Iago Victim or Villain in Othello.

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Iago (Victim or Villain) English Essay

Iago takes the position below lieutenant. And to many people he is the most evil character in shakespears plays, not for his treachery, which Macbeth is worse for, but the way in which he manages to get all the people that trust him to do as he wishes. Such as the way he uses people to kill Cassio, Kill Othello and to make people believe Desdemona isn’t as pure as they think. He does this by taking using their trust and their own motivations. Roderigo's desire for Desdemona, Cassio's desire to take his place as lieutenant once again and also the characters weaknesses such as Othello's pride, and the way in which Cassio acts when he is drunk, to achieve what he wants.

Although Iago kills Roderigo when he stabs him, he does the most damage by using the other characters wants to achieve his own goal which in turn makes Cassio first lose his position, then make Desdemona beg Othello for Cassio to have his position back which allows Iago to suggest to Othello Desdemona's   cheating and later to drive Roderigo into killing Cassio.

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Iago's character is complex, but in Act I, Scene I, where he describes his anger at not being made lieutenant by Othello, the main motivations for Iago's ways are revenge and anger; he has revenge for Cassio replacing him, and also anger that Othello gave Cassio the promotion instead of him. So it is obvious that Iago's manipulations are due to a basic desire to get his own back on those who hurt him, and to have what he wants, Iago's suggestion that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair gets Othello to trust Iago and the position as his ...

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