The Nature of Evil in Othello
Throughout our everyday life, many of us have most likely encountered tragedy. An example of one of them which quite often reflect to the people around me is caused the human behaviour of evil. In the play Othello, written by William Shakespeare, Iago plays a character of evil and destruction out of all the characters throughout the play, clearly characterising him as one as an unpleasant, heartless evil villain. Aiming to get whatever he wants, Iago performs his evil doings towards innocent characters throughout the entire play and is not caught doing things to his advantage up until the end. The characters who suffer, slipping into Iago’s wicked corrupt plan includes most of the main character, Othello, Cassio, Roderigo, Emilia and Desdemona causing devastating tragedies all over the play. Iago’s knowledge and understanding of human nature gave him the ability to manipulate others to his advantage thus making him a significant evil villain in the play. This manipulation is primarily acted out on the good, which are the most gullible to evil.
Evil can be characterized as a person who causes ruin, injury, pain or harm for their own satisfaction; Iago, undoubtedly, fits this description. Throughout his soliloquies, Iago reveals his true evil nature as well as how he will cause the downfall of other characters. “Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light” (I, iii, 394-395). This clearly illustrates Iago’s obsessed driven dominance. He will do anything to destroy Othello, and nothing is going to prevent him from achieving his goals. Iago’s evilness undeniably coincides will his ability to understand human nature. Without his understanding of human nature, Iago would not have been able to manipulate the other characters. A prime example of how Iago’s understanding of human nature extends throughout the play is how he is able to acquire Othello’s trust. “This fellow's of exceeding honesty, / And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, /
Evil can be characterized as a person who causes ruin, injury, pain or harm for their own satisfaction; Iago, undoubtedly, fits this description. Throughout his soliloquies, Iago reveals his true evil nature as well as how he will cause the downfall of other characters. “Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light” (I, iii, 394-395). This clearly illustrates Iago’s obsessed driven dominance. He will do anything to destroy Othello, and nothing is going to prevent him from achieving his goals. Iago’s evilness undeniably coincides will his ability to understand human nature. Without his understanding of human nature, Iago would not have been able to manipulate the other characters. A prime example of how Iago’s understanding of human nature extends throughout the play is how he is able to acquire Othello’s trust. “This fellow's of exceeding honesty, / And knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, /