Othello Analysis

********
********
3/14/12
Period 7

Topic 1

Othello is one of the many plays by William Shakespeare. It tells the story of the tragic love life of the valiant Moor, Othello. It shows how he changes; starting from greatness and respect, he is tricked by Iago in to being cruel and hating. Many people assume the basis of the story is Othello’s life and that because the play is called Othello that he is the protagonist. The actual protagonist though is the supposed antagonist, Iago. Iago with his cunning plot, mastery of words and the ultimate lust for vengeance rules the play. Iago dictates what will happen to the character through the play and he does it with master cunning and deceit. With Cassio, he ruins his life with one idea, “He hold me well. The better shall my purpose work on him. Cassio’s a proper man. Let me see now. To get his place and to plume up my will double knavery --How? How? – let’s see” Cassio is brought into Iago’s plans and nearly killed because Cassio is seen as in the way. Another example is his trickery with Roderigo. Iago realizes Roderigo as a threat he tricks him into attempting to kill Cassio and then Iago comes in killing Roderigo to get rid of the threat and gain favor towards him. When everyone realizes that Iago has been manipulating every one from the start it is too late, Desdemona lies dead and Othello’s mind has been warped. Iago in comparison to Othello command the situations and made sure they went to his master plan. Iago intrigues the minds of all of the audiences with his mastery of speech. His way over angering and manipulating Othello is a psychological phenomenon, he warns Othello of something to be weary of, which in turn causes Othello to worry about it. A key time is with Othello,” O, beware, my lord, of jealousy/ But O, damned minutes tell he o’er who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!’ This, even though warning of jealousy, provokes Othello into so much jealousy that he ends up killing his wife. Iago also can convince people to go with his plans with a well thought out lie. Iago knows Roderigo loves Desdemona and uses that to his advantage. Iago fills Roderigo with hopes of being with Desdemona and says that helping him will promise him her. Iago’s manipulation of Roderigo helps him gain captaincy, taking Cassio out as a threat, and a closer bond to Othello. Iago and Othello may both have been skilled word smith, but Iago was clearly on a higher level. A protagonist is expected to be someone you feel you have known for a long time, someone you can say you know by the end of the play. Iago is that kind of character. A main character needs to be the most devolved character in the story. He expresses that he is hell-bent on revenge in a clear man that is constantly shown through the play. It is exciting, it is interesting. Bye the end the audience understands every piece of his anger and why he did all the aspects, which usually have a very dynamic reason behind them. Iago’s frustration with Roderigo is clearly showed, that he needs him but wishes for someone with higher intelligence. With Cassio the envy is let known to the audience by Iago’s want for the position right under Othello. The whole play tells of his desire to ruin Othello and lust for power and shown in a very detailed why through Iago’s side of the story Iago’s desire, even though very questionable, makes him the character that catches the audiences attention and keeps them on their seat. Iago, even though not a tragic hero, was a successful villain. He lied, he deceived, he schemed, and he murdered. He was a intriguing character start to finish because of this. He is one of the only memorable characters if not the only antagonist to hold the lead role.