Othello

Character of Iago in Shakespeare 's Othello

Iago is one of the most appealing , controversial and interesting Shakespeare 's characters . Being one of the main characters of the play Othello , he has caused more talks about the play than all the other characters taken together . It goes without saying that Iago deserves all this interest and attention . This is Iago who keeps our attention clinging to the scene during all the play in the effort to penetrate into his mind and guess his true intentions

Critics and amateur appreciators of this great

tragedy have different opinions on the role and meaning of Iago in this play . Some of them regard him as a pure evil and a person who creates evil just for evil getting pleasure from the process itself . Others state that , being a very ambitious and strong personality Iago , tries to realize his talents by any means and uses lies and dirty tricks in to achieve his goals

Iago plays a very important role in the tragedy . Being a play villain he is the most interesting and well-shaped character at the same time In the scene , in which Iago explains Rodrigo his true intentions and attitude towards Othello , he says "I am not what I am (Act 1 , Scene 1 . These words show not only Iago 's attitude to Othello . They express his attitude to everyone and his position in the world . The policy of manipulations and double standards helps him to do his dirty tricks creating a picture of an honest and trustworthy person for the people who surround him

Iago shows superior attitude towards all the characters of the play , and he manipulates them for his own profit . The nature gave him wit and made him clever but he uses his talents to deceive other people destroying their lives . His ability to twist the truth and put the facts upside down is amazing . Using his talents and abilities in a right way , he could have done a lot of good things for the society , but he has chosen another way to achieve his personal success , without being picky choosing the means to achieve it

Iago is a villain and he hurts people but he does not take a weapon in his arms . He uses tactics and strategy any politician could envy and kills people and destroys their lives using just words and making the others participate in his dirty tricks . Persuasiveness and excellent oratorical skills are his weapons but they can bring more harm than real weapons

Vindictiveness accompanies all Iago 's actions and deeds . He is so much afraid to get less than others , and his feeling of superiority towards others makes his egoistic and ego-centered personality seek for a new way to cheat and manipulate in to achieve the things he considers to be necessary . The feeling of superiority and great ambitions makes him dangerous for other people and justify his malicious actions in his own eyes

Iago lies to everyone to...