... his suicide is a tale that could woo almost anyone. It is the tension between Othello's victimization at the hands of a foreign culture and his own willingness to torment himself that makes him a tragic figure rather than simply Iago's ridiculous puppet. Iago Possibly the most heinous villain in Shakespeare, Iago is ... scenes with the foolish Roderigo, which serve as a showcase of Iago's manipulative abilities. He seems almost to wink at the audience as he revels in his own skill. As entertained spectators, we find ourselves on Iago's side when he is with Roderigo, but the interactions...

• Word Count: 2512
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... from Iago in which he attempts almost conspiratorially to explain himself to the audience, portrays him as a pantomime villain', recognising the evil of his own actions but performing them anyway simply because of his evil inclinations. Although this is far from the psychologically warped image Shakespeare wished to present, it ... men as the Valiant Othello', he manipulates the other characters, using their skills for his own purposes. This is exemplified by Roderigo's statement that Iago has "had my purse As if the strings were thine-; this line not only shows that Iago has been using t...

• Word Count: 2807
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Graduate

... her by the palm-ay, well said, whisper!-with as little a web as this I will ensnare as great a fly as Cassio.-Ay, smile upon her, do! I will gyve thee in thine own courtship.-You say true, 'tis so indeed.-If such tricks as these strip you out of your lieutenantry, it had been better you had not kissed your three fingers ... 's intimate thoughts. Both literary devices prove effective in revealing his jealousy and discharging his frustrations. Iago's deceptiveness and jealousy however, would not have been able to wreak havoc on their own, were it not for his adaptability. The audience...

• Word Count: 2433
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... Roderigo are friends, but in reality Iago is using him to seek revenge on Othello. Iago's jealousy of power and love consumes him into using his apparent friend for his own personal gain. In friendships, we often realize that there is always a stronger person who uses a weak person as a friend to achieve personal gains. Roderigo can be described as a sheep and ... him motivated. Throughout the first act, hints of a false friendship appear, some more clearly than others. In the opening lines, Roderigo states that Iago controls him: "That thou, Iago were thine," (1.1.2-3) implying that Ia...

• Word Count: 1407
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... thy canst,"" which shows how greedy Iago is and how he has no remorse in taking his acquaintances' purse "As if the strings were thine-. Iago's motives are not solely money driven. He presents himself as evil incarnated in his longing for revenge over Michael Cassio who took the ... a more innocent and nave character such as Othello, his demise is inevitable when he encounters Iago. Iago is truly a troubled character driven by his own insecurity, displayed in his yearning for a higher military status, which enables him to feel superior to those of smaller intellect and wit. This reveals ...

• Word Count: 1539
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... prattle, without practice" (CITE). Iago further justifies his worthiness for the job by claiming that there were these three very important persons who, out of their own concerns, asked Othello to give Iago the job: "Three great ones of the city, / In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp'd to ... destroyed: "I know my price, I am worth no worse a place" (CITE). Iago is an egotistical man and his self-esteem is hurt. Iago's own reason for his hatred of Othello is due to being passed over for a promotion, but Iago may have hated Othello even before that: Iago despises the fact ...

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... led him nowhere" (Godfrey, 421). Iago feels honesty is getting him nowhere, so he turns to honesty's opposite, evil. Iago admits this himself: O wretched fool, That lov'st to make thine honesty a vice!... ...To be direct and honest is not safe. I should be wise, for honesty is a fool And looses that it works for. [III. iii. 391-98] To prove in ... the play, so some other grudge against Cassio that partially makes up his motive must exist as well. Iago also suspects Othello and Cassio of being sexually involved with his own wife. However, Iago has no evidence of this theory and never men...

• Word Count: 2394
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... builds up into a tragic outcome with death, frustration and emotions that have been strained from the beginning of the play. The characters, often not happy with their own life and the way it's going, are forced to disturb and control others. "O, beware, my lord, of Jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster." ( ... beautiful, sweet" Desdemona close to him. However, as all the other characters eventually found out, Iago's intentions were for nobody's pleasure other than his own. This created mixed feeling of jealousy and mistrust between the characters. All of the above situations were caused...

• Word Count: 1955
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... builds up into a tragic outcome with death, frustration and emotions that have been strained from the beginning of the play. The characters, often not happy with their own life and the way it's going, are forced to disturb and control others. "O, beware, my lord, of Jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster." ( ... beautiful, sweet" Desdemona close to him. However, as all the other characters eventually found out, Iago's intentions were for nobody's pleasure other than his own. This created mixed feeling of jealousy and mistrust between the characters. All of the above situations were caused...

• Word Count: 1955
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... and uses this to his advantage. For example, he knows Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and figures that he would do anything to have her as his own. In reference to Roderigo Iago says, "Thus do I ever make my fool my purse." [Act I, Scene III, Line 384] By playing on his ... a very powerful emotion that is easily abused. Iago is a master of abuse, and, in this case, turns people's trust in him into tools to promote his own goals. Iago slowly poisons people's thoughts, creating ideas in their heads without implicating himself. "And what's he then that says I play the villain, when this...

• Word Count: 999
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... will plot against Othello: "Thou art sure of me:-go, make money:-I have told thee often, and I re-tell thee again and again, I hate the Moor: my cause is hearted; thine hath no less reason. Let us be conjunctive in our revenge against him: if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport. There are many events in the ... personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp'd to him: and, by the faith of man, I know my price, I am worth no worse a place: But he; as loving his own pride and purposes, Evades them, with a bombast circumstance Horribly stuff'd with epithets o...

• Word Count: 1537
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... Roderigo, a suitor of Desdemona described as a "gulled gentlemen-. Roderigo paid Iago to assist him to win Desdemona's heart "thou, Iago, who hast had my purse/As if the strings were thine- [1.1.2-3] in which case we as a contemporary audience must ask ourselves, can love be merely purchased with gold and silver? Does money guarantee the power to ... own anything of one's heart's desires? In the case of Othello, it doesn't. As Roderigo and Iago alerts Brabantio that his "daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with ... ...

• Word Count: 3595
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School