Year 11 Othello Essay

Student number: 26321794
Othello and Iago’s Soliloquy

Shakespeare’s 17th century tragedy ‘Othello’ explores universally recognized themes dealing with the self and a social environment such as jealousy, manipulation and how they can accentuate human flaws. These issues are encountered by Iago in his soliloquy and great insight is given through many techniques and developed characteristics; giving insight on Shakespeare’s overall intentions. This soliloquy enhances and shapes the audiences understanding of the play through language techniques, dramatic irony and character insight. Much of Iago’s plots to perform a the plan, which leads Othello to his jealousy inspired demise, are shown in this soliloquy.

Throughout ‘Othello’ the main backbone of the play is the concept of jealousy and human flaws which are explored in Iago’s soliloquy; not only does it lead Iago’s motives but it is the vehicle for human destructiveness in which he, himself, is flawed. He uses the fatal emotion of jealousy to ruin Othello and manipulate others around him. In the soliloquy in question he states; ‘...I do suspect the lusty Moor hath leaped into my seat’, referring to Othello. Through animalistic metaphors and imagery such as a ‘lusty Moor’ who ‘hath leaped’ we can see Iago’s hatred for Othello grow. Shakespeare creates jealousy using the fact that there is no evidence of the affair to highlight Iago’s flaw of festering paranoia which has grown into a jealous rage towards Othello, becoming the seed of his anger. In turn Iago ends up insisting the same fate upon Othello. In correspondence   Carol Thomas Neely says, in reference to their jealousy; that they are “two parts of a single motive -- related not as the halves of a sphere, but each implicit on the other.” Neely is referring to the fact that Iago’s jealousy stems from suspicions of Othello and on the other hand, Othello’s jealousy is a seed planted and insisted upon by Iago. Each’s jealousy would not exist were in not for...