Othello As Iago Essay Research Paper As

Othello As Iago Essay, Research Paper

As villain in Shakespeare.s play Othello, Iago has two main actions. They are

to plot and to deceive. Iago hates Othello for two reasons. He believes that

Othello made love to his wife, and Iago is mad that Cassio was chosen to be

Lieutenant instead of himself. From this hate comes the main conflict of the

play. Iago plans to ruin Othello by carrying out a plan based on lies and

deceit. This plan will make Iago the only person that Othello believes he can

trust, and Iago will use this trust to manipulate Othello. First, Iago plans to

remove Cassio from his position as lieutenant so that he himself take over

Cassio.s position as confidant and Lieutenant to Othello. Then Iago hopes to

convince Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. If Iago.s

plan unfolds properly, he will be granted the revenge that he believes he

deserves. Iago.s plan and his motives are disclosed through a series three of

conversations. He speaks with Roderigo twice and Cassio once. These three

conversations show how Iago manipulates others to gain his own ends, and they

also give motives for Iago.s behavior. The conversations all follow the same

pattern. Iago first speaks with Roderigo and Cassio to forward his plan, and

then Iago has a soliloquy in which he discusses his motives. Iago states that

the reasons for his hate are that Othello slept with Emilia and Cassio was

chosen to be Othello.s Lieutenant. However, Iago.s actions lead to ends that

do not revenge his given motives. Coleridge calls Iago.s actions "the

motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity" . In other words, Iago.s only

reason for destroying Othello is that Iago is an inherently bad person. The

conversations that Iago has with Roderigo and Cassio show that Iago invents

reasons for his actions against Othello, so that his own selfish ends can be

met. Iago.s first dialog with Roderigo serves as an introduction to Iago.s

plan. In this scene the reader learns that Roderigo is in love with Desdemona,

because he threatens to drown himself when he learns that Othello and Desdemona

are engaged. Uses Roderigo.s weakness to help him remove Cassio from his

lieutenant position. Iago tells Roderigo to "put money in thy purse"

(333) . Iago believes that Othello and Desdemona will not be together for a very

long time since Othello is a Moor and Desdemona is an aristocrat. Iago urges

Roderigo to earn money now so that he can be an eligible suitor when Desdemona

is looking for another husband. This conversation and the soliloquy following it

introduce the two different sides of Iago. Iago tells Roderigo what he wants to

hear in order to enlist his help. However, in the following soliloquy the reader

is introduced to what Iago really has planned. He states that he would never

associate with someone like Roderigo except to gain his own ends. "Thus do

I ever make my fool my purse–/ For I mine own gained knowledge should profane/

If I would time expand with such a snipe/ But for my sport and profit"

(365-368). Iago feels that Roderigo is a foolish man who exists only for

Iago.s use or "sport." This idea a strengthened by the word

"snipe". The Arden Shakespeare defines snipe as "fool" (p.

159) and states that the word meant "gull or dupe" (p. 159) before

Shakespeare. These definitions emphasize the fact that Iago feels no respect for

Roderigo and is manipulating Roderigo only to further his plan. In the same

speech, Iago.s real plan is revealed only to the audience. Iago wants to

convince Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are in love. They are the two people

that Othello trusts, and if Othello believes that they have turned on him, this

will lead to his downfall. Iago plans to tell Othello that Cassio and Desdemona

are having an affair. Cassio is a ladies man, and Iago believes that Cassio.s

charm makes women fall in love with him. Iago will make the innocent flirtations

of Cassio and Desdemona seem like secret love to Othello. "After some time

to abuse Othello.s ears/ That he is too familiar with his wife/ He hath a

person and a smooth dispose/ To be suspected, framed to make women false"

(378-380). Iago planted a seed of hope in Roderigo, and the next time they speak

Iago uses this hope to turn Roderigo against Cassio. In this scene Iago tells

Roderigo that "Desdemona is directly in love with [Cassio]" (215).

From there previous discussion, Roderigo believes that he will be with Desdemona

when she is no longer with Othello. Here, Roderigo learns that he has

competition, and this information is given to Roderigo only because Iago hopes

that Roderigo will initiate a fight with Cassio. This fight will get Cassio in

trouble and hopefully remove him from his position. Cassio is not an agressive

soldier like Iago, and he has t

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