Othello - What sort of person is Iago? How does he use his knowledge of Othello to bring about his downfall? Shakespeare

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Othello


What sort of person is Iago?  How does he use his knowledge of Othello to bring about his downfall?

By

Vaskar Siddique


In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, there are several complex characters.  Othello, Desdemona and Cassio are examples of these.  However, the most important and the most complex character is Iago.  His role in the play is essential for the storyline.  He is evil, ruthless and very clever.  Apart from these, Iago has a certain power over everybody; he can manipulate people and use their weaknesses to his advantage.  It is this talent, and his knowledge of Othello that Iago uses to destroy him.

The character who is most deeply affected by Iago’s actions and plottings is Othello.  There are many different ideas and theories as to why Iago acts the way he does.  Even now people still question Iago’s motives for destroying Othello.  In the play Iago himself suggests many reasons why he brings about the downfall of Othello.  In the beginning of the play Iago tells Roderigo one of his reasons for his hatred for Othello (Act 1.1, Line 8-33).  He says that he is envious of Michael Cassio’s promotion to Lieutenant instead of him.  He believes he should have a higher position than being Othello’s Ancient.  Iago is obviously jealous of this state of affair; however it does not seem to be a sufficient reason for his hatred of Casio and more importantly Othello.

Another reason given by why Iago to explain his hatred for Othello is that he thinks Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia.  He talks about this in his soliloquy (Act 1.3, Line 380-382) “I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets, He’s done my office.”  This is the only time such an event is referred to.  In the light of Desdemona’s obvious love for Othello, it is unlikely these events took place.  Iago admits that even though he has no evidence to support his accusations, he continues to pursue Othello.  He uses his suspicion as motivation for his actions against Othello later on in the play.  

It could also be argued that Iago is jealous of the relationship between Othello and Desdemona and that he himself loves Desdemona.  (Act 2.1, Line 282-283) “Now, I do love her too; Not out of absolute lust – through peradventure”.  This suggests that Iago has fallen in love with Desdemona by accident and now envies Othello because of this.  In this same dialogue, Iago tells Roderigo that he also suspects Cassio of sleeping with his wife.  “For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too”.  However there is also no proof that Cassio and Emilia have had an affair, as neither of them seem particularly close or interested in each other.

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There are other reasons why Iago acts as he does.  However, the statements looked at already show that Iago is a bitter and very jealous person.  He is envious of both Othello and Cassio.  Iago even admits to being jealous (Act 2.1, Line 292-291).  He even says to Othello (Act 3.3, Line 165-168) “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!  It is the green eyed monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.”  By saying this, Iago is warning Othello against being jealous and also planting the idea that he has something to be jealous about.  Iago might also ...

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