Compare and Contrast Iago and Othello Essay

The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice is William Shakespeare’s play, written around 1604. Shakespeare borrowed the plot of “The Tragedy of Othello” from the short story “The Moor of Venice” of Giraldi Cintio, published in his book “Hecatommithi”. Of course, it’s difficult to tell what attracted Shakespeare in that story, but it can be assumed for the final result – a powerful tragedy. The Tragedy of Othello is not just a story of jealousy; this is a tragedy of the clash of two worlds. One of them is a world of absolute cynic, manipulator Iago, the second world is the world of all the other characters in the tragedy, including, perhaps, even Othello. Even though both of the main male characters, Iago and Othello, are murderers, they have different types of characters, cause different feelings and deserve different attitudes.
Shakespeare makes it clear at once at the first appearance of Iago, that he is a villain with his philosophy. Philosophy is not crafty in its core as well as in its shape. “I follow him to serve my turn upon him” – that is the remarkable thesis which Iago pursues consistently and without bare deviation from the course chosen once and for all (Michele 2007).
Iago lives in his world of passions and desires as the Lord but not a slave. They are the essence of his life, but he can control himself to achieve them. Iago is able to rank, for him desires are not equal, and he builds his behavior according to his priorities. Apparently, for people like Iago, a world in which they live is unrighteous world. Maverick is hard to understand that someone who is more useful for society on this post can be chosen for it. Iago is valid in his point of view assuming that there is a matter of personal liking – this is the level of his philosophy.
Thus, Iago is the central character in the tragedy; he is the lieutenant in the service for Othello. By nature he is a lout and plebeian, forced to be in the service for “the moor”, hating him for feeling of humiliation, unable to witness Othello and Desdemona’s serene happiness; he created a monstrous intrigue around them, in which he gets himself without knowing, and involved the lieutenant Cassio, Othello’s vassal as well. Iago is completely opposite to Othello: cunning, crafty, envious, ready for any meanness, in order to destroy that harmony that he sees in Othello. Iago is one of Shakespeare’s favorite types of “villains”, but unlike Richard III or Macbeth he is shallow-minded and his thoughts and aspirations are not comparable in scale. He is not “an evil incarnate”, he is just an evil schemer, but this intrigue invented by his quirky mind of scheming is enough to subdue (and eventually to destroy) noble Othello and Desdemona, who, unlike Othello, understands better what is Iago, but she could not resist him. Hatred that drives all the deeds and thoughts of Iago, his rejection of every one in whom he sees superiority over himself, are a terrible destructive force. Exactly hatred and destruction are the only thing what this man can do. However, he follows the laws of human psychology – but only those that drive the evil and mean deeds. High deeds are so irritating for him that he has an instinctive desire to break, to destroy. Knowing how to find weak point in everyone, he skillfully played on this string. In Shakespeare’s plot of tragedy he is the spring of action, a source of intrigue.
It’s not a surprise that the union of Iago and Othello has caused a chain of atrocities. Othello is a complete, radical contrast to Iago; he is a man who is internally clean, a man for whom there is the concept of duty to others, the notions of morality. Motivation of such people should seem for “Iago” ridiculous, moreover, the presence of such motivations is destructive for “Iago’s” philosophy; “Iago” feels a danger for himself and does not miss a chance to destroy such “Othello” (Schwartz 2005).
Othello suggests the presence of affirmative and positive values ​​associated with the personality of human that’s why he loves people. Although it would be better to say that he is “in hurry” to love people, otherwise he would not love Iago. But look how the other characters, for which the notions of good and morality exist, like Othello. This mutual respect of people who appreciate the best in human helps them make this inhumanly hard world in which they live, fit for life. This is the consequence of worldview.
Othello is not only a moral man, he’s a big personality. He is a talented leader, nobleman. He won his way by his own abilities, without anyone’s support and became a high-ranking person in spite of his racial difference. How can Iago win such a man? Of course, fighting with him on his territory, making him wicked, dropping him to his own level.
In “The Tragedy of Othello” Shakespeare wrote the story of a man who differs from the others not only by skin color but also by his mental characteristics: honesty, integrity and childish trust. Othello and Desdemona’s love is natural because there are all these qualities; they are as close to each other as Romeo and Juliet were. Brave warrior, undefeated general (so as the result the Senate of Venice sends him to continue his service to Cyprus) – and at the same time guileless child, unaware of the existence of such human qualities as meanness, deceit, hypocrisy in the world, of betrayal from his faithful lieutenant Cassio, unfaithfulness of his beloved wife Desdemona, not allowing an idea about the possibility of deception, unfaithfulness and therefore so readily believed in Iago’s stories – Shakespeare’s version of the Ensign. He cannot live with this feeling, with this knowledge putting on a mask and cunning, he cannot become a livelong eavesdropper, a spy of his own wife. Having known, how he thought about his wife’s infidelity, Othello completely changed: tenderness becomes rudeness, credulity becomes suspicion. In all, in every word and gesture of her, he fancies deception now; precisely because he never before could admit such thought.
Iago knows human weakness very well, and he procured the hooks for a different game. He is a talent in this. Such people usually cannot tolerate anything extraordinary; they are “genius of mediocrity”. The only one person left in the history under the pseudonym of Stalin, was also a clever manipulator, he even created a state modeled on Machiavelli and Plato base, the state in which they were all against all, and in which with the help of brainwashing he convinced that “life has become better, life has become merrier”. His era was characterized by a cynical attitude to the talents – he used and threw away (Rutter 2010).
Iago chooses a simple, but at all times safe tactic – to lull the vigilance. For this purpose he takes the mask of a friend. He uses words of admiration for each of his victims, each of his enemy he calls a friend. It’s convenient in some way; he makes a lot of small services, without requiring anything in return. Cheese in his mousetrap is always fresh and free. Trickster reaches a state when he is fully trusted, and the victim experiences a strange state of blindness with wide open eyes. Iago inhabits victim’s world with ghosts-chimeras, bringing him out of balance, immediately consoled him to the next moment hanging over his head lies and even more terrible, to deepen the destruction of personality. Results are scaring, remember the fate of Rodrigo. Using his passion for Desdemona and weakness of character, first of all, Iago gutted all his money, morally crippled him, forcing to take more and more mean solutions, and when there is just his desperate, desolate and tired body, he lets him move, and then kills.
Iago is doing a similar trick with Othello. He begins with his confused hints, and when Moor’s curiosity was attracted, he said that perhaps there was something wrong with Desdemona. “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on;” (Maley, 2011). – Iago takes the piss under the guise of care knowing everything ahead. It was not in vain, the first assignment is made: “I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove; And on the proof, there is no more but this,– Away at once with love or jealousy!” (Langley 2009). He admitted this thought, what means villain gets carte blanche. After a small portion of new, more specific hints, even at a specific rival, Cassio, he makes Othello saying: “She’s gone. I am abused; and my relief Must be to loathe her” (Markowski 2077). And he became Iago’s victim. Further fall is quick and horrible. Link of provocations that Iago arranged leads Othello to the state where he cannot consider. In this state, people can be easily managed what Iago makes brilliantly, persuading Othello to kill Desdemona and getting his permission to kill Cassio.
The only way for Othello to get rid of this doubt relentlessly lodged in his house (and his soul) is the decision to which he comes: Desdemona’s murder. But, done it, Othello found out that Desdemona is innocent, that they are both victims of the monstrous intrigue that Iago had spun so skillfully. Othello calls himself a “honest murderer”: “An honourable murderer, if you will; For nought I did in hate, but all in honour” (Robison 2011). There is the key in these words to understand the reason of this murder: a man for whom honor is above all, he could not coexist with a vice, he could not allow to go dishonesty unpunished. Realizing the full horror of what he did, he kills himself – he cuts his throat with a dagger.
Iago exults. Desdemona is killed. The loss of faith in Desdemona meant the loss of faith in human for Othello. Having lost Desdemona, Othello lost faith in life. Chaos reigned in his soul. Desdemona’s murder is not so much an explosion of dark passion, as an act of justice. Othello revenges for the outraged love and world which lost harmony. He is not so much jealous husband as formidable judge, tottering on the world of injustice, meanness and deception. Not without purpose at the critical moment of his existence, he speaks of “honor”, investing profound human meaning in this big word. And having known the whole truth, he feels as impartial judge and kills himself.
Othello ruined. Emily is killed, actually renounced her husband. Cassio is wounded. Iago get to justice occasionally. Iago is alive waiting for trial and execution. In Shakespeare’s plot of tragedy he is the spring of action, a source of intrigue. All noble people are defeated. Why? Confidence of noble people to each other, the non-aggression pact, which they concluded as allies, has great power, as it brings together people in achieving their common aims, it strengthens each and all. But it is also a weak point. As soon as villain uses such benefits, he destroys everyone and everything creating his ugly “happy” little world (Nicholson 2010).
Among the great Shakespeare’s tragedies “The Tragedy of Othello” (1604) is the most “chamber”. It has no grand archaic, no threatening celestial signs, witches and ghosts, and its action is not related to the early Middle Ages, and to the 16th century, that is to years close to Shakespeare. The author shows how a petty, spiteful and jealous man (Iago) can kill many people, destroy someone else’s love. Images of Iago and Othello are different, despite the fact that they are both murderers. Iago is a character that represents an inherent evil, while Othello forced into situations because of respective circumstances. The interaction of these different, and even in some way opposite characters make the tragedy interesting, unique and popular masterpiece for readers.