William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is the depiction of the Venetian general's spiraling downfall as he falls victim to the destructive consequences of a man's envy another man. The story is ultimately fueled by the vindictive nature of the antagonist, Iago, as he attempts revenge on Othello for promoting another man to lieutenant. It is suggested that before the story, Iago was an honest and trustworthy character; however, with feelings of degradation and even humiliation, Iago transforms his seemingly "good" characteristics and assets, such as intuition, perception, and cunning, into tools of evil and betrayal. The antagonist acts like a puppet master as he fabricates circumstances and situations, simply allowing him to plant misconstrued ideas into the minds of other characters. Ultimately, Iago's jealousy and preoccupation with revenge spark conflicts and lead the characters to their downfall. Before the play, Othello had promoted Michael Cassio to lieutenant, ignoring Iago. Outside of this action, there is very little to explain Iago's hatred of Othello or his motivations, showing that Iago essentially destroys the other characters with no real goal. For example, although Iago clarified that he was angry because Othello had chosen Cassio for promotion, he later says: "And it is thought to the stranger that 'between my sheets / He has done my office: I don’t know if that’s true.” » (I.iii.1023). In other words, Iago believes that Othello is having an affair with his wife, Emilia, although he cannot be certain. Iago does not appear to have a credible or tangible motive, but rather some incoherent excuses that he uses to justify his actions to the audience. In fact, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge described it as a...... middle of paper...... On literature. Ed. RA Foakes. Volume 2. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987. Print. Foster, Edward E. “Othello, by William Shakespeare.” Master intrigues. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Flight. 8. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Salem, 1976. 4431-435. Print.Poulson, Chris, Joseph Duncan and Michelle Massie. “Othello.” Google Books. Ed. Philippe C. Kolin. Routledge, January 11, 2013. Web. April 16, 2014. .Central psychiatric staff. “Symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder.” PsychCentral.com. Ed. John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Psych Central, February 5, 2014. Web. April 20, 2014.Shakespeare, William. “Othello.” Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012. 1002-102. Print.