Have you ever met a devil who does evil for his own sake? Iago in William Shakespeare’s Othello could seem like he has good motives, but I feel that he uses them as his excuses. Othello, Othello’s wife Desdemona, Iago and Iago’s wife Emilia are the key characters of Othello. The first time we meet Iago is in Act 1, Scene 3. Othello and his men arrive on a boat led by Cassio and tell them to be careful as they might still encounter enemies.
Iago warns Othello to be careful with Othello’s new love interest as he thinks that she will cause Othello trouble because Iago doesn’t trust women at all especially Othello’s wife Desdemona. I believe that Iago acts evil for the sake of it rather than out of necessity or revenge. Iago is Othello’s trusted lieutenant and Othello placed him in charge of his wife Desdemona’s life, but Iago makes it seem like Othello isn’t fit to rule. He is also very self-centered person with a belief that he has the right to do anything he wants because he believes all people are evil.
One example would be how Iago tries to convince Othello that Desdemona was unfaithful when Othello finds out they were not meant to be together anymore. Othello doesn’t trust Iago after this even though Iago assures him multiple times that she is unfaithful so Othello sets up a trap to catch Desdemona and Cassio as he believes that they were having an affair. Othello sets up the plan and Iago helps Othello do this trap by luring Cassio to a place where Othello was waiting for him with some soldiers.
Othello is very careful in making sure all his men know what they’re doing and I believe this shows Othello really trusts them especially Iago who is Othello’s second-in-command so I don’t think it would be right if Othello didn’t trust him, but we find out later that it might not have been the case after all. Iago uses people around him as a tool such as Othello and Roderigo. Othello trusts Iago so Iago could be able to convince Othello to do anything he wants.
Othello is quick to trust Iago because Iago is Othello’s lieutenant and Othello puts a lot of trust in him, for example when Othello tells Iago that he should ‘Look you lay home to (Cassio), we’ll have the sequin from Venice; go about it (Oth 1. 3. 413-414)’ which means pretend like Othello has lost an expensive sequin and make sure Cassio doesn’t find out where it is, but make sure Desdemona finds out. Othello trusts Iago so Othello would tell Iago to do anything that Othello can’t be seen doing himself because Othello doesn’t want anyone else knowing what he is doing.
Roderigo on the other hand is manipulated by Iago so Roderigo will give him money for his evil plans. I believe Othello is innocent and has good motives up until Act 3 which makes Othello guilty of murdering Desdemona, Emilia and Roderigo after finding this information about him in Act 1-2. At first Othello seemed like an honest man who made mistakes with choosing people around him, but it turns out he wasn’t as innocent as we thought and Othello is actually a very selfish person who does everything for Othello and Othello only.
Othello chooses his father-in-law Brabantio over society, Iago over Cassio and Othello’s own life over Desdemona’s so Othello has no morals at all. Othello makes some choices throughout the play that are very hard to comprehend even though he was never an innocent man which surprised me. Iago over here is confused why Othello has made such a stupid decision. Iago is a man with a tremendous ego who knows, sometimes overestimates, his worth. Iago is Othello’s trusted lieutenant and Othello even tells him to take over Othello’s love life so Iago can run it for Othello.
Othello is quick to trust Iago because he is Othello’s lieutenant and Othello puts a lot of trust in him, for example when Othello tells Iago that he should ‘Look you lay home to (Cassio), we’ll have the sequin from Venice; go about it (Oth 1. 3. 413-414)’ which means pretend like Othello has lost an expensive sequin and make sure Cassio doesn’t find out where it is, but make sure Desdemona finds out. Othello trusts Iago so Othello would tell Iago to do anything that Othello can’t be seen doing himself because Othello doesn’t want anyone else knowing what he is doing.
Roderigo on the other hand is manipulated by Iago so Roderigo will give him money for his evil plans Othello uses people around him as a tool such as Othello and Roderigo. Othello trusts Iago so Iago could be able to convince Othello to do anything he wants. Othello is quick to trust Iago because Iago is Othello’s lieutenant and Othello puts a lot of trust in him, for example when Othello tells Iago that he should ‘Look you lay home to (Cassio), we’ll have the sequin from Venice; go about it (Oth 1. 3. 13-414)’ which means pretend like Othello has lost an expensive sequin and make sure Cassio doesn’t find out where it is, but make sure Desdemona finds out.
Othello trusts Iago so Othello would tell Iago to do anything Othello can’t be seen doing himself because Othello doesn’t want anyone else knowing what he is doing. Roderigo on the other hand is manipulated by Iago so Roderigo will give him money for his evil plans. Othello uses Iago as a tool so Othello can accomplish goals with Othello and Othello only being the centre of attention.
In Othello, Iago wants some kind of recognition from Othello but Othello doesn’t give Iago any credit as soon as Iago does something good for Othello like when Othello says ‘I prithee (I beg you) do so (Oth 2. 1. 132)’ which means Othello is asking Iago to make sure Desdemona’s father comes to visit the couple in Cyprus because if that happens then Othello would marry Desdemona anyway then he would have Othello’s money. Othello manages to convince Iago to do anything Othello wants but Othello never recognises Iago for being a good person because Othello only ever sees the bad side of Iago.
