Who is Iago?

1
Who is Iago?
clever
cynical
twisted
sadistic
convincing
bitter


creative
pure evil
amoral
cruel
master of the adlib
manipulative
psychopathic
cunning
malcontent
crafty
malicious
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Motives
Iago is one of the most difficult characters in
English literature to understand and analyze. His
motives for carrying out his evil plans in
Shakespeare's play Othello, have baffled
scholars for centuries, due to the mysterious and
deceitful nature of his character. It is hard to
pinpoint exactly what his motives are but the
main reasons appear to be

• Revenge
• Personal satisfaction and gain
• Psychopathic personality
• His cynicism towards beauty and love

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Revenge
Iago seeks out revenge on Othello for he has the
inclination (but no actual proof) that his wife
Emilia once cheated with (slept with) Othello.
Iago states this in his first soliloquy (Act 1,
scene 3) Hes done my office, I know not ift
be trueyet I, for mere suspicion in that kind
will as for surety he holds me well. As Iago
does not know if Othello has actually had an
affair with Emilia it shows how corrupt Iagos
mind already is. It appears that Iago is using
the idea of an affair as a scapegoat for his
personal hatred towards Othello, whether that be
he believes Othello took away his rightful
position as general in the Venetian army by
giving it to Cassio instead, out of jealousy for
Othello's happiness and good fortune in life
(e.g., Desdemona), or because he is a racist who
holds white people above black. Whatever the
reasons, it is easy to argue that revenge is
Iagos main motive. It seems that Iago does not
only want to seek vengeance against Othello but
also Cassio as well. This is shown through using
Cassio as one of the main pawns in his twisted
game. Cassio has taken (what Iago believes is)
Iagos rightful position in the army and Iago
seems to hold a personal grudge against Cassio
for this. Cassio unknowingly rubs salt in the
wounds by bragging how he is more educated than
Iago He speaks home , madam, you may relish him
more in the soldier than in the scholar Cassio,
(Act 2, Scene 1). Cassio talks down to him and
also in front of women which Iago would find
extremely demeaning as he holds women much lower
than men on the Great Chain of Being. This
further aggravates Iago and makes him want to
seek revenge even more so. Iago appears to hold a
bitter grudge against Cassio and little respect
for him as Iago believes he is a 100x more
clever. This is shown through the quote As
little a web as this will ensnare as great a fly
as Cassio - Iago, (Act 2, Scene 1)
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Personal Satisfaction and Gain
Iago is a proud man who is easily controlled by
his extreme jealousy and corrupt mind. Iago sets
out to destroy the main characters of Othello
all in the hopes to achieve a higher military
position for himself (i.e. Cassios position) and
to get back at Othello for (supposedly) cheating
with his wife, Emilia. Iago feels as though
Cassios position as lieutenant has been stolen
from him. Iago brings on the downfall of Cassio
through getting him drunk (as Cassio cannot
handle his alcohol), and causing Cassio to make a
fool of himself whilst in a drunken stupor.
Cassio is thus stripped from his position, but
this is not enough for Iago, showing his greed
and desire for chaos, as he proceeds further into
convincing Othello that Cassio is cuckolding
him. Iago also desires to get even with Othello
in his suspicion of Othello and Emilia sleeping
together behind Iagos back. He is jealous of
Othellos happiness with Desdemona and seeks out
to destroy it O you are well tuned now! But
Ill set down the pegs that make this music, as
honest as I am. (Act 2, scene 1) Iago is aware
how much Desdemona means to Othello, which is
exactly why he decides to turn him against her,
knowing it would destroy Othello more than
anything else. Iago relishes chaos and discord,
he gets some sort of sick personal satisfaction
through the misery of those around him, which he
thrives upon and uses to fuel his plans further.
Iago is a pathologically envious and jealous man,
and he succeeds in infecting Othello with his own
jealousy. He is a master of disguise, as none of
the characters sees Iago for who he really is
until it is too late.
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Psychopathic personality
Iago exhibits thoughts and behaviours that are
typical of a psychopath. For one, it appears he
feels no guilt regarding his actions which will
lead to the complete destruction of many
characters. Even when his actions start to take
effect and the characters involved in his twisted
game grow more and more distraught, Iago appears
to revel in their misery, which is a key
characteristic of a psychopath and also
demonstrates how amoral he truly is, whereas a
moral and righteous person would attempt to fix
their wrongdoings. Iagos poison even begins to
cause physical damage in Othello in the form of a
seizure (as Othello suffers from epilepsy). Iago
seems to be proud of this, as he states in a
soliloquy right in front of the incoherent
Othello Work on, my medicine, work thus
credulous fools are caught, and many worthy and
chaste dames, even thus all guiltless, meet
reproach. (Act 4, scene 1) Iago is also
extremely clever, as he preys on each of his
victims weaknesses, leading to their downfall.
For example, Cassio is a soldier, and Iago ruins
him as such, getting Cassio drunk, embarrassed
and stripped of his position in front of
all. Iago is frighteningly convincing too, as he
tricks Cassio, Desdemona and even Othello into
thinking that he is an outspoken and honest man.
The word honest and title honest Iago is
repeated throughout the play, with the irony
increasing more and more each time. He is almost
ridiculously good at this game he plays, proving
how evil, amoral and psychopathic he really is.
6
Cynicism towards Beauty and Love
To Iago, beauty is a meaningless, even stupid
thing. Cynicism is his philosophy, his driving
force, his (arguably) main motive in causing the
ruin of Othello. Iagos cynical nature is very
apparent throughout the entire play, particularly
in is soliloquies, when he is at his most
honest. Love to him is merely a lust of the
blood and permission of the will. (Act 1, scene
3) He holds no faith in love, nor believes that
it can forever maintain its purity which is the
exact opposite belief of Desdemona. Iago believes
Othello and Desdemonas happiness will be short
lived, as he holds a very pessimistic view on the
validity of love. Based on this, he believes that
he can bring the downfall of them both. We learn
how he hates Cassio later in the play, because
Iago believes that he hath a daily beauty in
his life, that makes mine ugly. (Act 5, scene
1) The daily beauty (presumably metaphorical)
of Cassios life directly contrasts with the
ugliness in Iagos, thus further driving Iago
to resent and envy Cassio. This view held by Iago
shows his bitterness towards Cassio and how he is
discontented with his current military position
as the ensign. In a way, it seems that Iago is
placing the blame on Cassio for his own failure,
and he uses this to justify the destruction of
Cassio to himself.