Othello :: essays research papers

In the Elizabethan times, there was a commonalty belief that all beings belonged to a structure called the "Great Chain of Beings". At the top of the chain was God, who was the absolute symbol of perfection, followed by nonpareils which had reason, adult male beings, and thus living creatures, that were full of passion. It was rememberd that the human being was a mixture of both the angel and the animate being, thus there was conflict between these two halves of a human being. The angel was representative of all that was right and virtuous and in contrast, the animal was representative of all that was wrong and self-serving. When Iago made the comment that, "Hell and nighttime must bring this monstrous birth to the worlds light," (I, i, 394-395) his profession upon the forces of darkness to achieve his goal illustrates the imbalance in the conflict that rages in his soul. Iago is an individual whos perspective of the world is dominated by his animal reputat ion. Due to his own lack of sexual morality, Iago does not recall that any justness exists at all. In his actions, he seeks to bring all about him to the akin level of existence. The motive for the evil he presents is none other than to commit evil. Thus beyond all of the reason and thought that he cloaks himself in, Iago is sincerely a character that is truly dark at his core.&9Iago is a character who believes that there is no such thing as rightfulness in any individual that he meets. His animalistic perspective of individuals lets him believe that everyone around him has the same self-serving attitude towards life as his own. "When the race is made dull with the act of sport, there should be game to kindle it and to give satiety a fresh appetite,"(II, i, 225-227). Iagos animalistic nature believes that Desdemona will eventually cheat on Othello when she is satisfied with her body, for he believes that the all purpose of sex is to satisfy an individuals sexual cr aving. He does not believe in the virtue of love, so he can not attend that there was more to the relationship between Othello and Desdemona. Thus his lack of virtue limits his ability to see the intentions of the people who are around him. To him, the world around him is one that is governed by the basic rule of evolution, only the strong whitethorn survive.