Jenny Zavatsky
Humanities 7
October 6, 2008
Iago: Envy and Loathing in Venice
Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragic story of the downfall of a great man. In the play, the protagonist, Othello, is met with the jealousy and vengeance of the antagonist, Iago. Although the tragedy is the story of the title-character, the star of the play is truly Iago, an evil, manipulative man filled with hatred for Othello. Iago’s outward motivation is retribution, but his true feelings come from jealousy, hatred, and racism.
Throughout the play, Iago expresses jealousy toward several characters. Clearly, Iago is jealous of Michael Cassio who earned the promotion that Iago so desperately wanted. Much of Iago’s manipulation revolves around getting Cassio in trouble or laying the blame on him for bad behaviors. But Iago’s jealously goes beyond the obvious desires for retribution toward Cassio and moves into a strange obsession with Othello himself. Iago expresses jealously for Othello’s relationship with his new wife, Desdemona; it seems possible that Iago loves Desdemona and is envious of Othello’s relationship with her. In the end, Iago’s jealously brings about the downfall of everyone around him.
Iago has hatred and loathing for almost everyone in his life, from his wife to his friends. Emelia, Iago’s wife, discovers her husband’s crimes, and when she confronts him, he kills her. His friends, Cassio and Roderigo, suffer in Iago’s manipulative hands; in fact, Roderigo even suffers death at the hands of Iago. Finally, Iago’s greatest disgust seems to be directed at Othello, a man Iago claims to be friends with. Iago goes to such extreme lengths to exact his revenge that his must have intest hatred and loathing for all the people around him.
With Iago’s jealously and hatred comes another awful motivation: racism. Othello is a black man, and Iago uses that fact to wage his private wart against Othello. When telling Desdemona’s father of her elopement to Othello, Iago reminds her father that she is a white woman with a black man. As part of his terrible manipulation and brainwashing of Othello, Iago often repeats racist ideas to instill in Othello insecurity. Although Iago never comes right out and says he is a racist, his motivations for making Othello’s life so miserable are consistent with the acts of a bigot.
In conclusion, Shakespeare’s Othello contains one of the most evil characters in all of the theater. Iago claims to want vengeance for being passed over for a promotion; however, his actions and his words tell the audience that he is more than just a man seeking retribution. Iago is a man motivated by jealousy, hatred, and racism. Throughout the world’s books and plays, there are no characters as despicable and cruel as Iago.
