Similarities between Othello and Iago
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William Shakespeare (1564 to April 23, 1616) was an English playwright, actor, and poet who was often referred to as England’s national poet. He took part in theatre plays and poetry which revolve around many aspects of life. His plays have been performed over and in countless places for more than 400 years (Biography, 2017).
One of those plays is “Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice)” believed to have been written between 1602 and 1604. In this book, Shakespeare uses different characters to bring out the theme of the book. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Iago are the main characters with the former being the villain. This essay looks at the summary of ‘Othello,’ the differences between the two characters, Othello and Iago, and the similarities between these two characters.
Othello
Othello is the main character in the book. He is a general in the Venetian National forces who is skilled, intellectual, and fearless. He has good skills and that is why he is promoted even with his background being in Africa. Othello is married to Desdemona who has adoration and love for him. Othello is full of rage and jealousy and that defines the decisions he makes in this play (McCulloch, Helen, and Carey, 2016).
Iago
Iago is the villain. He is angry at Othello for making Cassio the Lieutenant and plots to destroy Othello’s marriage and life. He offers to help Rodriguez win the attention of Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Iago’s plans revolve around him creating mistrust between Othello and Desdemona. He is evil and a sadist who rejoices at other people’s misfortunes (McCulloch, Helen, and Carey, 2016).
Summary of Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice)
For the “Iago comparison Othello”, it is necessary to go through the summary of the play to understand both characters well.
Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) by Shakespeare revolves around Othello who is a general in the Venetian defense forces. Iago acts as a major character in this play since most of what happens in the plot are based on his villain actions.
He plots to help Rodriguez get Othello’s wife – the gentle Desdemona – for himself by implicating that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair. Iago ensures that Cassio who is also in the Venetian defense forces is fired and takes a handkerchief that Emilia collects after Desdemona drops it. Iago gives the handkerchief to Cassio.
Iago then tells Othello that Desdemona gave the handkerchief to Cassio to prove to him Desdemona’s affair with Michael Cassio. Othello requests to see the special handkerchief from his wife and since she does not have it he takes it as true that she is cheating.
He is enraged to such an extent that he plans to kill Desdemona – his wife. He later finds out from Emilia (while she is dying after being stabbed by Iago) that Desdemona was innocent. He feels guilty and stabs himself after telling his men to remember both his good and bad deeds “one that lov’d not wisely, but too well.” (Act 5, scene 2: Shakespeare & Rolfe, 2011 )
Main Characters (Iago Othello)
Now, it is time to take a look at Othello and Iago in their protagonist and antagonist roles.
Othello
Othello is the main character in the book. He is a general in the Venetian National forces who is skilled, intellectual, and fearless. He has good skills and that is why he is promoted even with his background being in Africa. Othello is married to Desdemona who has adoration and love for him. Othello is full of rage, jealousy, and human emotion, which defines the decisions he makes in this play (McCulloch, Helen, and Carey, 2016).
Iago
Iago is the villain. He is angry at Othello for making Michael Cassio the Lieutenant and plots to destroy Othello’s marriage and life as he cannot stand other people’s happiness. He offers to help Rodriguez win the attention of Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Iago takes advantage of the situation and revolves it around creating mistrust between Othello and Desdemona. He is evil and a sadist who rejoices at other people’s misfortunes (McCulloch, Helen, and Carey, 2016).
Differences
The two main characters have different personalities.
Othello is Respected
One of the differences that contrast Othello from Iago is that the former is respected by the forces and is not afraid to listen to complaints (Act 1, scene 2) while Iago is allocated small duties and is not respected by the forces.
Othello is Brave
The second difference is that Othello is brave as is seen when he goes to war with the Turks and wins the war (Act 2, scene 1). Iago on the other hand is a coward who avoids confrontation as seen when he tries to kill Cassio from behind and only ends ups cutting one of his legs (Act 5, scene 1).
Othello is Honest
The third difference is that Othello is seen by the audience as someone honest (Act 1, scene 2) while Iago is dishonest and has evil plans from the start. However, Othello’s honesty is brought to question based on the decisions he makes in (Act 5, scene 2) of killing his wife and later killing himself.
Similarities
Even though they have a lot of differences, Othello and Iago are also similar in some ways.
Betrayal
One of the similarities is that both Iago and Othello betray people close to them. Iago betrays Othello, Emilia, Cassio, and Rodrigues while Othello betrays his wife – enchanted Desdemona – and Cassio. He plans on how his once good friend will be murdered as seen in Act 3, scene 3, he orders that in 3 days he should get news that Cassio is dead. He also kills his wife, the woman he loved deeply.
Disrespect their Wives
The second similarity between Othello and Iago, and one of the very basest elements in their characters, is that they both treat their wives with disrespect and they both end up killing them. Othello refers to his wife as a whore when talking to her, “What, not a whore?” (Act 4, scene 2). Iago on the other hand threatens his wife when she tells the truth that Desdemona is innocent, he tells her, “Be wise, and get you home” (Act 5, scene 2), then uses the same sword he used on Rodrigues to stab his wife.
Artistic in Nature
The third similarity is that they both are artistic characters whereby Othello has the art of poetry and romantic images while Iago is clever for plots that lead to tragedy in the lives of the characters involved in the play.
Othello convinces Desdemona to marry him with stories of his war. He uses poetry to describe to Desdemona how he was a brave soldier during the war. Iago on the other is a schemer and knows how to use Othello’s weakness (jealousy) to destroy his life. Iago befriends everyone and knows how to keep them close for his gain as seen in the whole act.
Conclusion
It is not always common that the villain and the hero to be friends but in Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, the antagonist and protagonist are friends but Othello only comes to find out later that Iago was not his true friend. The two both serve in the army and come into contact often and this strengthens their relationship while building up the jealousy in Iago.
Shakespeare, however, differentiates the two through personality, character, and actions which in the end lead to the same ending, both kill their wives. Othello kills his wife Desdemona because he thinks she is unfaithful while Iago kills Emilia for telling the truth that Desdemona was innocent.
References
- Biography. (2017). William Shakespeare. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
- McCulloch, Helen, & Carey. (2016). Play Summary. Retrieved from https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/othello/play-summary?lci
- Shakespeare, W., & Rolfe, W. J. (2011). Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Charleston, SC: BiblioBazaar.