Iago: No Ordinary Villain
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, from the outside looking in, Iago seems like a villain. Is he a bad person because he will stop at nothing to reach his goals? Iago is not the evil person as we all may think. In fact, he is the anti-hero of the play Othello. Looking at the play critically we can identify Iago’s driving motivations and classify why exactly he is the anti-hero of the story.
We observe Iago 's morals and ethics from the very beginning of the play. He is motivated to take action against those who challenge him. However, are his actions so malicious or far-fetched to label him as evil? Iago is very calculating and manipulative in the way that he dupes everyone to further his agenda. He also is very cunning …show more content…
Iago whispers thoughts in Othello 's ear to cause him to believe his wife
Desdemona has committed adultery with Michael Cassio, his lieutenant “Sweet
Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves” (Act 3, Scene 3).
All the while Iago pompously talks to the audience about revealing his master plan of how we will set things right by using his clever tenacity: “And what’s he then …show more content…
In his mind Iago genuinely believes that he should be in charge. Typically, a character that proclaims grand schemes are usually thought to be “the villain” however that is not always true. Iago never explains his actual
Garcia 1 plan to the “hero,” as in so many “good versus evil” personas that are commonly portrayed in other books and plays. In fact, this is why Iago is not the villain of this story
– the real villain is desire: Roderigo’s desire to be with Desdemona, Cassio’s desire to return to the right terms with Othello, Othello’s desire for a faithful wife, and most importantly, Iago’s desire to be the real Venetian General.
What is more interesting is classifying Iago as the anti-hero of the story, and not the villain. While he does fit the role of many antagonists, he has a disturbing accumulation of anti-hero qualities that are overlooked. Iago, while his deeds are impure, can be viewed sympathetically. Just because Othello and Iago 's visions do not align, it does not make Iago evil. It may seem that Iago’s only motive is to discredit Othello and ruin his life, but many people have gone too far for a cause that they believe in their heart to be
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, from the outside looking in, Iago seems like a villain. Is he a bad person because he will stop at nothing to reach his goals? Iago is not the evil person as we all may think. In fact, he is the anti-hero of the play Othello. Looking at the play critically we can identify Iago’s driving motivations and classify why exactly he is the anti-hero of the story.
We observe Iago 's morals and ethics from the very beginning of the play. He is motivated to take action against those who challenge him. However, are his actions so malicious or far-fetched to label him as evil? Iago is very calculating and manipulative in the way that he dupes everyone to further his agenda. He also is very cunning …show more content…
Iago whispers thoughts in Othello 's ear to cause him to believe his wife
Desdemona has committed adultery with Michael Cassio, his lieutenant “Sweet
Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves” (Act 3, Scene 3).
All the while Iago pompously talks to the audience about revealing his master plan of how we will set things right by using his clever tenacity: “And what’s he then …show more content…
In his mind Iago genuinely believes that he should be in charge. Typically, a character that proclaims grand schemes are usually thought to be “the villain” however that is not always true. Iago never explains his actual
Garcia 1 plan to the “hero,” as in so many “good versus evil” personas that are commonly portrayed in other books and plays. In fact, this is why Iago is not the villain of this story
– the real villain is desire: Roderigo’s desire to be with Desdemona, Cassio’s desire to return to the right terms with Othello, Othello’s desire for a faithful wife, and most importantly, Iago’s desire to be the real Venetian General.
What is more interesting is classifying Iago as the anti-hero of the story, and not the villain. While he does fit the role of many antagonists, he has a disturbing accumulation of anti-hero qualities that are overlooked. Iago, while his deeds are impure, can be viewed sympathetically. Just because Othello and Iago 's visions do not align, it does not make Iago evil. It may seem that Iago’s only motive is to discredit Othello and ruin his life, but many people have gone too far for a cause that they believe in their heart to be