Farid Najand

Dr. Hollifield
ENG 231. 1012
10 December 2012
An Appetite For Revenge

Roderigo: Thou toldst me thou didst hold him in thy hate.
Iago: Despise me If I do not. Three great ones of the city,
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capped to him; and by the faith of man
I know my price; I am worth no worse a place.
But he, as loving his own pride and purposes,
Evades them with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuffed with epithets of war,
Non-suits my mediators. For Certes says he,
I have already chose my officer. And what was he? (1.1.5-15)

Shakespeares Othello is a tragic play that centers on how Iagos need for
vengeance creates a destructive path for not just himself but also everyone who gets in
his way. The passage above explains how Iago feels betrayed by his friend Othello
because he was passed up on for a promotion in which he is certain he deserves. As the
gruesome nature of Iagos actions are revealed with further reading of the text, there is
reason to believe that this was not the sole motive of the revenge plot. Since this passage
is essentially the opening of the play it plants the idea in the readers mind that the tragic
events about to occur are justified and creates a hazy image of the underlying motives. A
connection can be made in Aeschyluss Agamemnon with the character of Clytemnestra,
who similar to Iago, tries to make a strong justification to her plot against Agamemnon.