William Shakespeare's Othello. Iago: Analysis of a Villain - Essay Example

Iago: Analysis of a Villain The tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare is a story of betrayal and madness, driven by the manipulations of one of the worst villains in literary history. While the protagonist, Othello, is the central character in the play, it is Iago who is the most prominent character within the work. The development of Iago is highly defined, the villain shown special care in creating a character that is filled with dark betrayal and terrible manipulations. While more terrible things have been done by villains, it is because he is trusted and uses that trust to destroy those with whom he has relationships that he is seen for his treachery to be one of the worst villains. Iago, the antagonist in the Shakespearian tragedy Othello, is probably the most intriguing villainous characters within the Shakespearian plays. The tragedy Othello was written based upon an Italian short story titled Un Capitano Moro, or The Moorish Captain. The story is found in a collection of stories written by Giambattista Giraldi Cinzio titled Gli Hecatommiti which was published in 1580. In the story, the character of Iago is simply called ’the ensign’, but his role is the same. He instigates the death of the captain’s wife through his own villainy. It is unclear if the story was published in English during Shakespeare‘s lifetime which makes it curious that the story was presented within one of his works, although there is also some speculation that the story was based upon actual events, therefore the exact origins of the story as written by Shakespeare is not perfectly clear (Earle 317). Iago is trusted by Othello. This trust is the basis upon which he creates his villainy. However, Iago’s villainy is based upon betrayal. He appears to be one thing but is very much another. According to Bloom, “In Iago’s speech duplication is the linguistic inflection of the duplicity that is his character, a ‘doubleness’ self-canceling rather than self-affirming, concealing his real self from the others” (Bloom 71). It is his dual nature, his appearance to have moral ground where he is doing nothing but destroying morality, that defines his character. As he convinces those around him through breeding mistrust, he is creating a world in which all of those things that made life secure could no longer be trusted by those over whom he has influence. Iago asserts a great amount of control over the lives of other characters. Shakespeare uses a literary device, as much as Iago uses a psychological method of maintaining his control over those he is manipulating. Iago uses a dialogue that repeats different aspects of his intended manipulations, an interplay between characters that is shortened and quick. Iago uses language to gain control over the direction of Othello’s thoughts, creating an internal dialogue that he has specifically inspired. According to Bloom, “Put simply, Iago is in control and Othello is not; Iago knows what he is doing with language; Othello appears to know not what language is doing to him” (71). Through his knowledge of how to manipulate, Iago uses this control too create circumstances that will end badly for those he influences. One of the more discussed and least agreed upon concepts about Iago’s character is that of his motivation. Iago has superficial motives for the things he does, but it is difficult to discover what has made him go to such lengths to assert his will over the other characters within the story in order to affect the outcomes. The story begins with Iago showing spite over that loss of a promotion that he feels that Othello should have given to him. In this same space of time, Iago first professes his love for his captain, Othello, and declares that he has complete loyalty to him. However, once Othello is no longer on stage, Iago shows his true feelings and discusses how much he hates him. This ‘two-faced’ confession reveals the core of the character of Iago. Iago is highly trusted because he does not reveal his true feelings to those who trust him. The final manipulation is to make Othello mad in his jealousy, to push and prod him until he is lost to his emotions, convinced that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful. Iago states “The moor already changes with my poison’ (Shakespeare and Hankey Act 3 Scene 3 Line 326). He reveals how he uses his language, how his manipulations are intended to strip Othello of his own thoughts and place his own dark ideas in their place. Othello conceives that what Iago says might be true, thus as Iago twists his suspicions, he is able to believe that the possibility of betrayal by his wife has occurred. Iago uses the fears that Othello has in order to exaggerate them until Othello believes they are truths. Iago does not only use language, however, to convince Othello that his wife has betrayed him. Iago plants Desdemona’s handkerchief at Cassio’s home in order that Othello might see it as proof that his wife is cheating on him. Iago states “I will in Cassio’s lodging lose this napkin/And let him find it. Trifles light as air/Are the jealous confirmations strong” (Shakespeare and Hankey Act 3 Scene 3 Lines 322 - 324). He admits that something as meaningless as a lost handkerchief will be exaggerated by the thoughts that Othello is already harboring about his wife. Iago uses every possible villainous act in order to exact both his revenge and to use his spite to hurt others. Edwards describes Iago by stating “Antagonistic to all forms of virtue, obscurely envying a state he constantly denies, he is the inveterate opponent of virtue, the seducer of mankind, who reduces his victims by guile from their original state of bliss to grief, death and hell” (59). Edwards believes Iago to be similar to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, his manipulations intent on taking a peaceful set of relationships and twisting them towards unrest and dissatisfaction. Through the trust that is given to him Iago is able to breed distrust within Othello, his main goal intent on taking from Othello any sense of contentment within his life. His spite is a deep scar which has no feeling and no relief and through which he creates as much havoc as is possible. The basis of Iago’s villainy is through betrayal. He is given trust and turns that trust into a useful tool with which to manipulate others to their detriment. His motivations seem to simply be to cause trouble, to create dark results from the ideas that he is planting within Othello. While he begins this path because he is angry about losing a promotion, this does not seem enough of a slight to inspire murder. However, he is responsible for several deaths before the end. Iago commands language as his weapon of choice, confusing those he talks to until their minds turn towards the thoughts he would have them think. The clever writing of Shakespeare is shown through the way in which Iago uses language as his weapon. Iago can be seen as representative of evil, his intent such that he is taking away the peace of the lives around him and replacing it with deceit and betrayal. Through his actions, life as the characters’ know it is undone and the outcomes are tragic. The character of Iago represents betrayal and spite, his actions far exceeding any wrong done to him and causing great harm to those around him. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. William Shakespeare's Othello. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. Print. Earle, Thomas F. Black Africans in Renaissance Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005. Print. Edwards, Philip. Aspects of Othello. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1977. Print. Shakespeare, William, and Julie Hankey. Othello. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005. Print. Read More