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The Character of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello Essay

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Introduction

The character of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello can, at first glance, be described as inconsistent. His main motive appears to be revenge against imaginary and perceived slights. At the same time, his explanations and motivations, as voiced by his soliloquies throughout the play, appear to be contradictory to one another.

Discussion

For example, at first he despises the Moor for being too honest, and then he accuses him of cheating and trickery, which does not mesh with his earlier assessment of the Moor’s character. Such examples are present throughout the entire play. If anything, Iago appears to be consistent at being inconsistent, thus meaning that the true motives behind his actions are not directly revealed and can be only inferred from what he says and does.

When it comes to deception, Iago is an excellent judge of character. He is capable of highlighting strengths and weaknesses and is capable of capitalizing on them for his own ends. Besides Othello, Iago managed to deceive Cassio and Roderigo. Iago is considered by others to be a honest man with a soldiery personality. Both Cassio and Roderigo fall for it and view his words as truthful. Then, he manipulates the two using their love for Desdemona while using stereotypes of behavior to justify his logic and portray others in an unfavorable light. The greatest evil in the play, the catalyst for the tragedy to unfold, appears to be “the Devil,” the avatar of which can be seen in Iago. It seems that he does what he does for entertainment, ruining peoples’ lives in the process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Iago cannot be compared to modern-day antiheroes, because those characters have the word “hero” in it. Their motivations are ultimately good, to some degree. There is not a shred of redeeming qualities in Iago.

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IvyPanda. (2023) 'The Character of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello'. 1 December.

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IvyPanda. 2023. "The Character of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello." December 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-character-of-iago-in-shakespeares-othello/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Character of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello." December 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-character-of-iago-in-shakespeares-othello/.


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IvyPanda. "The Character of Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello." December 1, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-character-of-iago-in-shakespeares-othello/.

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