Who is Iago?

1. clever cynical twisted sadistic Who is Iago? bitter convincing creative pure evil amoral cruel master of the adlib manipulative psychopathic cunning malcontent crafty malicious

2. 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

3. 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): “He’s done my office, I know not if’t be true…yet 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 Iago’s 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 Iago’s 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) Iago’s 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)

4. 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. Cassio’s position) and to get back at Othello for (supposedly) cheating with his wife, Emilia. Iago feels as though Cassio’s 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 Iago’s back. He is jealous of Othello’s happiness with Desdemona and seeks out to destroy it; “O you are well tuned now! But I’ll 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.

5. 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. Iago’s 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 victim’s 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. Iago’s 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 it’s purity which is the exact opposite belief of Desdemona. Iago believes Othello and Desdemona’s 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 Cassio’s life directly contrasts with the “ugliness’ in Iago’s, 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.