’s jealousy is introduced to the audience in the second line of the play when he states that he should have been promoted to general instead of Othello (Shakespeare, 2003:I.i.2). However, Iago later on in the play confesses, "I hate the Moor: And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets he has done my office: I know not if't be true; But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety."(Shakespeare, 2003:I.iii.368-372). Whether or not the reasons may be for Iago’s immense jealousy of Othello; it is the fuel that flames of his crusade. The jealousy does not end there. By agreeing with Taylor (2004:385-386), Iago evokes jealousy in Othello by means of manipulation. Not only does Iago approach his manipulation tactfully, he anticipates events and has great patience to wait for the exact time to pour ‘poison in the ear’ to feed Othello’s jealousy. Iago manipulates Othello to distrust his wife’s devolution to him in the lines, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on;"(Shakespeare, 2003:III.iii.167-169). The vehicle for Iago’s jealousy is manipulative language that he intelligently applies to ensure Othello’s

In the play, Othello, jealousy and envy are prominent themes from the beginning to the end. As the play starts to unwind, you can see jealousy is the major cause of all the drama in the play. Jealousy or envy is a feeling of discontented or resentful longing by someone else’s possessions , qualities or luck. Iago becomes engulfed by jealousy and it causes him to corrupt Othello. They are two men that cause similar crimes but we sympathize for Othello and hate Iago because they have different attitudes towards their crime.

“The theme of jealousy is clearly prominent throughout the film as it influences the characters’ actions. The major characters of Iago and Othello clearly possess this jealousy and express how it affects them. Iago is forced to expose his actual nature and Othello undergoes a total transformation from a normal human to a spiteful monster. Evidently, jealousy does cause people to change in horrific ways.”

Iago’s self-doubt and jealousy is a natural result of being human, regardless of the way he decides to deal with these emotions, he manages them more honestly and manly than anyone throughout the play. Iago is well aware of the emotions he has and though he does not admit to anyone he is feeling this way, he knows it personally. It is quite apparent to the audience, that Iago has once before felt jealous; “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!/It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/The meat it feeds on” (III.iii.165-167). Iago’s previous jealousy does not show that he is evil or weak but rather that Iago is the only man throughout Othello to reveal his truly humanistic emotions. Iago knows about the `green-eyed monster of jealous` and does not freat to speak of it knowing it is human to be jealous and that is exactly what he is. By studying Shakespeare`s depiction of Iago, it can be concluded that if Iago felt as if being jealous was not human, he would not warn others of it and rather let them deal with it themselves. The way Iago thinks, provides proof to the audience that Iago neither is villainous or evil but just a human living in a society where being powerful is important, thus, bringing

Iago knows jealousy is Othello’s weakness and he takes advantage of it. Othello has many flaws including jealousy and hatred that leads up to his

Jealousy falls among multiple characters in this play, but almost all of it originates from Iago. The first stroke of jealousy is between Iago and Cassio due to the former’s lack of promotion over Cassio. Iago discusses the matter, saying “I know my price, I am worth no worse a place” (Act I Scene I Line 12). After stating that he deserves the position which Cassio receives, he continues his jealous rant by attacking Cassio’s lacking capabilities by asking “And what [is] he? Forsooth, a great arithmetician” (Act I Scene I Lines 19-20). Iago, having experience on the battlefield, believes that he deserves the position over Cassio, who is an arithmetician. His continuous concern on the matter shows his jealousy directed towards Cassio. Iago also causes Othello to become jealous

Jealousy is defined as “resentment against a person enjoying success or advantages” (Dictionary). Shakespeare compose plays full of lies, betrayal, murderous revenge, and jealousy. In his play Othello, it is a love story filled with jealousy. Throughout the play there are many instances that show jealousy between the characters; from the beginning of the play when Roderigo is envious of Othello because he wants to be with Desdemona, to the end of the play when Othello is infuriated with envy because he believes Cassio and his wife Desdemona is having a secret affair. The flaws within all of the characters lied within their blindness to overlook Iago’s lies. Each character’s jealousy was what they perceived as the truth. Both Othello and Iago were highly respected soldiers but jealousy warps their sense of right and wrong and they end up disgraced. While they both plot a murderous revenge, what makes Iago the villain and Othello the tragic hero is that Iago actually enjoys punishing those he thinks have offended him.

In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, good is often confronted by evil, in which almost every case is in the form of jealousy. Iago, the plays antagonist, is a very manipulative villain. Iago uses his own agony and distress brought upon him by his envy of others, to provoke the same agony within the characters in the play. Jealousy’s ability are shown to influence people to new ends and make all humanistic judgment disappear leaving that man a monster torn apart by envy. Jealousy’s true destructive wrath and the pure evil it brings out in people can be revealed through Iago’s actions throughout the tragedy Othello.

Moreover, Iago uses his own jealousy to inflict jealousy on Othello. Iago also succeeds because he takes the time to get multiple characters in on his plan, he is patient and clever in this scheme. Iago knows that Othello will have a burden on himself if he has any thoughts of his wife with another man and in this situation

A warrior must walk around with his back against a wall and his hand upon his sword. A husband must walk around with his heart upon his sleeve, with faith that his wife will protect it. These two concepts are in direct conflict with each other. This is one reason that Othello became such an easy target for Iago. Othello had never found himself to be so vulnerable. Iago uses this to his advantage and plants the seed that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. He engrains the ideology of jealousy by telling him not to be, “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” Jealousy has a way of making a person see what they want to see. Once Othello fears Desdemona’s

Iago's anger entraps Othello in a web of deceit. Iago, the master manipulator conjures up suspicions in Othello about Cassio and Desdemona. Jealousy becomes Othello’s down fall which Iago uses as a tool to work with “ O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed

Jealous tendencies emerge in plot lines when the characters in them struggle to come to terms with the limits and situations placed around their personal worlds. This case is shown to occur often, manifested in a theme containing jealous tendencies by the main characters--Brabantio, Othello, and Iago-- in Shakespeare's play Othello. Instead of coming to terms with the environment and conditions around them, the jealousy-ridden Othello and Brabantio are manipulated through Iago’s work, for even though Iago is the antagonist of this play, he is in much the same mindset as the other two. The illogical thought processes made by the insecure Othello and Brabantio allow for storyline that contains a theme saturated in jealousy.