Character Analysis of Iago

             Oxford Dictionary defines villain as a, ' a wicked person; chief wicked character in a play or a story' (oxford 740). The character of Iago is a villainous character, which acts as an antagonist to bring down the main character (protagonist), Othello. He is a person who is capable of a cool hypocrisy, unreasonable hatred, and many evil acts, which he is able to plot them very easily. According to Stopford A. Brooke, ' it is a monstrous mind that had arrived by chance in the body of a non- commissioned officer' (Brooke 444). The whole play is nothing but a tragedy. Tragedy as Aristotle hinted long ago, ' arises out of the contemplation of the clash of forces and the triumph of the greater force, and its result in the human soul is to wake the feelings of pity and of awe' (Chambers 441).
             In analyzing the character of Iago, we have to consider the fact that in comparison to the other characters, he is very intellectual. His mind is very sharp and he is an intelligent man. As critic Nicoll points out that, ' He towers above all the rest with his fertile, acute, and normally far sighted brain power' (Nicoll 459). Iago has many reasons for his evil acts. Firstly, his invented suspicion that Moor was intimate with his wife. To give it some colors he accuses Cassio of the same sin. Secondly, he was demoted to a lower rank because of Cassio. He wanted to remove Cassio from the picture and take his position. His actions were very inappropriate and immoral. As critic Brooke says, ' His action is outside of probable humanity, even of wicked humanity. It is like a soulless devil in a man, that is, of the last improbability' (Brooke 444).
             He used his honesty as a weapon and cheated the very people who had a strong faith in his honesty. He very easily deceives Othello. Othello puts his entire confidence in the honesty of Iago, who had not only been his companion
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