Why does Iago destroy the other characters in the play?

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Raheel Idrees 11da

                             

                          Why does Iago destroy the other characters in the play?

Iago has many motives for destroying the other characters in the play. One of these is jealousy. Iago is jealous of Othello, Desdemona, Cassio and even his own wife, Emilia. He is jealous of Othello for many reasons. Iago wants the power and the respect that Othello has. We see this in Act 2 scene 1 where Iago says ‘the moor- howbeit I endure him not- is of a constant, loving, noble nature’ which hints that he wants what Othello has as they are both opposites and these attributes may be the ones he will need to gain power. Iago is jealous of Othello’s marriage with the senator’s daughter as it gives Othello even more power and an attractive wife- he envies Othello for his wife as he states ‘I do love her too’ which suggest that Iago may have feelings towards Desdemona making him more jealous of what Othello has. Also Iago is crude and racist and always calls Othello the ‘moor’ which is a racist term. This could be the reason for his jealousy as he finds the fact that Othello is above him quite unnatural. In his soliloquy, Iago states ‘he’s done my office’ referring to Othello, which means Othello has slept with his wife making him even more jealous, even though he does not know if it is true or not. Iago is also jealous of Desdemona. He wants to be in her place- he wants to be an influential person to Othello- he wants to be closer to him thus closer to power. He twists the fact that Othello is passionate and obsessed with Desdemona to his own advantage. We see this when Iago states that he will ‘put the moor at least into a jealousy so strong that judgement cannot cure’ meaning that Iago will use Othello’s potential jealousy to make him feel the same way he does, but he knows Othello will loose control- leading to murder.

In Act 2 scene 1, we see that Iago has misogynistic views on women when he states ‘you are pictures out of doors… in your beds’ which suggests he believes women are only sex objects. Iago is also jealous of Desdemona, because they are exact opposites and he desires what he lacks. We can tell that they are opposites as Desdemona is described as ‘divine’ and ‘perfection’ whereas Iago associates himself with the devil by saying ‘when devils will the blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows as I do now.’ Iago is extremely jealous of Cassio too. He mentions that Cassio is ‘a proper man’ which hints that Iago is envious of his looks and luck with women. At the beginning of the play, Iago tells Roderigo ‘three great ones of the city, in personal suit to make me his lieutenant, off- capped to him; and by the faith of man, I know my price, I am worth no worse a place’ which shows us how much he wants the job and how confident he is that he will get it. When Cassio gets the job instead it naturally makes Iago jealous and this jealousy is detected when Iago describes Cassio as a ‘great arithmetician’ a ‘Florentine’ and someone ‘that never set a squadron in the field’ which all put Cassio down as a soldier, telling us that Iago thinks Cassio is not right for the job. This makes Iago jealous - he wants the job that Cassio got by ‘letter and affection’ meaning that he only got it because of his friendship with Othello. This is another reason Iago is jealous of Cassio- because he also is close to Othello like Iago wishes to be. He envies the fact that Cassio can get power from having companionship with Othello. In fact, he criticises this by calling it the ‘curse of service’ which shows that he does not like the friendship. Iago wanted the job and if he had the same relationship that Cassio has with Othello, he could have got the job; so perhaps he is jealous of their bond. Iago is even jealous of his own wife, Emilia, because of her friendship with Desdemona and her job at Othello’s house which gives her power.

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Another reason Iago destroys the other characters of the play, is the hatred he harbours. He hates Othello because he is black- he is constantly referring to him as the ‘moor’ behind his back and even calls him a ‘black ram,’ both of which are racist terms. Iago does not like the fact that a black man has power and is above him and will not allow it to continue. He despises Othello for not promoting him, which can be noted when he refers to Othello as ‘loving his own pride and purposes’ hinting Iago’s hatred by calling Othello ...

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