Othello is a tragedy that was written by William Shakespeare. The storyline is centered on Othello, his wife Desdemona, Cassio, his lieutenant and Iago, his aide. Othello is a black Moor who serves as general in the Venetian army. He secretly marries a beautiful Venetian girl named Desdemona and her father, Brabantio reports this to the Duke of Venice. Othello fails in his defense and is ordered to war in Cyprus. He goes with his wife together with Cassio whom he had made lieutenant and Iago his aide. When the Turkish fleet is scattered, Iago uses this opportunity to destroy Othello due to resentment. He persuades him that Cassio has an affair with Desdemona although this is not true. He goes further to make his wife, Emilia, steal Desdemona’s handkerchief and ensures it is in Cassio’s possession so as to make Othello jealous. Othello reacts by killing Desdemona. However, Emilia shows Desdemona’s innocence at which Iago murders her. This is his second murder, after Roderigo’s. Iago is arrested but fails to apologize. Othello learns that he was duped, and he takes his own life.
The conflict in this tragedy emanates from Iago’s actions; he is in a way a main character just the same way Othello is. The most sinister of the characters in this piece of art is Iago. He is a schemer with a serious hatred for the play’s hero. He is the agent of conflict right from the commencement of this piece of work, through the intrigues and happenings that take place and maintains this up to the end of the play. He is involved in the deaths of Roderigo, Emilia, and an attempt at Cassio’s life and also has a hand in Desdemona and Othello’s deaths. It is through the hatred he harbors that make him plot evils through manipulation, lies and treachery. All these depict Iago as the symbol of the devil.
In the first Act of the play, Iago is infuriated by Othello’s decision to appoint Cassio his lieutenant. He gets jealous and shares information about Othello’s intention to marry Desdemona with Roderigo. The two then report this to Desdemona’s father that the two intend to elope after which Othello is sent to fight in Cyprus. Later on in between Acts 1 to 3, Iago devices a scheme to make Othello believe that Cassio has an affair with his wife. This is a plot to have Cassio lose his job and have Desdemona break up with Othello. Iago convinces Roderigo to come with them to Cypress and gets him to believe that Cassio is in love with Desdemona. This works for him as it makes Roderigo hate Cassio. At one point, Iago gets Cassio drunk and makes him fight with Roderigo. After this, Cassio stabs Montano and Othello is infuriated thus dismisses him.
When the Turkish fleet becomes scattered, Othello is relatively free and Iago takes this chance to plot an evil scheme against Othello due to hatred. He gets to persuade him that Cassio and Desdemona have an affair. He makes Emilia, his wife to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief and put it in Cassio’s possession to get Othello jealous. Othello becomes jealous and murders Desdemona in her bed. However, Emilia is not pleased and reveals the truth at which Iago gets annoyed since Emilia has messed his plan big time. He therefore kills her.
In the play, Iago is skillful in all his ploys and Othello continued to trust him as an advisor despite all evils he committed. He was very secretive and pretended to be Othello’s friend. It is not until Emilia reveals Desdemona’s innocence that Othello discovers who the real Iago is. All that Iago plans in the play has an evil objective and thus symbolizes the devil’s hand in his life. He strikes us as the symbol of the devil.
Works Cited
Arp, Thomas R and Greg Johnson. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 11th. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012.
Shakespeare, William. Othello, The Moor of Venice . London: Forgotten Books, 2008.
