Othello
William Shakespeare
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Character Analysis: Iago
Iago, Iago, Iago. By far one of Shakespeare’s most cunning villain archetypes and extraordinarily masterful at using his weapon – words! Iago is a character who is (we must assume) motivated by self-interest, greed, and jealousy.
His malevolent manipulation reveals little humanity, particularly in respect to his jealousy and resentment when Cassio is promoted above him. To provide evidence, maybe to justify his own actions to himself, he shifts his reasoning to his racial bias towards Othello, and claims he is seeking retribution for rumours about Othello sleeping with Emilia.
However, this leads us to the first main topic for discussion about Iago, and that is his lack of respect for women, particularly towards his wife Emilia, but also more generally. His reduction of women as something purely physical and “lust for the blood” reveals this. And yet part of Iago’s ingenuity is his ability to render the most circumstantial evidence into a plausible plot, capitalising on other characters’ suspicions of their women. There is a poignant moment of dramatic irony when Desdemona pleas for Othello to reinstate Cassio to his post, particularly for the benefit of Othello’s friendship with him. Her pleas, again, provide circumstantial evidence regarding the false belief that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. The fact that Cassio is a young Florentine man plays upon the concept that marriage, in that time, should be between people of similar age, race, and class. Though Iago never explicitly says as much, he intimates that Cassio would be a better match for Desdemona than Othello is, and this idea takes root in Othello’s mind.
In the first scene, we see his bawdy language and cacophony of foul language. This is also where we see one of the most famous quotes in the play: “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe.” The imagery and Iago’s reduction of the notion of love to simply a carnal, sexual act marks the beginning of his exploits in contaminating the minds of other characters with very primitive thoughts.
Though Iago is Venetian, there are some subtle tricks Shakespeare has employed even in his name, as ‘Iago’ has Spanish heritage. As mentioned in the Background Information, Spain and England were at war around the time this play was written, as Spain was Britain’s main competitor in colonisation. So, it may be interesting to explore the role that Iago fulfils as a manipulative and deceiving character. Was he created to satisfy the audience that felt extreme pride in their country?
By Act 5, Iago remains in avoidance of providing any reason for his actions, but at least he remains confident and defiant in, stating “I never will speak a word.” Thus, we remain in the dark about his true motives and the reasons behind why he went to the extent of destroying so many characters in the play.
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Othello
Sample Essay
Although Othello may not contain the same immense philosophical contempla- tions as Shakespeare’s other works, it is still arguably one of his most gripping plays. It draws upon the primitive feelings of jealousy and contains the action and excitement of a modern thriller – murder, suicide, and a man brought to the brink of insanity due to uncontrolled jealousy and passion. The exact date when Othello was written is unknown; it has been suggested it was produced as early as 1601, but was more likely composed during the time when Shakespeare wrote his most famous tragedies, including Hamlet. For the purposes of English studies and essays, the date that most teachers and scholars use is 1604, for this was the year of the first performance, though the play wasn’t formally published until 1622. Set in the romantic city of Venice, Italy, Othello follows the tension and drama of a lead character, Othello, who disrupts Shakespearean society through being “Moorish” and Black, though Shakespeare never specifies Othello’s actual ethnicity. Nevertheless, this racial tension is at the heart of many of the themes Shakespeare explores in this play.
Act 1
Brabantio is informed by Roderigo and Iago that his daughter, Desdemona, has eloped with a black commander of the Venetian military forces – Othello. Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and Iago is angry at Othello for choosing Cassio to be his second in command over him. Upon Othello’s arrival, Othello is ordered to defend Cyprus against a Turkish fleet. Iago begins to plot revenge against Othello.
Act 2
Despite the terrible weather, the Venetians arrive in Cyprus to the news that the Turkish army has dissolved their attack on Cyprus. Iago convinces Roderigo that Desdemona is in love with Cassio, and instigates the idea that Roderigo should start a fight with Cassio. Later that night, Iago ensures that Cassio is drunk (against Othello’s orders that no soldiers were to drink). The fight ensues, waking Othello. After Othello demands an explanation, Iago, in his roundabout way, does not directly blame Cassio, but still cunningly incriminates him. Cassio is dismissed from his newly appointed position. Iago then suggests Cassio regain his post through Desdemona’s influence on Othello. However, this is not some sort of benevolent suggestion to help a friend out; it is a ploy to falsely implicate Desdemona as having an affair with Cassio.
Act 3
Desdemona tries to mediate on Cassio’s behalf, and Iago uses this as opportu- nity to suggest to Othello that she is doing so because there is more than just a friendship between her and Cassio. The idea of disloyalty to Othello seems more and more likely, as Iago plants circumstantial evidence against Desdemona. Later, when Desdemona realises that Othello is feeling uneasy, she tries to soothe him with her handkerchief, which is dropped as Othello pushes it away.
Iago’s wife Emilia later finds the handkerchief and gives it to Iago, and this helps aid the evidence he is developing against Desdemona and Cassio. This Act is where the tension is heightened, namely by Othello requesting the handkerchief back, and Desdemona innocently continuing to defend Cassio’s reinstatement to his post. This solidifies her supposed adultery in Othello’s mind, and thus Othello decides to seek revenge against her.
Act 4
Othello collapses in a fit as a result of Iago’s persistent efforts to add fuel to Othello’s jealousy. Upon his recovery, Iago arranges for Othello to overhear a meeting between Cassio and Desdemona, in order to further convince Othello of Desdemona’s alleged infidelity. Othello now truly wants to kill Desdemona, and Iago plots to kill Cassio. Later, to everyone’s complete horror, Othello abuses Desdemona in public, and then in private, calls her a “whore.”
Act 5
Roderigo fails to kill Cassio after Iago encourages him to do so. Instead, Roderigo only wounds Cassio. Concurrently, Othello is about to kill Desdemona as soon as she wakes. She is smothered in her bed by Othello. Emilia discovers the pair, and defends Desdemona and her loyalty to Othello. Iago’s villainy is discovered as soon as the handkerchief situation been explained by Emilia. Iago enters the scene, Othello attacks him, and Iago kills Emilia. Under arrest, Iago refuses to explain or provide reason or apology for his actions. After asking Cassio for his forgiveness, Othello stabs himself and dies.
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