Iago: One of the Most Sinister Villains in Othello

Iago: One of the Most Sinister Villains in Othello

  • Submitted By: philomorgan
  • Date Submitted: 02/23/2009 1:42 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 448
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 789

IAGO: is one of the most sinister villains in Shakespeare’s plays. He tends to use his intelligence in order to get what he wants in return. He also uses Othello’s nobility and integrity “honest Iago” in order to display his skill at deceiving other characters and in return black mails him. Iago’s personality is what keeps this play of Othello a dramatic irony. We can say that Iago’s intentions and motives are sometimes evil or racist during his speech, but this is what describes who he really is. People tend to suggest and rationalise over whether Iago tends to deceive Othello and Roderigo in the means of jealously or amusement, but this all depends upon how you personally interpret him. For example, we can not say when Iago killed his wedded wife Emilia it was over amusement but surely jealousy. But then we can also say Iago finds amusement in what he does best by also getting paid to do it “put money in thy purse”. Shakespeare by far has made Iago a character of tragedy he displays his evil yet intelligent motives, in way to only make Iago seem malevolent.
 
Iago is a tragic character, well designed that he becomes the measure of the duplicitous people we meet in real life. Iago’s characterization is a reflection of human behaviour. Shakespeare’s persistent theme applicable to all cultures and his, is the difficulty of determining how people really are from how seem to be.
 
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INFORMATION ON IAGO
• Iago’s soliloquy at the end of act 1 allows an opportunity to discuss the theories of Sigmund Frued. A.C. Bradley’s approach to Shakespeare’s play concentrates on soliloquy. It treats soliloquy as a window on psychological complexity – perhaps over-emphasising Shakespeare’s ability to create credible characters – the sort of people we might meet in life. After all, Iago is not a real person but a character from fiction. Nevertheless, Freud’s view of the tension within the EGO and the battle between the ID and the SUPEREGO allows the dichotomy...

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