Shakespeare’s Iago from
the play Othello is an extremely
complex villain, who develops various ‘versions’ of himself to embody the
themes of jealousy and manipulation. The heinous crimes
he sets out to achieve are unfathomable, yet without this unusual character the
play itself would be little more than a light romantic drama. His heightened devious
nature comes across only within his many monologues, and Shakespeare used these
to evoke frustration within the audience, but to also strengthen the themes of
jealousy and manipulation.
Othello
is one of the most famous literary works that focuses on the dangers of
jealousy. The play is essentially a study of how jealousy can be fueled by mere
circumstantial evidence and can destroy lives. At the beginning of the film, it
becomes apparent that Iago is jealous of Cassio’s lieutenant position; he
believes that Cassio is ‘mere prattle without practice’ (Act 1, scene 1, line
26). However, Iago’s role in this theme is not only that he is jealous himself
of Cassio, but that he uses other peoples jealousy’s to his advantage. This is
seen through his control over Roderigo; Iago knows of Roderigo’s love for
Desdemona and uses his multiple personality to appear as a friend to Roderigo.
However, in reality, he is fueling Roderigo’s jealousy by telling him things
like ‘Desdemona is directly in love with [Cassio]’ to eventually cause a fight
between Cassio and Roderigo and obtain the lieutenant position (Act 2, Scene 1,
line 210). Shakespeare positions the audience to recognize Iagos true purpose
through the use of monologues. Through these monologues you can see that Iago
is not the friend that he poses to be to either of these men. Therefore, Iagos
jealousy of Cassio fuels many themes within the play. In Othello, jealousy takes many forms,
from sexual suspicion to professional competition, but it is, in all cases, fueled
by Iagos destructive personality.
Othello's villain, Iago, may be literature's most impressive master of
deception and manipulation. Iago plots with consummate sophistication,
carefully manipulating many characters such as Othello, Roderigo, and Cassio
through the use of multiple personalities. He has the ability to orchestrate a
complicated interweaving of pre-planned scenarios. Iago's deception is potent
because of his patience and his cleverness. Shakespeare uses Iago’s monologues
to help the reader understand the various personalities of Iago. Iago uses his
manipulation of Roderigo to gain the lieutenant position, however his biggest
manipulation in the play is of Othello, ultimately leading to the destruction
of many characters. At the beginning of the play, Iago is seen as “most honest”
(Act 2, Scene 3, line 7). He then uses this trust of many characters to deceive
them. For example, Cassio’s like in Iago allows him to convince Cassio to
drink, whilst both knowing full well that Cassio does not handle his alcohol
well. Whilst this is happening, Iago sneakily convinces Montano that Cassio is
a drunk to set up a false image of Cassio, saying “’tis to his virtue a just
equinox” (Act 2, Scene 3, line 107), hurting Cassios reputation. This night
then leads to a fight between Roderigo and Cassio, because Iago convinces
Roderigo that Cassio was in love with Desdemona. Therefore, it is obvious that through
Iago’s false personalities and ability to manipulate each character, Othello can be seen as a great tragedy.
The character of Iago is so layered that one
could delve significantly deeper into his nuances and personality; however it
is undeniable that
Iago plays the main role in plot development within the play. Iago plays
a role within every tragedy within the play, which is ultimately leaded by the
jealousy and manipulation that is evident. With
Shakespeare’s fine usage of techniques that hint at Iago’s haunted personality- Shakespeare is able to conjure up a
complicated villain.
