Othello Tragedy Essay, Research Paper

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play "

Othello", by William Shakespeare, is "honest" Iago. At first Iago

seems to be motiveless. However, the motivation behind his actions lie more in

Iago’s quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evil’s sake.

Iago’s greediness can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo,

Cassio, and most importantly, Othello. Iago’s main interest is the destruction

of Othello. The reason being that Othello has chosen another man, Cassio, as his

second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by

Iago’s accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise the

kindly moor. Because Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he

proceeds with the arduous process of dismantling him emotionally. Iago also

knows he must distance himself from any part of this, so he cleverly gets

someone to do his dirty work. The first to fall victim to Iago’s manipulation is

half-witted Roderigo. Iago knows Roderigo is consumed by lust for Desdemona, and

would do what it takes to make her his own. Iago tells Roderigo that the only

way to win Desdemona’s love is to make money to procure gifts for her. "Put

money in thy purse?"(act I scene 3 line 339). However Iago is just taking

those gifts intended for Desdemona and keeping them for himself, and making a

profit. Roderigo eventually starts to question Iago’s honesty. When faced with

the accusations, Iago simply offers that the killing of Cassio will aid in his

cause and Roderigo falls for it. In doing this, Iago keeps Roderigo in the dark

and continues to profit from him monetarily. Roderigo is also used as a device

in both Cassio and Othello’s downfall. Iago’s actions demonstrate his monetary

and power based motivations, invalidating the claim that Iago is evil for evil’s

sake. Cassio like Roderigo follows Iago blindly, thinking the whole time that

Iago is trying to aid him, when in fact Iago, motivated by his lust for power,

is attempting to remove Cassio of his position as lieutenant. With Roderigo’s

help Iago causes Cassio to forfeit his position as Othello’s second-in-command.

Cassio is also used to bring out the monster inside of Othello. In Iago’s

exploitation of Cassio, it is clear to see that, although evil in his deeds,

Iago is strictly motivated by his hunger for power. As mentioned earlier, Iago’s

main intention lies in the degradation of Othello. Iago feels that he was best

suited to hold the position of lieutenant, as opposed to Michael Cassio. From

this Iago manufactures accusations of adultery, claiming that Othello has slept

with his wife, Emilia. "?Twixt my sheets/ he’s done my office."(Act

I scene 3 line 380) These accusations are merely excuses to validate his own

pleasant acts and greed, and should be seen as nothing more. Again it’s plain to

see that, in Iago’s deception of Othello he is motivated by his jealousy and

subsequent bitterness. In conclusion, it’s evident that Iago is evil for greed’s

sake, as opposed to evil for evil’s sake. His craving can be seen in his clever

manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio, and Othello. He uses Roderigo for his own

financial benefit, as well as support his master plan; the destruction of

Othello. Cassio was unfortunate enough to be chosen ahead of Iago as Othello’s

second-in-command, and was reduced to a deteriorated state by Iago because of

it. Lastly, driven by his bitterness towards Othello for choosing Cassio over

him, Iago takes it upon himself to ensure Othello’s demise. Iago is an extremely

complex character, and far from ordinary. His complexity and uniqueness makes

him one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains.