How is the character of Iago presented in the opening scenes of the play?

Authors Avatar

How is the character of Iago presented in the opening scenes of the play?

Othello was a tragic play written in the 17th century by famous playwright William Shakespeare. The play revolves around the themes of jealousy, love, betrayal and racism. The main characters in the play are Othello, the black general, Desdemona, his young bride and daughter of a senator, Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant and Iago, a trusted officer of Othello. Iago is a character that is prominent to the plot of the play. He is manipulative, cunning and is trusted by many of the characters at the start of the play. Iago manipulates most of the characters by becoming close to them and then using their weaknesses to get the reaction he wants. His actions are the cause of most of the tragedies in the play and culminate in his own death and the death of others.

Iago is one of the most sinister characters in Shakespeare’s literature. Iago is the one character that causes the conflict in Othello. He is responsible for the deaths of most of the main characters. It is argued that he does this for both his own entertainment and out of jealousy. He purposely targets Othello out of jealousy as he chose Cassio over him to be his lieutenant. Iago is thought of by the unaware characters in the play as being loyal and honest. They often refer to him throughout the play as ‘honest Iago’. The audience is aware of Iago’s intentions whereas the other characters blame themselves and others for various incidents throughout the play and do not suspect that Iago has created conflicts for his own sociopathic entertainment.

Join now!

Within the first scene of Act 1 we see Iago collaborating with Roderigo to exploit Othello’s marriage with Desdemona. Iago assures Roderigo that this plan will allow Roderigo to be with Desdemona and therefore gaining Roderigo’s support.  In the first scene, Iago shows his power over Roderigo and his ability to control him. For example, Iago interrupts Roderigo as he says “As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this—“. This shows Iago’s control over him and how he believes he is more superior to Roderigo. He also suggests that he believes he is better and more superior ...

This is a preview of the whole essay