Othello

Essay plan:

Iago is fascinating for his most terrible characteristic: his utter lack of convincing motivation for his actions.

Introduction: Iago's motivation is nothing more than self-absorption and hatred, yet his tact is presented in a decidedly and socially acceptable fashion – that is, until his true self is uncovered. So wrapped up in himself, Iago's vengeful attitude knows no such bounds. His motivation becomes first known to us in the first scene of the play, in which he claims to be angry at Othello for having passed him over for the position of lieutenant. At the end of Act I, scene iii, Iago says he thinks Othello may have slept with his wife, Emilia: “It is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office”. However none of these claims seems to adequately explain Iago’s deep hatred of Othello, and Iago’s lack of convincing motivation—or his inability or unwillingness to express his true motivation—makes his actions all the more terrifying and sinister. He is willing to take revenge on anyone—Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, even Emilia—at the slightest provocation and he enjoys damage that he causes.

Main essay:

Iago’s true power lays in his great talent for understanding and manipulating the desires and insecurities of those around him.

• The way in which he is able to take the handkerchief from Emilia and know that he can deflect her questions; he is able to tell Othello of the handkerchief and know that Othello will not doubt him.

• How he can manipulate the distance between characters, isolating his victims so that they fall prey to their own obsessions and at the same time prey to his own obsession with revenge.

• His manipulation of Roderigo by playing on his fears and desires.

• He seems to become he puppeteer of all of the other characters in the play, he is one they trust in ,confide in and he uses this to an advantage he enjoys being the one in control, he does not need much to convince himself that what he is doing is right.

• Most relationships must be accepted based on faith or trust, a quality that Othello is unwilling to extend