Question : How is
jealousy
presented in the play ‘Othello’
Introduction/Thesis Statement
Paragraph 1
Othello
Topic Sentence:
Concluding
Sentence:
Supporting Details:
Paragraph 2
Iago
Topic Sentence:
Concluding
Sentence:
Supporting Detail:
“ Iago’s passionless character, all will in intellect”
Furthermore, Shakespeare’s presentation of Othello’s relationship with Iago
seems to offer an insight into the motives behind Iago’s aforementioned
corruption and malicious intent: rather than Iago’s evil being baseless, it is
symptomatic of" It is not rooted in pure malicious intent; rather it arises
from class frustrations and sexual jealousy, in particular.
Critic Samuel Coleridge lectured in 1818 that Iago is driven by ‘motiveless
malignity’, comparing Iago to the ‘devil’. Coleridge suggests, therefore, that
Iago is not driven by any motive when he corrupts his relationship with
Othello, other than to satiate his own evil nature. Perhaps, on the surface,
this appears a reasoned perspective. In Iago’s first soliloquy, he calls
upon ‘hell and night’ to help destroy Othello. Indeed,
Shakespeare’s deliberate choice of imagery here shows Iago
aligning himself with devilish forces, and does depict him as evil.
However, Coleridge oversimplifies Iago and his relationship with Othello
immensely: when considering Shakespeare’s characterisation of Iago as a
whole, Iago is indisputably driven by more than mere evil with no
foundation. “Shakespeare uses the complexity of Iago and Othello’s
relationship to subvert binaries such as good vs. evil or hero vs. villain.”
As iago is not a simple villain or o as a simple tragic hero
Shakespeare first introduces this in 1:1 - ‘And what was he… a Florentine…
that never set a squadron in the field’ - with reference to Cassio. Here,
Shakespeare almost immediately establishes class as a driving source for
Iago’s evil.
