Characters


Iago


Evil Iago embodies evil in the play. His language aligns him with the devil and associates him with darkness. This is apparent from the opening scene where Iago’s comment ‘I am not what I am’ inverts God’s statement to Moses in the Bible: ‘I am that I am’ (Exodus 3:14). Iago embraces evil as he appeals directly to hell and identifies himself as a devil: ‘Divinity of hell!


When devils will the blackest sins put on, They do suggest at first with heavenly shows, As I do now’ (Act 2, Sc 3).


He also acknowledges the diabolic nature of his own plotting: ‘Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light’ (Act 1, Sc 3) and celebrates the sinful nature of his malevolent scheme.


Although Iago cleverly dupes the other characters throughout the play, his wickedness is


exposed at the end. Iago is clearly identified as evil incarnate and described in hellish terms: Othello calls him a ‘demi-devil’, Cassio describes him as ‘heathenish’ and Lodovico dubs him a ‘hellish villain’ (Act 5, Sc 2). Othello also looks to see if Iago has cloven hooves like Satan once he comes to see him as an agent of evil.


Callous


Perhaps one of the most shocking aspects of Iago’s personality is his callous disregard for human life. Once he fears that he may be exposed by Cassio he immediately seeks to arrange his murder. He tells Roderigo that Cassio is to replace Othello as governor and that this will facilitate Desdemona leaving Cyprus. Roderigo accepts the task of killing Cassio. With similar heartlessness, Iago murders Roderigo opportunistically. This is both to avoid being


exposed as a villain and also because he fears Roderigo may demand back the gold and jewels he swindled from him. Iago’s callousness is clearly evidenced in the final scene as he murders his own wife without


hesitation. As Emilia exposes Iago’s villainy she is stabbed by Iago from behind. This murder is typical of his ruthless behaviour. Although Iago does not bear Desdemona any grudge, he encourages Othello to murder her. Iago


sees this as the triumph of his scheme and a means by which he can ruin Othello’s life. For callous Iago, human life has no value.


Enigmatic Although the audience learns how Iago encourages Othello’s tragic downfall, it is not wholly clear why he does it. Iago offers some possible motivations throughout the play: disgruntlement about being passed over for promotion, possible racial hatred and jealous fears about a rumoured affair between Othello and Emilia. However, none of these reasons fully explain the depth of Iago’s hatred and the lengths he goes to ruin Othello. Iago therefore remains an enigmatic villain. This is brought home in the final scene when he refuses to explain his actions and simply stops


speaking. When Othello asks Iago to give reasons for his hatred, Iago simply refuses to speak: ‘Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. / From this time forth I never will speak word’ (Act 5, Sc 2). Ultimately evil does not require a rational motivation.


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