Othello - Iago

908 Words4 Pages
Of all the characters presented in Shakespeare's literature the most sinister one is without a doubt Iago. He is a ruthless sociopath. No other character can even come close to his evil. Most of the antagonists present in Shakespeare's plays have valid reasons for the troubles they cause. Iago doesn't. For the most part he just has a burning hatred for the world - most importantly Othello. He is envious of Michael Cassio and suspects that Othello has wronged his honour; but his malignancy is all out of proportion to even his alleged motives through which he shows his ambivalence of nature. His goodness of nature is not pure but simply good in appearance to the other characters. The reader sees the true evil of Iago and how he fools the other characters into believing he is an honourable man.

Iago is the whole reason there is any conflict in Othello . Had he never entered the play Othello would have married Desdemona and they would have lived happily ever after. Right from the beginning of the play to the very end he causes conflicts. He is directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, Cassio, and Roderigo, which happen to be all of the main characters. All of the problems he causes are through lies, treachery, manipulation, and a deep unknown hate. Some of this hate is fuelled by jealousy and revenge. The ironic part is that he wants to be known as "honest Iago". Every act contains an evil plot set up by Iago. They all play into his "grand scheme". In the very beginning of Act 1 Iago displays his hatred for Othello. He is angry at him for making Cassio the lieutenant. Jealousy is his first motif. He then tells Roderigo (a former suitor of Desdemona) that Othello and Desdemona are getting married. The two of them then go and tell Desdemona's father, Brabantio that Othello and his daughter just got eloped. This infuriates
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