Iago Playing in Othello's Trag

Othello, by William Shakespeare, is Othello’s tragedy but Iago’s play because Iago is the one who is constantly controlling the action. Iago manipulates situations in his favor by speaking directly to the audience. This allows Iago to show the audience his point of view on all matters concerning the play and twist their conception of him in his favor. Iago merely displays his manipulative character in convincing us that he is no villain …

…s tragedy, strays from the conventional play formula just as Othello the character strays from the conventional Moor characteristics. In most plays, the main character is the one who is in control of the action as well as, if it’s a tragedy, the tragic things happen to the same character. The fact that William Shakespeare strayed from the conventional tragedy formula for a play meant that he could also stray from other conventional ideas.