In the play “Othello,” by William Shakespeare there are two characters who  attract our attention. The first, is Othello a Moor living in Venice and a General in the  Army he is introduced to be someone of high esteem and revealed as the protagonist of  the play. The next is Iago, the all around bad guy, thus making him in this case, a  manipulator and liar and inevitably the antagonist of the play. With this said we can see  that there are contrasts between these characters but, there are also similarities between  them. They can both be compared and contrasted in terms of military power, jealousy and  manipulation.             To begin, both Othello and Iago are similar as being soldiers and men of action in  the military strength and can be identified through their power. Othello is a General and   is a thinker and also a strong and powerful man within the military. His elegance and  grace under pressure can be seen with the episode of Brabantio, when he found his  daughter missing. The civility in his speech and his authority was seen when he went  before the Duke when they spoke of the impending war. On the other hand, while Othello  has power, Iago, his ancient, wants power that was not given to him. This was shown  when he said a chance for a promotion was passed to someone who he despised rather  than someone who deserved it namely, himself. He will do anything to gain such power  even if it means destroying everyone in the process.              Next, there is the terrible human emotion of  jealousy that terrorizes our thoughts.  Both Othello and Iago have this deep burning desire that consumes both of them. In  Othello’s case it was Iago who told him his wife was unfaithful poisoned his mind. That  seed was grown until it erupted into the murder of his own wife. For Iago it is jealous that  spurs all his acts. He is jealous of everyone who has something that he does not own or  cannot have. He lives by the feeling that if he cannot have it none should, and he destroys  them for that. It was his own personal hatred of Othello that caused Iago to poison his  mind that led to Othello murdering his own wife. Both men were driven by jealousy,  which made them commit such acts as hatred and murder.

Finally, we see the force of manipulation. Throughout the play we come to

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respect the power of Othello as being someone who is great and powerful. A man who

has others in his command, a man who is born to lead. This however, is true but with a

major flaw, Othello is also easily manipulated. He allows the personal judgment of others

to wedge itself between his feeling for his beloved wife. A perfect example is revealed

when Iago poisons his thoughts and tells him that his wife is unfaithful. Iago however, is

the face of manipulation in this play. He brilliantly schemes and blends his words to

others that they fall prey to his manipulation. He does this so brilliantly that we are

forced to marvel at his acts as well as hate him for doing them.

             In conclusion, it can be clearly seen that there are comparisons and contrasts

between the characters Othello and Iago, the protagonist and antagonist respectively.

They are both similar in their place as men of the military but yet in their similarities they

differ. This difference is there as it is between as men between those who have and those