Sympathy For Iago In Othello's Jealousy

Decent Essays
Iago was out to get Othello and Cassio simply because Othello gave Cassio the lieutenant position over Iago. This agitated Iago to the point where all of the jealousy within him caused him to deliberately hurt those closest to him. Due to this, here should be no sympathy for Iago because he is a manipulative villain. He brought the feeling and consequences upon himself because he was not willing to accept Cassio’s superiority to him. He then desired to seek revenge upon Othello for rewarding the better man (Cassio) and manipulated him to go against his wife and to potentially kill Cassio. When manipulating Othello, Iago tortures him with the thought of Desdemona laying with Cassio. In Act 4 Scene 1 (page 173), Iago tells Othello that Cassio

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