An Analysis of Iago’s Image in Othello

摘要

伊阿古是莎士比亚著名悲剧《奥赛罗》中的一个反派人物。戏剧讲述了在威尼斯一位摩尔人将军奥赛罗被旗官伊阿古欺骗，将自己无辜的妻子杀害。在伊阿古的谎言被揭穿后，奥赛罗非常懊悔并拔剑自刎。在大部分对伊阿古的个人分析中，学者们大多关注的是伊阿古的邪恶或者他性格的某一方面。因此，伊阿古一直都被看做是一个邪恶、自私、奸诈的形象。大家也很少看到伊阿古自身的一些优点和能力。因此，本篇论文将提供伊阿古一个更全面的理解，同时给读者一个新的角度去理解伊阿古。

本论文分为四个部分。第一部分首先对故事进行了简要的介绍和伊阿古的自身悲剧；第二部分从时代背景和思想意识方面分析外部环境对伊阿古的影响；第三部分析伊阿古阴谋的原因和他的负面性格和心态；第四部分发现伊阿古的优点和能力。最后得出结论：伊阿古本质上不是一个邪恶的恶棍。他只是一个希望得到赞赏的普通人。不幸的是他被邪恶的思想蒙蔽了双眼，使他陷入了罪恶的深渊。

关键词:《奥赛罗》； 伊阿古；人物分析

Abstract

Iago is a villain in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Othello. This drama told about a Moorish general Othello who was deceived by his flag officer Iago into thinking that his wife was cheating on him. And then Othello killed his innocent wife Desdemona. After Iago’s deceits were exposed, Othello was very penitential and used the sword to kill himself. In most cases of Iago’s personal analysis, scholars are concerned with the evil of Iago or a certain aspect of his character. As a result, Iago has always been seen as evil, selfish and treacherous. People seldom see Iago’s advantages and abilities. Therefore, this paper attempts to provide a more comprehensive understanding of Iago’s image and give readers a new angle to understand Iago. 

This paper consists of four parts. The first part gives a brief introduction to the story and describes Iago’s own tragedy. The second part finds the influence of the external environment on Iago by analyzing the social background and the ideology at that time. The third part analyzes the faults in his character and the reasons why he decided to retaliate. The fourth part finds the advantages and capabilities of Iago. Finally, the paper concludes that Iago is not an evil villain intrinsically. He is a normal person who hopes to be appreciated. Unfortunately, evil thoughts blindfold his eyes and make him sink into the abyss of sin.

Key words: Othello; Iago; image analysis；