Essay on Othello - 754 Words

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play quot;Othello,quot; by William Shakespeare, is quot;Honestquot; Iago. At first glance, Iago seems to be the essence of quot;motiveless malignity.quot; However, despite Iagos unquestionable malignancy, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iagos quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evils sake. Iagos rapacity can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello. Iagos main interest is the destruction of Othello. The reason being that Othello has chosen another man, Cassio, as his second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by Iagos fabricated accusations of†¦show more content†¦quot;Thus do I ever make my fool my pursequot; (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 376). Roderigo eventually starts to question Iagos honesty. When faced with this accusation, Iago simply offers that killing Cassio will aid his cause and the asinine Roderigo falls for it. quot;I have no great devotion to the deed / And yet he has given me satisfying reason,quot; (Act 5, Scene 1, Line 8). In doing this, Iago keeps Roderigo in the dark and continues to profit from him monetarily. Roderigo is also used as a device in both Cassio and Othellos downfall. Iagos actions demonstrate his monetary and puissance based motivations, invalidating the claim that Iago is evil for evils sake. Cassio, like Roderigo, follows Iago blindly, thinking the whole time that Iago is trying to aid him, when in-fact, Iago, motivated by his lust for power, is attempting to depose Cassio of his position as lieutenant. By enlisting the help of Roderigo, Iago is able to reduce Cassio to a wreck, causing him to forfeit his position as Othellos second-in-command, thus securing the position for Iago. Cassio also serves as the quot;middle manquot; in Iagos mendacity. He is the main contrivance used to rouse quot;the green-eyed monsterquot; within Othello. In Iagos exploitation of Cassio, it is clear to see that, although evil in his deeds, Iago is strictly motivated by his hunger for power, not because he is the devil incarnate. As aforementioned,Show MoreRelatedOthello And Othello By William Shakespeare Essay1304 Words   |  6 PagesDesdemona?† they ask. The differences that separate Othello and Desdemona do not perturb them, but are starkly obvious and unnerving to the judgmental citizens of Venice. While it was certainly rare in the 16th century for couples to have such disparities in age, social position and race, none of these differences diminished how Othello and Desdemona felt for each other, yet each spurred external obstacles that threatened their relationship. 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Othello becomes more aware of what Iago is saying and the anger that he has towards Iago has significantly reduced, while he begins to doubt Desdemona.Read More Free Othello Essay: The Disintegration of Othello590 Words   |  3 PagesDisintegration of Othello nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; Shakespeares Othello is a play with unique characters. One such character is the one for which Shakespeare names his play. In the play, Othello disintegrates from a confident leader to a homicidal murderer. Linguistic changes throughout the play attest to this theory. nbsp; In the opening scenes, Shakespeare portrays Othello as a noble character. When Brabantio seeks vengeance (for stealing his daughter) on Othello, Othello expresses his actions