What was iago to othello

Iago is unpunished at the end of the play. The audience believes that he will be punished, but it's left open for the audience to wonder whether he will get away with his evil plans by concocting another deception or violent act. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content.

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Measure content performance. Orson Welles seemed partial to this idea—his film version of the drama exploits the homoerotic undertones of the play, and Iago basically woos Othello away from Desdemona. If you think this idea may be worth exploring or if you just want to know what the heck Orson Welles was thinking , be sure to check out the end of Act 3, Scene 3 , where Othello makes Iago his new lieutenant and Iago vows to kill Cassio:.

IAGO Do not rise yet. Iago kneels. Witness, you ever-burning lights above, You elements that clip us round about, Witness that here Iago doth give up The execution of his wit, hands, heart To wronged Othello's service! Let him command, And to obey shall be in me remorse, What bloody business ever. This sounds a whole lot like a 16th century wedding ceremony No matter how you choose to interpret it, think about the fact that Iago is often our focus in this play.

We follow his storyline more than Othello's, and we spend more time with him than Othello. We watch him in a variety of relationships—his manipulation of Roderigo, his treatment of his wife, his pseudo-friendship with Othello.

If it weren't for the fact that Iago undergoes basically zero changes, you could even argue that he's the main character. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources.

Study Guide. Possibly Iago was always a villain and confidence trickster who set up a false reputation for honesty, but how can one set up a reputation for honesty except by being consistently honest over a long period of time?

Alternatively he might be a man who used to be honest in the past, but has decided to abandon this virtue. Shakespeare has built the character of Iago from an idea already existing in the theatrical culture of his time: the Devil in religious morality plays, which developed into the villain in Elizabethan drama and tragedy.

Iago says I. Sinai, and Moses asks God his name. God replies: "I am that I am" Exodus,iii, Iago is the opposite of God, that is, he is the Devil. Iago in this play, has the qualities of the Devil in medieval and Renaissance morality plays: He is a liar, he makes promises he has no intention of keeping, he tells fancy stories in order to trap people and lead them to their destruction, and he sees other's greatest vulnerabilities and uses these to destroy them.

Iago does all this not for any good reason, but for love of evil. Why does Othello go to Cyprus? Why does Roderigo agree to kill Cassio? Does Cassio die? How does Roderigo die? Does Othello kill Desdemona?