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Iago as an obstacle in Othello Essay
iago as an obstacle in Othello
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Rukhsar Yazmin 12HHNMs Patel
English Lit
Love literature often uses villainous characters as obstacles to love. In light of
this explore how Iago’s character is used as a dramatic device to destroy
Othello and Desdemona’s loving relationship in the extract and across the
play.
In the extract, Shakespeare presents Iago’s character as a dramatic device to destroy Othello
and Desdemona’s relationship through his desire to get revenge over Othello. This is evident
in the line ‘nothing can or shall content my soul Till I am evened with him, wife for wife’. The
use of Iago’s determined tone connotes that he is resilient in his plan to destroy not only
Othello but the passionate and loving relationship that he has with Desdemona. The verb
‘content’ indicates that Iago will never feel truly satisfied or feel relief until he has exacted
his anger and vengeance on Othello and that for his soul to feel free, he must make Othello
pay for his actions against him. Furthermore, the phrase ‘wife for wife’ conveys that Iago
feels cheated by Othello as he believes that he slept with his wife, Emelia. The words ‘wife
for wife’ implies that Iago’s revenge would be to take away Desdemona from Othello, just as
Othello ‘took’ Emelia, and Iago is aware that this act would truly hurt and finish Othello. The
preposition ‘for’ connotes the idea of Emilia and Desdemona being possessions in Iago’s
eyes and that his stance on women is that they are owned by their husbands and that they
can be traded and taken like objects rather than human beings. Iago’s deceptive plan to
destroy Othello acts as an obstacle in the way of Othello and Desdemona’s love as his plan is
to break apart their relationship and corrupt Othello with hatred and jealously.
Later on, in the extract, Shakespeare portrays Iago’s villainous character as a dramatic
device to destroy Othello and Desdemona’s relationship through Iago’s plan to corrupt and
change Othello into a jealous and hateful character. This is evident in the line ‘I put the
Moor, at least into a jealousy so strong, that judgment cannot cure’. The use of caesura
connotes that Iago plans to make Othello believe that Desdemona is unfaithful to him and
that he will corrupt Othello to the point where he will no longer be the same man. The use
of the noun ‘jealousy’ conveys that Iago wants Othello to feel the deception and pain of
their partner having an infidelity behind their backs. Iago believes that Othello has slept with
his wife and now wants Othello to feel the same hatred and jealousy that he felt.
Furthermore, the phrase ‘judgement cannot cure’ indicates that Iago plans to corrupt and
manipulate Othello’s love for Desdemona into vengefulness to the point where his
judgement is clouded and even Othello won’t be able to rationalise and think clearly
because of his heart ache and anger. This exploitation of Othello will be a huge obstacle in
Othello and Desdemona’s relationship as Othello will feel no trust in her words and will be
so blinded by hurt that he will undoubtedly become a shell of the man with good virtues
that he used to be.
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