Brandon Rubsamen
Mr. Davis
English I Honors
16 February 2016
Iago’s Reverse Psychology
During the peak of his career, William Shakespeare wrote one of his most unique and arguably one of his best tragedies by the title of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Othello is very unique for many reasons, as it takes hold of concepts such as racism, and it also is very different in the way that it presents its antagonist, Iago. Iago is not the average evil enemy character that is common in the thousands of stories where good is pitched against evil. That being said, Iago is still definitely evil, even arguably evil incarnate, but the way Iago is presented as this evil character is very unlike most before him. Instead of directly going about killing good characters …show more content…
Othello also tells the Venetian authorities to relate his story on to others, so that others may not suffer a similar fate as he does. Othello’s last command to anyone is as follows, “I pray you, in your letters, /When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, /Speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate, /Nor set down aught in malice. Then you must speak /Of one that loved not wisely but too well; /Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, …” (5.2.339-344). Othello makes his life, and the destruction caused in it, an example to all whom may follow, so that no one may ever be tricked again by Iago, or another “devil incarnate”. When Othello takes his life, he is no longer vulnerable to the pain caused by Iago. Iago was the bane of Othello’s existence, a sort of parasite that lived and fed off of Othello. Without a host, a parasite has nothing to live off of, and will die. With Othello dead, Iago can torture him no longer, and has now lost all purpose to his life. Othello committing suicide removes all purpose from Iago’s life, something that Iago had not planned for, and least expected. On a more symbolic note, as Othello took his life, he removed any more current harm to Venice that Iago could cause through him. Othello restores himself as the protector of Venice when he dies, and ultimately defeats
Mr. Davis
English I Honors
16 February 2016
Iago’s Reverse Psychology
During the peak of his career, William Shakespeare wrote one of his most unique and arguably one of his best tragedies by the title of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Othello is very unique for many reasons, as it takes hold of concepts such as racism, and it also is very different in the way that it presents its antagonist, Iago. Iago is not the average evil enemy character that is common in the thousands of stories where good is pitched against evil. That being said, Iago is still definitely evil, even arguably evil incarnate, but the way Iago is presented as this evil character is very unlike most before him. Instead of directly going about killing good characters …show more content…
Othello also tells the Venetian authorities to relate his story on to others, so that others may not suffer a similar fate as he does. Othello’s last command to anyone is as follows, “I pray you, in your letters, /When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, /Speak of me as I am, nothing extenuate, /Nor set down aught in malice. Then you must speak /Of one that loved not wisely but too well; /Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, …” (5.2.339-344). Othello makes his life, and the destruction caused in it, an example to all whom may follow, so that no one may ever be tricked again by Iago, or another “devil incarnate”. When Othello takes his life, he is no longer vulnerable to the pain caused by Iago. Iago was the bane of Othello’s existence, a sort of parasite that lived and fed off of Othello. Without a host, a parasite has nothing to live off of, and will die. With Othello dead, Iago can torture him no longer, and has now lost all purpose to his life. Othello committing suicide removes all purpose from Iago’s life, something that Iago had not planned for, and least expected. On a more symbolic note, as Othello took his life, he removed any more current harm to Venice that Iago could cause through him. Othello restores himself as the protector of Venice when he dies, and ultimately defeats