Abstract

William Shakespeare is a famous British poet and dramatist, an outstanding representative during the European Renaissance, who is widely recognized as the greatest writer in the English language and one of the most excellent playwrights all over the world. Readers around the world all hold admiration at Shakespeare's superb artistic skills and great literary accomplishments. Ben Jonson, a British dramatist and literary critic, once spoke highly of the man: “He was not of an age, but for all time!” The style of his works is equipped with unique personal wisdom and excellent statement, and there is no lack of profound insight and analysis into the society and human nature at the same time. The Four Great Tragedies of Shakespeare convey a tragic conflict between the ideal of humanism and the evil forces in the realistic society, as well as the final disillusion of ideal.

As one of the Four Great Tragedies, Othello is a family tragedy instead of a national one, a tragedy about human nature instead of about ethics. With a small setup, it is endowed with universal value and lasting enlightenment. Therefore, it has the enchantment and qualification to march out of time and space. The antagonist, Iago, is the most stereoscopic and vivid round figure in this drama. He is a diction master, a psychologist, who is proficient in the way of the world with sharp insight. However, he is a gentleman in front of others, but a devil behind their backs with a detestable morality and black heart. His skills of doing evil and wearing mask is superb, because of which his conspiracy can be carried out successfully. Iago is the most typical villain in the history of world’s drama. He seems like a fire but a knife indeed, whose complicated character and mentality are worthy of further exploration.

Key words: Round character; Detestable morality; Tragedy

Contents

摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction-1

 1.1 A Brief Glimpse at Shakespeare And His Othello-1

1.2 Focus on Iago-2

1.3 Thesis Statement-4

2. A Thorough Exploration of Iago's Character-4

 2.1 Admirable Head-4

  2.1.1 Insight-4

  2.1.2 Eloquence-5

  2.1.3 Flexibility-7

 2.2 Detestable Heart-8

  2.2.1 Othello's and Desdemona's Tragedies-9

  2.2.2 Minor characters' Tragedies-10

  2.2.3 Iago's own Tragedy-11

2.3 Motives to Do Evil-11

3. Conclusion-13

References-15

Acknowledgement-16