The agonist of the play, Iago, is a character with typical villainous characteristics, from being manipulative to being cunningly creative, it is obvious that he is against the protagonist of the play, Othello, from the start. This is especially evident in his jealous nature towards anyone who he perceives as better than him or advantaged in society. The duplicitous and egotistical actions of Othello’s villain is seen when he manipulates the people around him to achieve his desires. Throughout the play, he “abuse(s) Othello’(s) ear” and persistently ensures that “the moor changes with (his) poison.” Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘poison’ symbolises the deadliness of Iago’s words and actions. Essentially, all of his actions are a result of his intense envy and even though he warns others “be aware of…jealousy,” Iago ends up falling victim to it himself. Whilst attempting to quench the thirst of his unrestrained jealousy, Iago reveals the monster inside of him time and time again and proves Emilia’s opinion of “jealous souls…are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they are jealous.”

During Othello, Roderigo does not appear as much as the other characters, however, Shakespeare still portrays his jealous nature throughout the play. From the beginning of the text, his desire to wed Desdemona and jealousy of Othello is evident as “he love(d) Desdemona.” His inability to marry and successfully exhibit his love for her leads Roderigo to turn to “Iago, who hast had (his) purse, as if the strings were thine.”Roderigo’s jealousy of Othello’s relationship with the woman he loved eventually consumes him and plagues his thoughts as he starts to think things like “She is abused, stol’n from (him).” This decline in ability to think logically and without his intense emotions involved eventually leads to his death as the blind trust he had in Iago was the road to an unfortunate destiny. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s use of repetition in act 1, where Iago is constantly reminding Roderigo to “put money in thy purse” gave Roderigo the idea that his riches and ability to pay Iago would allow him to achieve his desires. Essentially, jealousy is evident in Roderigo’s actions and beliefs, but in comparison to Shakespe