The Concept Of Iago By William Shakespeare - 1163 Words

â€Å"The Concept of Iago† William Shakespeare’s plays all have a common theme: death. There is almost always death, and the play of â€Å"Othello† is no different since it ends in a â€Å"tragedy.† It begins with a man named Iago who speaks to Roderigo of how he should have received the position of lieutenant that was instead given to Cassio, a inexperienced man in his words, by Othello, the General. Iago shows distaste towards Othello, the play then goes through the story of Iago attempting to receive the position of lieutenant, that he believes should have been his in the first place, this is what left the belief that Iago is an â€Å"evil† or â€Å"villainous† man. But this logic is flawed since he’s most likely only perceived this was because of the death of†¦show more content†¦As Raatzsch wrote in his book, called â€Å"The Apologetics of Evil: The case of Iago†, that Iago is merely a man who has been â€Å"rejected and despised† not to me ntion that his service and qualifications have been â€Å"downgraded† therefore made to feel insecure and vulnerable. This leads to the belief that Iago only acted to plot against others for the fact that Iago feels inferior, so he has to beat others in order to feel better. This leaves the topic that Iago has done all of these cruel things as a â€Å"defense mechanism† (Gill XI). â€Å"... The more willing we are to accept the fact that in our story such a motive is poorly developed, the easier it will be for us to understand the traditional form of this story as a disguise for something else,† (Raatzsch 33). The quote means that Iago’s motives are the real idea behind his actions, the â€Å"disguise† is vulnerability left as defense mechanisms and the real idea is what he represents, as Raatzsch has stated: it is the â€Å"concept of Iago† that is the real motive for the course of the plays tragedy. George Bernard Shaw, even goes as far as calling him as the â€Å"prince of villains† for his sharp insight on the other characters as Iago takes the situations at hand and tries to benefit from it, as opportunist you may say. But Iago s sharp insight is what leaves the questions whether Iago has really â€Å"manipulated† the situation when his sharp insight could allow him to see the weakness and insecurity in the other characters that lead themShow MoreRelatedDramatic Irony Used for Characterization in Othello by Shakespeare713 Words   |  3 PagesCaine,] Batman; The Dark Knight). 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