Iago has been described as the most malevolent character in EnglishLiterature. Discuss your response to him andthe part he plays in Othello’s downfall in the light of this statement.

Authors Avatar

Jason Goodwill 11P

English Coursework:

Othello

Question 1: Iago has been described as

the most malevolent character in English

Literature. Discuss your response to him and

the part he plays in Othello’s downfall in the

light of this statement.

 A malevolent character wishes harm without motive and I believe that Iago’s actions against Othello are the major cause of the Moor’s downfall.

 Iago has many reasons for acting the way he does, his reasons may not be or logical but he believes in them so strongly that he is willing to kill and destroy peoples lives in the process of completing them. His entire motives stem from one thing, jealousy, all of Iago’s actions are due to this single feeling. His revenge comes from wanting to overthrow the people he is jealous of. He is jealous of both Othello and Cassio. He is jealous of Othello because he is a black and has a high position in the army when a white man should because they are better, in Iago’s view. Due to the lifestyle of people at the time this play is set this seems to be an acceptable view and Iago seems to have a right to feel the way he does. However, his actions which stem from this aren’t acceptable and are going too far.

He is also jealous of Cassio because he was made lieutenant ahead of Iago. Iago believes he should have been promoted because he has far more battle experience. He seems to elaborate on these initial ideas and ends up been suspicious of every one for doing the most unlikely things, one of which is sleeping with his wife. This fuels his hatred and he wants more and more revenge. In his quest for revenge he uses Roderigo to get money, which he does by saying he will help Roderigo get closer to Desdemona for a fee. Strangely enough Iago seems to enjoy everything that he does.

Join now!

  In this play Shakespeare presents Iago early on so that the audience realise he is a main character and will inevitably cause problems. This idea is shown in the very first scene when Iago is telling Roderigo that he only follows the Moor, who he shows hatred towards, for his own gain. The two then visit Brabantio to cause trouble and get someone else angry with Othello by informing him of Othello’s and Desdemona’s secret relationship. This immediately shows how scheming Iago is and provides the potential for more trouble involving Iago in the future.

  Iago ...

This is a preview of the whole essay