§ Desdemona is spoken about in angelic terms. This points to her innate goodness
§ Desdemona’s actions and words establish her as an innately good character
§ Desdemona is representative of the Christian ideal of forgiveness. However, some critics debate this
Iago personifies evil
§ Iago actively embraces evil in his language § Iago’s malevolent behaviour sets him apart as innately evil
§ Iago exploits human weakness for his own evil purposes
Othello has both the capacity for good and evil but is consumed by evil
§ Othello has the capacity for good but his flawed humanity leads him to succumb to evil
§ Othello’s remorse at the end of the play illustrates his potential for goodness. This leaves the audience with the frightening vision of a potentially good man consumed and corrupted by evil
