Othello Tragedy

Dustin Mills English 102 Dr. Elisabeth Sachs Othello Essay Honest Iago 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. …

…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.