What type of character is iago in othello

He is respected by society for his many actions of nobility and bravery. Iago on the other hand is the villain plotting. Iago is an evil character in the play Othello, by Shakespeare. Never once does Iago show any remorse towards his victims and he never feels remotely bad for all the horrible things he does. One of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is the one of appearance vs. It becomes difficult when we assume there is a difference in the two to determine which is which. He consistently lies, manipulates, and abuses other peoples trust to his advantage to achieve his own goals.

Iago: The Existential Villain Everyone has desires and goals that they would do anything to achieve. Some people will do whatever it takes, despite moral limitations to achieve what they want. Terrorists in modern day do the same by blowing up places despite that if they win they will receive nothing but scorched earth. He manipulates and mentally corrupts him to achieve what he wants, which. He is very selfish, hence he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, and Cassio.

Throughout the play, characters have described Iago as an honest and trustworthy man, while not knowing the real him. Possibly Iago was always a villain and confidence trickster who set up a false reputation for honesty, but how can one set up a reputation for honesty except by being consistently honest over a long period of time?

Alternatively he might be a man who used to be honest in the past, but has decided to abandon this virtue. Shakespeare has built the character of Iago from an idea already existing in the theatrical culture of his time: the Devil in religious morality plays, which developed into the villain in Elizabethan drama and tragedy.

Iago says I. Sinai, and Moses asks God his name. God replies: "I am that I am" Exodus,iii, Iago is the opposite of God, that is, he is the Devil. Iago in this play, has the qualities of the Devil in medieval and Renaissance morality plays: He is a liar, he makes promises he has no intention of keeping, he tells fancy stories in order to trap people and lead them to their destruction, and he sees other's greatest vulnerabilities and uses these to destroy them.

Iago does all this not for any good reason, but for love of evil. Iago is surrounded with bitter irony: he is not as he seems, his good is bad for others, people repeatedly rely on him, and he betrays them.

He likes to have others unwittingly working to serve his purposes. But for all this, as his plot against Othello starts moving and gathering momentum, he loses control of it and must take real risks to prevent it from crashing. Iago is a man with an obsession for control and power over others who has let this obsession take over his whole life.

He is deeply unpleasant, and this is revealed to the audience in no uncertain terms in his numerous asides. This could be due to his belief that she has had an affair, but his character is so consistently unpleasant that the audience does not assign his malignancy to her behavior.

Iago double crosses all the characters who consider him a friend. Most shockingly, perhaps, he kills Roderigo, a character with whom he has conspired and been mostly honest throughout the play. He uses Roderigo to perform his dirty work, and without him would have been unable to discredit Cassio in the first place. However, Roderigo seems to know Iago best.

Perhaps having guessed that he may be double-crossed, he writes letters which he keeps on his person that eventually discredit Iago and his motives completely. Iago is unrepentant in his communication with the audience. What you know, you know. He feels justified in his actions and does not invite sympathy or understanding as a result.

Though deeply unpleasant, Iago must have considerable intellect to devise and deploy his plans, and to convince the other characters of his various deceptions along the way. Iago is unpunished at the end of the play. The audience believes that he will be punished, but it's left open for the audience to wonder whether he will get away with his evil plans by concocting another deception or violent act.

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