a lot of actors who have played iago have stated that they believe iago's immense hatred for othello stems from his love for him. we can look at it homosexually or a brother to brother relationship that many men in the army feel as they fight together. when othello gives the position of lieutenant to cassio, iago is hurt and he turns this love into hatred. its important to question when looking at iago's motives how a man who lies, decieves and manipulates has gained a reputation of honestly from everyone. he was likely not born bad but made bad. iago is working class, othello, roderigo and cassio are upper class so othello gave a position which would have elevated iago into the upper class to cassio. perhaps his motivation stems from his position as the broken proletariat angry at how other characters see him as socially inadequate - "the lieutenant would be saved before the ancient" (Cassio when he is drunk).
Anybody who has to ask what motivates lago to act as hes does has very little experience of certain areas of humanity. l've known people that have acted in completely over the top ways at the slightest thing and, whilst they couldn't explain why they do it, it certainly is an aspect of human behaviour and not a rare trait.
It’s often not socially conditioned either. Genetics is a thing. Sometimes people ARE simply born evil. No it isn’t fair but it’s the truth. If you’re born with an under functioning amygdala or to a parent who displays psychopathic traits there is a good chance that you will exhibit those traits yourself.
It's one thing to overreact to a small provocation; it is quite another thing to nake an elaborate plan that involves hurting multiple people to a lethal level, and continue to go through with said plan while watching its victims get progressively more hurt over the course of time.
There are people who have done it consistently for years. One case I know about involved a woman trying to crash the marriage of her neighbours for 20 years, because the woman in the other family did not rush out and present herself when the first woman moved into the neighbourhood. Also another case. A woman is getting an EU grant for disabled entrepreneurs (she had arthritis) and started a little shop which sold animals made from stones and cones to German tourists, as well as home-made moose signs. Her neighours began doing the same thing, but gave away the stuff for free. They did so until her company went bankcrupt. Then they stopped. @@blueberryoatmeal4009
10:00 Yes, that interaction stood out to me as important because it risks going against Iago's greater agenda. Meaning, Iago wants to remain in Othello's good graces, yet he's going out of his way to offend Desdemona. What if she were to go complain to Othello of what an ass Iago was acting? That could have hurt Iago's efforts. So, I think the fact that Iago couldn't help himself but say those things speaks to his motives and mindset. He is a profoundly jealous and resentful person. He tips his hat on this front when talking to Othello about his phony concerns about Cassio and Desdemona. I forget the scene and can't quote him verbatim, but Iago cautions Othello to be skeptical of his thoughts because he is prone to seeing bad intentions where there aren't any and imagining slights that aren't intended. Othello also notes that Iago is a worldly and experienced person who knows the ways of people. So, Iago's laments about women that he lays on Desdemona, while perhaps unfair and one-side generalizations, probably come from real experiences he's had, both in and out of his marriage. It's also a bit reminiscent of Emelias speech towards to end of the play about how women have the same desires to be unfaithful as men do and can learn from men's examples, a scene which I think largely confirms that she did have an affair with Othello, and which suggests Iago likely had an affair with some other woman prior to that.
My long comment got deleted, so I've put your video on a loop to digest it deeply, your voice is soothing. I don't think much anymore is quite late as to post a better line but thank you.
I suspect Othello chose Cassio as lieutenant because he thought Iago wasn’t fierce enough. He liked Iago, he thought Iago was a great person. But Cassio could be more bad-a$$ when that’s what’s needed.
Good video but the ‘what turned him that way?’ is symptomatic of an ingrained assumption that all humans are born as blank slates and anyone who is evil is like that because of some adverse event in their childhood or adolescence. That’s just not the case. A huge amount of our personality is simply genetic and innate. Iago may simply be a psychopath born with an amygdala which doesn’t function well as a result of natural genetic variance in humans. Some people are simply born sociopaths. It might not be a nice way to look at the world but it’s the scientific truth and the sooner you come to terms with it the better. Iago is no less charming for it. This modern idea that everything is socially conditioned and that humans are born as blank slates shouldn’t be forced onto Shakespeare.
Psychopath, sociopath; both terms are mostly rubbish. Narcissism is more apt, in terms of describing the antisocial behaviour you're describing. What I am is cold blooded. It used to be possible to be both a good husband and father, a pillar of the community, whilst simultaneously being a monster. Being good at raiding and pillaging abroad, allowed one to be the opposite at home. It's not one or the other. People like me have the capacity to be both, and arguably, most everyone else does too. Pretending that people who are innately comfortable with violence/drawn to it, are abnormal and detrimental to society, is a really small minded, and unhelpful way of looking at the world. Being cold blooded is not the same thing as being a sadist. And the Iagos of the world aren't necessarily villains. In the context of the play, Othello is an outsider. He's an idiot for taking the job, and doubly so for trying to ingratiate himself with the powers that be by promoting one of theirs over Iago. They would never have hired him except out of desperation, and he'll never be one of them. If he had a lick of sense, he would double down on his otherness. It takes a moor to beat the moors. The most ruthless Muslim corsairs of this era were almost all renegade Christians, who went full convert. But it never worked the same way for Muslim renegades going the other way. Islam was just more welcoming. What Othello should have done is cultivate Iago as a follower, and then together betray their employers in return for acceptance back into the Islamic fold. They'd be untouchable, because if anything happened to them, it would be that much harder to convince the next batch of renegades to take the plunge. Marrying Desdemona is outrageous hubris. There's no way to be a moor and marry a Desdemona, at this point in history, and live happily ever after. That's not just staggering arrogance or hubris; it's insane. Othello is the villain. He's the one who murders Desdemona, and Iago is just the avatar of Othello's own ill thoughts and suspicions. Iago and Othello are one and the same. Madness. That's what Shakespeare always boils down to. Bloodly, tumultuous, all encompassing madness. Tell me I am wrong. Find just one of his plays that doesn't blatantly address the subject of madness, and then tell me with a straight face that it's not bonkers. Henry V is about glorifying the madness of a war that results in Good King Hal marrying the daughter of a mad King who thought he was made of glass. Which led to the madness of King Henry VI, and the Wars of the Roses. I can do this all day. And I guess my point is that Iago and Othello are fictional characters. If Iago is a psychopath, what does that make Shakespeare? What does that make Hamlet? What does that make the performers? There are no answers; only madness.
I can think of a few things Racism, jealousy, envy, a misplaced honor he thinks he has over Othello. He wants Othello destroyed. The Moors have been taken out of History darn near completely for that very reason. So I can believe there ware people like him. There are people like him still. Trust me.
“I did it because I liked it. I was good at it. It made me feel… alive.”
a lot of actors who have played iago have stated that they believe iago's immense hatred for othello stems from his love for him. we can look at it homosexually or a brother to brother relationship that many men in the army feel as they fight together. when othello gives the position of lieutenant to cassio, iago is hurt and he turns this love into hatred. its important to question when looking at iago's motives how a man who lies, decieves and manipulates has gained a reputation of honestly from everyone. he was likely not born bad but made bad. iago is working class, othello, roderigo and cassio are upper class so othello gave a position which would have elevated iago into the upper class to cassio. perhaps his motivation stems from his position as the broken proletariat angry at how other characters see him as socially inadequate - "the lieutenant would be saved before the ancient" (Cassio when he is drunk).
Thanks for the note and Wow "the lieutenant would be saved before the ancient" (Cassio when he is drunk).
thank you sir that helped a lot, keep up the good work
Anybody who has to ask what motivates lago to act as hes does has very little experience of certain areas of humanity. l've known people that have acted in completely over the top ways at the slightest thing and, whilst they couldn't explain why they do it, it certainly is an aspect of human behaviour and not a rare trait.
It’s often not socially conditioned either. Genetics is a thing. Sometimes people ARE simply born evil. No it isn’t fair but it’s the truth. If you’re born with an under functioning amygdala or to a parent who displays psychopathic traits there is a good chance that you will exhibit those traits yourself.
It's one thing to overreact to a small provocation; it is quite another thing to nake an elaborate plan that involves hurting multiple people to a lethal level, and continue to go through with said plan while watching its victims get progressively more hurt over the course of time.
There are people who have done it consistently for years. One case I know about involved a woman trying to crash the marriage of her neighbours for 20 years, because the woman in the other family did not rush out and present herself when the first woman moved into the neighbourhood.
Also another case. A woman is getting an EU grant for disabled entrepreneurs (she had arthritis) and started a little shop which sold animals made from stones and cones to German tourists, as well as home-made moose signs. Her neighours began doing the same thing, but gave away the stuff for free. They did so until her company went bankcrupt. Then they stopped. @@blueberryoatmeal4009
10:00 Yes, that interaction stood out to me as important because it risks going against Iago's greater agenda. Meaning, Iago wants to remain in Othello's good graces, yet he's going out of his way to offend Desdemona. What if she were to go complain to Othello of what an ass Iago was acting? That could have hurt Iago's efforts.
So, I think the fact that Iago couldn't help himself but say those things speaks to his motives and mindset. He is a profoundly jealous and resentful person. He tips his hat on this front when talking to Othello about his phony concerns about Cassio and Desdemona. I forget the scene and can't quote him verbatim, but Iago cautions Othello to be skeptical of his thoughts because he is prone to seeing bad intentions where there aren't any and imagining slights that aren't intended.
Othello also notes that Iago is a worldly and experienced person who knows the ways of people. So, Iago's laments about women that he lays on Desdemona, while perhaps unfair and one-side generalizations, probably come from real experiences he's had, both in and out of his marriage. It's also a bit reminiscent of Emelias speech towards to end of the play about how women have the same desires to be unfaithful as men do and can learn from men's examples, a scene which I think largely confirms that she did have an affair with Othello, and which suggests Iago likely had an affair with some other woman prior to that.
My long comment got deleted, so I've put your video on a loop to digest it deeply, your voice is soothing. I don't think much anymore is quite late as to post a better line but thank you.
I suspect Othello chose Cassio as lieutenant because he thought Iago wasn’t fierce enough. He liked Iago, he thought Iago was a great person. But Cassio could be more bad-a$$ when that’s what’s needed.
David for president 2024
hah
The Devil would have too much class to do a thing like that.
great video, very helpful
Underrated video
Oh, this is so helpful, thank you so much sir!!
Good video but the ‘what turned him that way?’ is symptomatic of an ingrained assumption that all humans are born as blank slates and anyone who is evil is like that because of some adverse event in their childhood or adolescence.
That’s just not the case. A huge amount of our personality is simply genetic and innate. Iago may simply be a psychopath born with an amygdala which doesn’t function well as a result of natural genetic variance in humans. Some people are simply born sociopaths. It might not be a nice way to look at the world but it’s the scientific truth and the sooner you come to terms with it the better. Iago is no less charming for it.
This modern idea that everything is socially conditioned and that humans are born as blank slates shouldn’t be forced onto Shakespeare.
Psychopath, sociopath; both terms are mostly rubbish. Narcissism is more apt, in terms of describing the antisocial behaviour you're describing. What I am is cold blooded. It used to be possible to be both a good husband and father, a pillar of the community, whilst simultaneously being a monster. Being good at raiding and pillaging abroad, allowed one to be the opposite at home. It's not one or the other. People like me have the capacity to be both, and arguably, most everyone else does too. Pretending that people who are innately comfortable with violence/drawn to it, are abnormal and detrimental to society, is a really small minded, and unhelpful way of looking at the world. Being cold blooded is not the same thing as being a sadist. And the Iagos of the world aren't necessarily villains. In the context of the play, Othello is an outsider. He's an idiot for taking the job, and doubly so for trying to ingratiate himself with the powers that be by promoting one of theirs over Iago. They would never have hired him except out of desperation, and he'll never be one of them. If he had a lick of sense, he would double down on his otherness. It takes a moor to beat the moors. The most ruthless Muslim corsairs of this era were almost all renegade Christians, who went full convert. But it never worked the same way for Muslim renegades going the other way. Islam was just more welcoming. What Othello should have done is cultivate Iago as a follower, and then together betray their employers in return for acceptance back into the Islamic fold. They'd be untouchable, because if anything happened to them, it would be that much harder to convince the next batch of renegades to take the plunge. Marrying Desdemona is outrageous hubris. There's no way to be a moor and marry a Desdemona, at this point in history, and live happily ever after. That's not just staggering arrogance or hubris; it's insane. Othello is the villain. He's the one who murders Desdemona, and Iago is just the avatar of Othello's own ill thoughts and suspicions. Iago and Othello are one and the same. Madness. That's what Shakespeare always boils down to. Bloodly, tumultuous, all encompassing madness. Tell me I am wrong. Find just one of his plays that doesn't blatantly address the subject of madness, and then tell me with a straight face that it's not bonkers. Henry V is about glorifying the madness of a war that results in Good King Hal marrying the daughter of a mad King who thought he was made of glass. Which led to the madness of King Henry VI, and the Wars of the Roses. I can do this all day. And I guess my point is that Iago and Othello are fictional characters. If Iago is a psychopath, what does that make Shakespeare? What does that make Hamlet? What does that make the performers? There are no answers; only madness.
Iago: yeah, Go!
Great
I can think of a few things Racism, jealousy, envy, a misplaced honor he thinks he has over Othello. He wants Othello destroyed. The Moors have been taken out of History darn near completely for that very reason. So I can believe there ware people like him. There are people like him still. Trust me.
He hates him. He loathes him and claims his soul 2 hell.
He felt a bit sneaky
His ego .