The concept of evil is so overplayed that it seems Iago’s actions are motiveless; he does not have a specific reason for desiring to bring down his fellow characters. As an audience, the readers cannot truly believe the justifications he gives along the play, due to his overwhelming deceptive tendencies. And when questioned, he replies with a tone that exposes nothing.…
In almost everything you read or watch there is a villain. Villains have been used in stories for a very long time. One particular villain, Iago from the play Othello by Julius Caesar, is a very famous villain. Iago was an extremely bad guy in this play and was always up to no good. The character Iago and his traits have influenced many more modern villains. Iago influenced other villains with his criminal traits of being evil, egotistical, and dishonesty.…
Shakespeare has created the character of Iago as the villain of the play. He drives the plot as he schemes and manipulated other characters. He fascinates and terrifies the audience with his revengeful plotting which he has no real motivation for.…
Many characters in the Shakespearian play, Othello, are deceived by the clever and flattering Iago. Early on in the play, Iago is trying to get his plans against Othello into motion. He meticulously chooses vulnerable characters to help carry out his vengeful scheme. Roderigo is one of the many susceptible characters who fall for Iago’s tricks. Iago catches Roderigo in a very vulnerable state and carefully plants his own scheme into Roderigo’s mind. Iago wants Roderigo to keep fighting for Desdemona despite her marriage to Othello. He tells him “Seek thou rather be hazed in compassing thy joy then to be drowned without her” (1.3 353-355). Iago flatters Roderigo by making him believe he has a chance with Desdemona and to fight for her using…
He begins with a rhetorical question which make the audience really question if he really is the villain. Iago then later justifies himself by giving Cassio a 'good' advice as to how to win back his position and gain the favour of Othello. Iago says that he the ‘Divinity of Hell’ believing he is the devil. When he says ‘As I do now’ we finally understand why he think he the devil. Iago hid his evil intention behind a mask of innocent but when the time is right the mask drop and he strike just like the devil describe in religion. Around the 16th Century a lot of people are big about religion so this made them fear him yet admire him because he is able to manipulate everybody around…
Iago’s contribution to an unstable mood shapes the theme of jealousy taking over or acting as a consumer because Iago illustrates that jealousy can be the driving force behind abhorrence as it grows bigger and bigger. Iago continues to exact revenge on Othello and other people are being affected negatively as they fall with Othello. As Iago and Roderigo are fighting, Iago steps aside and says: “ Now, whether he kill Cassio,/or Cassio him, or each do kill the other,/ Every way makes my gain. Live Roderigo,/ he calls me to a restitution large/ of gold and jewels that I bobbed from him/… If Cassio do remain,/ he hath a daily beauty in his life/ that makes me ugly. And Besides, the Moor/ May unfold me to him.” (V.I.13-22) Iago is thinking of killing Roderigo because he might be a threat…
Iago is presented as a vicious villain, and through his representation of evil, results in the surfacing of key themes such as light and darkness, racism, and rank and power. Thus, by carrying out the role as a villain, he highlights the animalistic traits evident within people of the Venetian society.…
Shakespeare’s play Othello exhibits many modern Freudian psychology theories, specifically through the character of Iago. Iago is a character who shows typical characteristics of a psychopath. Iago’s behaviour and intentions can be explained through modern Freudian psychology, and emphasised through the critical writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Fred West, who, respectively, argued Iago’s “motiveless malignity” and Shakespeare’s “profound and accurate portrayal of a psychopath in Iago”. Through this report, I will discuss how Freudian psychology can be used to further understand how Shakespeare’s Iago can be defined as a psychopath.…
Iago has the ability to charm and convince all the characters of his loyalty and honesty “Honest Iago”. But to the audience, Iago is a treacherous manipulator always looking to help himself by using the downfall of other characters. He uses many characters to his benefit, recognizing how trustworthy and oblivious these people are. Iago cannot be relied on as he has many masks, behind which he hides. He has many disguises and secrets that he hides from everyone. “I am not what I am” (Act 1, Scene 1, line 67), Iago’s opinion and treatment of women in the play also contributes to the audiences’ perception of him as cruel and unpleasant. Iago treats his wife Emilia in a very derogatory way, “It is a common thing…To have a foolish wife” Iago’s…
A mentor, typically a person who attempts to suggest and or change someone’s thoughts and possible actions. In the novel, Othello by William Shakespeare, the known mentor of Othello is Iago, the primary villain of the book. Due to his intense persuasion and influence, the whole novel seems to be changed by his cutting personality. In the book, Othello, William Shakespeare successfully creates Iago, a rude, manipulative, harsh mentor of Othello, seemingly changing the plot line and outcomes of certain situations, in turn, relating to the novel as a whole by reaching a sense of a negative, and unfriendly tone.…
“The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin is a story of enlightenment based on an event that did not occur- the death of Mrs. Mallard’s husband. The main character, Mrs. Mallard, is a woman confined by her marriage. When she discovers that her husband has died tragically, she becomes overwhelmed with a great deal of surprising relief. As if for the first time in her life, she experiences a moment of pure clarity. The surprising elements in the story can be compared to the constant change and unpredictability of nature.…
What holds us back from being evil? What power hinders us from murdering, stealing, and hurting others? Most would say there is the sense of guilt and possible punishment, but regardless, they say that they still would never commit these offenses even with the repercussions not present. This is not true, we overestimate our actual compassion and to be evil is just a matter of being chastised; and with a lack of punishment, we would all be much more evil than we imagine. In Shakespeare's Othello, we tend to empathize with Othello, the honest Moor, in spite of being much more similar to Iago. We would like to imagine that Othello's actions are human nature, but deep down we understand Iago's behavior. Iago's motivations for monetary gain through…
Iago is surrounded with bitter irony: he is not as he seems, his good is bad for others, people repeatedly rely on him, and he betrays them. He likes to have others unwittingly working to…
Shakespeare reveals Iago’s devilish elements by correlating his ideas to the Bible. While speaking to Roderigo, Iago states "I am not what I am" (1.1.71). In opposition, in the book of Exodus 3:14 God states, "I am that I am.” If those words stand for God, then Iago's "I am not what I am" displays the direct opposite which would be the Devil. By relating the play to the Bible, Shakespeare displays his alignment of connecting Iago to the devil.…
Just as the Serpent, Iago can easily be seen as the evil force in the story. It is possible that Iago too is not meant to be taken literally, but to show the influence of evil in the characters. The characters who act on the influence of evil received their punishment: Roderigo, who loves Desdemona, goes on to die because of that; Cassio, who drinks too…
