Iago and Macbeth Comparison and Contrast

A detailed Summary of Iago and Macbeth Comparison and Contrast

Tragic heroes are identified in many of Shakespeare's plays. In The Tragedy of Macbeth and The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, a character is developed as the tragic hero. In Shakespearean literature, the tragic hero must possess a tragic flaw. Iago, from Othello, is driven by greed and jealousy to his destruction at the end if the play. Macbeth, from Macbeth, is driven by two outside forces: the three weird sisters, and his wife. Both are also foolish and fall into a state of general disregard for the law. While the two characters are very different, their tragic flaws link them both to evil.

Macbeth is a man "not without ambition"(1.5.18.). He desires to be king in due time, if that is the way that fate should happen to play; however, his wife, Lady Macbeth, believes that it would be best for him to be king at all expenses. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth encounters three witches that hail him as the Thane of Glamis, his current position, Thane of Cawdor, the position he is appointed to by the king, and "King hereafter" (1.3.54.). These witches give him the prophecy of becoming the Thane of Cawdor before King Duncan honors Macbeth. Because the prophecy was tru

Both Macbeth and Iago seem to warn themselves against the danger of their following acts. Macbeth, during a soliloquy says "We still have judgment here, that we but teach / bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / To plague the inventor" is a direct warning, and even foreshadowing of his own destruction if he indeed plans and kills the King for his benefit. Iago's warning is made to Othello:

This should have warned Iago of himself and his jealous acts. This quote can directly be applied to Iago. His "wronger" is Othello. He loved him and believes that he was unfaithful in the appointment of Cassio as lieutenant. Iago's jealousy will cause his demise, as the quote states. This did not heed him of his possible downfall if he followed his jealousy. Macbeth, as well, did not follow his warning either. Both knew in their minds that there would be consequences for their actions; even so, both continued.

It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock

Iago is different in the way he approaches what he wants. Cassio is appointed to be lieutenant to Othello, but Iago sees this as blasphemy. Cassio is younger and without the experience of Iago. Iago has ambition, and his own will to carry through with his plot. His jealousy is the only spark that he needs in order to get revenge on Cassio and Othello. Iago was different from Macbeth in the fact that he did not use outside sources to help him with his revenge. Roderigo may be considered an outside source; however, Iago was merely using him to his advantage. Roderigo also wanted to have revenge on Othello because he had married the women that Roderigo had loved, Desdemona. Iago led Roderigo on to believe that Iago was helping him gain back Desdemona, although he was only using Roderigo for his own good. Iag

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Approximate Word count = 1205
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English