Broken, Encased,
Which he
Boiled, Torn,
Roasted, Forced,
and Thrown:
How the Seven Deadly Sins
were Actually Deadly
According to Dante’s Inferno, the
characters in Shakespeare’s Othello
should be put to rot in the 7 realms of
hell for the sins they’ve committed.
Honestly, most of them are horrible
people, whose sins probably killed
them. But I mean, hey, we all sin
sometimes. Don’t we all eat a little
extra at Thanksgiving? And don’t we
all look forward to eating the leftovers
the next day? Technically, we should
all be sent to hell. And although that’s
nowhere as bad as causing a man to go
insane, and murdering your wife, we
all have our off days.
Let’s start with one of the moor subtle
ones. Intense longing, uncontrolled
sexual desire, or even desire in
general—lust! Punished by being
roasted by fire and brimstone. This
may sound harsh but compared to
what’s ahead, it’s nothing. It seems
that everyone is always infatuated
with someone to a point that leads to
utter destruction. From the get-go,
Roderigo has a slight obsession with
Desdemona. He allows his infatuation
with her to mess with him to a point of
desperation, which Iago easily
manipulates. Out of his own lust for a
job promotion, Iago tries to prove that
Othello and Desdemona’s relationship
is purely based on lust and sexual
desire in attempts to ruin it.
can use to demonstrate his point, that
all Desdemona wants is lust (she
doesn’t), and she’s sleeping with
Cassio (she’s not), who is lusting for
Bianca. The women are treated as
‘young mistress dogs’ (ii, iii, 51-52).
Why? Because Iago’s an asshole.
Next is Gluttony. Overconsumption to
the point of waste. If Cassio were to go
to hell, he would be eating rats,
snakes, spiders, and toads for his
alcohol problem. He ‘lost the
immortal part of ’ himself (II, III, 12).
But, it’s not his fault that Iago
manipulated and humiliated him
publicly for his habit. And because of
this he loses his job and kills a man.
Way to go Iago.
GREED! The sin of desire! Iago would
have been boiled in oil in hell. (I see a
trend). Roderigo, too. In Roderigo’s
defense, lust and greed go hand in
hand. And his infatuation for
Desdemona caused him to want her
for himself. He wasn’t thinking with
his head (if you know what I mean)
Iago deceived him because anything
Iago does is intended to hurt other
people and benefit himself. He made a
‘general mock’ (I, II, 88) of everyone.
While everything started falling apart,
he was sitting back and enjoying it.
The monstrosities in everyone’s lives
fueled him, the moor they suffered,
the moor he thrived.
Here comes the most infuriating—
sloth! Laziness! Get thrown into a pit
of snakes! OTHELLO. DIDN’T. ASK.
DESDEMONA. WHAT’S. HAPPENING.
An example on why it’s important to
not bottle up your feelings. It could
lead to the demise of someone you
love. A conversation could’ve saved a
group of people from dying tragic
deaths—which was the laziest way of
Othello getting out of talking about his
problems. Othello trusted Iago—huge
mistake. Suggestion: don’t
automatically assume your wife is a
‘whore’ (IIII, II, 5). Talk to her. But
instead of talking it out like those in a
healthy relationship would, he
murdered her. BAD CHOICE.

Wrath. Othello would be torn apart

limb by limb in hell. He thinks with his
emotions, not his brain. He’s too quick
to resort to violence. Again, no
surprise the entire situation started
because of Iago’s rage for not getting
promoted.

Iago and Roderigo would be encased

in the deepest, coldest waters. Iago’s
filled with envy after Cassio got the
position of lieutenant. Roderigo’s envy
of Othello having the most sought
after woman. Tough? Yes. Worth
everyone dying? Absolutely not.

Final sin: PRIDE! Most serious of the

sins, representing selfishness. Othello
would get broken on a wheel because
his pride is what led to his downfall.
He was unable to let the thought of
Desdemona being unfaithful hurt his
pride, so he assumed it was her fault
and she was a ‘whore’ (IIII, II, 5). And
he seeks revenge by murdering
whoever was involved, including
himself. BAD.

There is a recurring theme—Othello

has the most fragile masculinity. Iago
can be compared to Satan, and
everyone either deserves to die, or
died because of him. Utter.
Destruction. Go to hell.
Sources:

http://www.deathreference.com/Py-
Se/Seven-Deadly-Sins.html