In Shakespeare's Othello, the tragedy unfolds because of the actions of one man, Iago. He is a twenty-eight year old military veteran from Venice. His personality consists of being obsessive, manipulative, relentless and bold. From the beginning he expressed his hatred towards the Moor, or North African named Othello. Othello is a highly esteemed general and is also married to the pure Desdemona. Othello and Desdemona's marriage is destroyed due to Iago's actions and lies. His actions consist of having Michele Cassio dismissed from the position of lieutenant and convincing Il Moro that his wife is cheating on him. Iago's reasons for despising Othello are that he passed him over for a promotion as his lieutenant, instead choosing Michael Cassio, and then he suspects that Othello has slept with his wife Emilia. Iago is unhappy with his life, so he will make everyone else around him feel his unhappiness. Just like the saying goes “Misery loves company”, which means unhappy people want others to be unhappy too. “Iago is (this is true) the Demon who moves everything, but Othello is the one who acts: he loves, he is jealous, he kills and he kills himself (Rosenthal).” Iago's contemptuous attitude towards Othello is fueled by his being overlooked for a promotion to Othello's lieutenant. The promotion was given to a very educated man named Michael Cassio. “As Iago, the man of resentment par excellence, who represents the leveling jealousy of every superior achievement, says of Cassio: "he has in his life a daily beauty that makes me ugly" (Othello, 5.2) (Bonetto I). ” Since being elected Othello's lieutenant, Iago has reason to be bitter and jealous towards Cassio. Iago never understood why Othello ch...... middle of paper...... suspect slept with his wife Emilia. Therefore Iago convinced Othello with perfect proof that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him with Cassio. As the tragedy began to unfold, everyone was able to see Iago's true colors and see the conniving, lying, backstabbing person that he is. Everyone's fate was in the hands of Iago, the villain. Works Cited Bonetto, Sandra. "Cowardly Conscience and Bad Conscience in Shakespeare and Nietzsche." Philosophy and literature. October 2006: 512-527.SIRS Renaissance. Network. May 19. 2014.Rosenthal, Tom. "All the Moor." Opera Now (London, England). May/June 2001: 36-38. LORDS Renaissance. Network. May 19. 2014.Ardolino, Frank. "Pinter's BETRAYAL and Shakespeare's OTHELLO." Explainer 65.1 (2006): 50-53. Premier of academic research. Network. May 19, 2014.Crowther, Giovanni. No fear Shakespeare Othello. New York. 2003. Print
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