... paradoxical dialogue, "I am not what I am"; thereby introducing his villainy. Iago bases his manipulation in the analogy wherein "our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners" presenting humankind as having free will that releases it from the constraints of the great chain of being. Thus, true to his statement, Iago aims to be ... one's reputation and demonstrates the impact it can have on an individual. Shakespeare further showcases the supremacy of honour, by challenging the stereotype that white is good and black is evil. Othello, a black man, is unexpectedly char...

• Word Count: 878
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... title and my perfect soul/ shall manifest me rightly-. Iago, who frequently refers to Othello in blatantly racist terms, at one point explains that "these moors are changeable in their wills- (I,iii). This insulting reference to Othello's race, while seemingly frank and shocking to the contemporary audience, would have been less so to a Jacobean audience as such talk was a result of ... ...

• Word Count: 1558
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... his many virtues he had the ability to peer into the darkest depths of human nature and create some of the most inherently evil characters (such as Iago), ever to be seen in drama or literature. Many of his greatest creations however were neither of pure good nor ... complex and unpredictable making his thoughts, motives and feelings much more difficult, at times downright impossible to decipher. Iago's motives seem to be based on pure evil. In fact he truly does seem like the devil, always showing up at the right times and meddling with peoples' lives and feelings in just the right ... ...

• Word Count: 3419
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... that focus upon blackness: an old black ram/is tupping your white ewe. However, to analyze Iago's character in terms of acting solely upon racism, is to undermine the universal evil that Iago possesses, encompassing racism, misogyny and jealousy. Rather, as a result of the cultural context, Iago is able to adopt racist Rhetoric in order to demean and marginalise Othello. This ... rhetoric is evident when examining the communication between Iago and Brabantio when Iago states, you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse. Therefore it is evident how Iago's universal evil, conve...

• Word Count: 1812
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the upper classes, and as the story progresses dealing mostly with the upper. The character which may be considered a common man is portrayed as an evil man by the dominant society during the time but, if we look closer towards the intentions and causes of Iago's actions, it may be said ... she repeals him for her body's lust". (Act 2, Scene 3, lines 334-340) This great contrast between the characters creates a sense that white men are evil and malicious while black men are kind and pure. As the Duke comments, "If virtue no delighted beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair ... Of...

• Word Count: 1957
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... will find the error of her choice." Looking at all of Iago's jealous motives we see that lago's true motive is his blatant love of evil. Iago is using jealousy and anger as excuses to perpetrate evil. Even if Iago had received the promotion; even if he had no suspicions or jealous feelings, he would invent other motives to provide the framework ... for the evil and chaos he must create. In the play Othello Shakespeare has used the theme of jealousy and stretched it, to be seen in different perspectives. Shakespeare's common use of poison ... ...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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 military position Iago wanted. The yarn he spins about Cassio and Desdemona would profit him in two ways ... wrongs of misogyny or if he is simply a slightly more in depth, women hating villain is not clarified. In conclusion, Iago's character is someone who is motivated to do only evil deeds through jealousy, greed, revenge and hatred. He is unab...

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

... easily fits this definition as he is the General of Venice. The tragic genre depicts characters of a benevolent nature to suffer the consequences of an evil force. In Othello, we see Iago as the embodiment of evil who is the catalyst for most of the chaos which occurs in the play and his character is sometimes compared to the devil. Othello is ... . Although suicide is immoral and wrong, it actually highlights the true benevolence in his nature as he decides he would rather die than to live with the thought of the evil he has done. He is transformed into his own judge and sentenced himse...

• Word Count: 1235
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a result of their actions caused by jealousy. As a result, Othello becomes "the green eyed monster" as jealousy consumes him, causing the uprise of monstrous thoughts and a destructive and evil nature which ultimately leads to his downfall. As jealousy slowly consumes Othello, his actions become completely absurd. This is displayed through the dramatic structure of the play through the 5 acts ... of Othello and other characters such as Desdemona as a result of Iago's deceptive plan which targeted Othello's fatal flaw; jealousy. The honour and reputation of Othello was destroyed with thi...

• Word Count: 1004
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , jealousy is presented to the audience by Shakespeare as a disturbing predator, which takes control and attempts to destroy constancy in love. The jealousy portrayed by Shakespeare is based on pure evil, hatred and the joy for destruction as well as swayed, insecure jealousy. This is achieved through the use of a range of characters; Iago, Othello, Desdemona, who possess polar qualities, and ... also through a range of situation and scenes of commitment, savagery and uncertainty. Shakespeare uses the egocentric, manipulative and malignant character of Iago in an attempt to present a dis...

• Word Count: 723
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The ill-fated hero that so honorably battles evil only to be tripped by a single, yet fatal, character flaw is as much a part of William Shakespeare's work as any theme in literature. This dynamic plot structure has been worked, ... simplistic, yet pure love for the fair Desdemona. However, more pressing examples of this hero's innocence to the world can be witnessed, by the reader, in his interactions with the evil Iago. Using Othello's trusting soul against him, Iago plants the seeds of Desdemona's infidelity in Othello's head, and allows the jealous rage to fester in his mind. Refusing to...

• Word Count: 776
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... love being essentially for SELF. The love-sick Roderigo and the destruction of Cassio are constequently merely means to Iago's evil end, which is the snaring of Othello's soul and body for no reason. Iago's weak desire to wreak his evil revenge on Othello and his plotting to achieve this are not soley responsible for Othello's fall. Of all the characters Othello ... ...

• Word Count: 320
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... bring this monstrous birth to the world's light." Shakespeare uses the image of a monster being born as a metaphor for the start of Iago's evil scheming. It also becomes evident that Othello's mind has been corrupted by Iago's evil handiwork when he too starts to use the same sort of animal imagery in his speech. In one scene, convinced of his wife's infidelity ... ...

• Word Count: 660
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... many people you meet, Iago can be mysterious and baffling. Just when you think you understand him, he does or says something completely mystifying. I wonder if its because Iago loves evil for evil's sake, he is motivated by his jealousy of Cassio and Othello, or he's motivated by a force he simply doesn't understand. Because jealousy is a big theme throughout Othello, I believe the ... ...

• Word Count: 535
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... at her virtue while at the same time feeling slightly apprehensive and sorry for her since it almost seems unfair that her untainted nature should be subject to the baseless evil of Iago. This is further accentuated when she says that, '[H]e left part of his grief with me/ To suffer with him.' This line also highlights the purity of and ... ...

• Word Count: 1258
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... true or not he is going to seek revenge as if they were true. Iago is overpowered with jealousy, and knows how fatal it can be and makes it his evil-minded goal to take down Othello using jealousy to control and destroy him: "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!/ It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock/ the meat ... ...

• Word Count: 2229
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... nature. This line establishes the character Othello progresses to and shows how Othello is just seeking for vengeance on Desdemona. Even here, Othello uses the 'black' to describe the evil that he with holds. He is subject to racial prejudice due to the influence of the society and Iago's manipulation. Racism assures that Othello will remain isolated from his peers ... ...

• Word Count: 1008
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the 'honest' man he claimed to be. There are several traits inhibited in both Iago and Satan that extends the complexity of Iago's character and ability to manipulate others. Evil has many faces, just as Iago has his own disguise to distract from his true intentions. "I am not what I am", Iago reveals himself that outward appearances have no ... ...

• Word Count: 757
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of guilt, distraction, and ruin.."(2) which led to Othello murdering his wife. I find this article very useful for it explains that Othello was provoked by Iago into becoming an evil man and murdering Desdemona. For Othello has the most "extravagant love" and "strongest hatred" which leads to him being so easily manipulated by Iago to become ... ...

• Word Count: 735
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... this is how they are described as 'beasts with two backs' when in bed. The effect of this is that Iago creates the image that Othello is bestial and evil and therefore representing the devil. This concept recurs throughout the act. Finally, Iago uses puns in his speeches to prove his point and this doubles as a means to entertain the ... ...

• Word Count: 1567
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... paradoxically claims 'I am not what I am' revealing his deceptive nature and relates to the oxymoron 'divinity of hell' suggesting his correlation with the Devil and deep satisfaction in evil doing. The dramatic irony in 'my ancient [Iago], a man he is of honesty and trust' a view Othello had, influenced by the Elizabethan expectation for honest looking men to be ... ...

• Word Count: 981
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... other generations will no doubt be force to read. At any rate the biter diatribe on humanity had a slight bit of incite into the human soul and the acts of evil and betrayal that are so common in the story and in real life, provided of course that it is possible to reach the lofty heights of stupidity, lack of for ... ...

• Word Count: 659
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... visible in Iago? None: that is the very horror of him. He has less passion than an ordinary man, and yet he does these frightful things. Iago, as a representation of evil, has one major motivational factor that leads him to lie, cheat, and dominate other characters. This motivation is his obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation and destruction. Iago is not ... ...

• Word Count: 439
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... calculating mind and lack of motivation is not paralleled by any of the other characters in Shakespeare's play. Iago disguises himself under the deceptive honesty, which is evident of his evil character. His conversation with Roderigo in which he recognizes himself as the kind of people who "do well thrive by [their lord], and when they have lin"d their coats/ Do ... ...

• Word Count: 607
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... at this point know nothing of Othello that is gained by their own opinion, instead we are lead to believe from Iago's race related description that Othello is a threatening and evil moor, whose beastial sexual appetite, conveyed by Iago's cries to Brabantio, telling him that "an old black ram is tupping" his "white ewe" (1.1.89), is something of a rapist. Iago's coarse ... ...

• Word Count: 714
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate