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| “ | How am I then a villain, when this advice is free I give and honest, probal to thinking and indeed, the course to win the Moor again? For ’tis most easy the inclining Desdemona to subdue in any honest suit: she’s framed as fruitful as the free elements. And then for her to win the Moor – were’t to renounce his baptism, all seals and symbols of redeemed sin. His soul is so unfettered to her love that she may, make, unmake, do what she list, even as her appetites shall play God with his weak function. How am I then a villain, that counsels Cassio to this parallel course, drove directly to his good? Divinity of Hell. When devils will their blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows as I do now: for whiles this honest fool plies Desdemona to repair his fortunes and she for him pleads strongly to the Moor, I'll put this pestilence into his ear that she repeals him for her body's lust, and by how much she strives to do him good, she shall undo her credit with the Moor. So will I turn her virtue into pitch, and out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all. | „ |
| ~ Iago's monologue on his plan. |
| “ | I am not what I am. | „ |
| ~ Iago's most famous line. |
Iago is the main antagonist of the tragedy play Othello by the late William Shakespeare.
He is a Venetian soldier who serves under General Othello, a Moor (a broad term in Shakespeare's day, usually along the lines of someone of North African descent), and leader of the Venetian armed forces. He hates Othello and hatches an intricate plan to destroy him by making him believe that his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful by lying.
He is a master manipulator who excels in pinpointing people's weaknesses, such as Othello's jealousy, Brabantio's racism, Roderigo's stupidity as well his love for Desdemona, or Cassio's low alcohol tolerance, and uses these to his advantage to manipulate them. Ironically, until his treachery is revealed at the end, the other characters (other than Emilia) in the play trust him completely, calling him "Honest Iago".
Biography[]
In the opening scene of the play Iago discusses his hatred of Othello with Roderigo, a young nobleman who wants Desdemona for himself. Iago complains that he was an experienced soldier and had served under Othello for many years, and thus was expecting to be promoted to the position of Othello's lieutenant; the less experienced Michael Cassio was given the position instead, however, leaving Iago with the lower title of ancient . The two of them then stir up Desdemona's father Brabantio, informing him that his daughter Desdemona has run away with Othello.
Brabantio accuses Othello, but his arguments are turned down by the Duke of Venice, as Othello is needed for an upcoming war. Othello and his army, with Desdemona by his side, then leave for Cyprus, leaving Roderigo and Iago alone. Roderigo mourns that he is no closer to Desdemona, and contemplates drowning himself, an idea Iago quickly convinces Roderigo to dismiss. He builds up Roderigo's hopes again, telling him to go and "Put money in thy purse" so that the two of them can destroy Othello and give Roderigo a chance to woo Desdemona (Act 1 Scene 3). As Roderigo goes off to sell his land, Iago states that he sees Roderigo as nothing more than a pawn to be used, and that he hates Othello for losing the position of lieutenant, resulting in Iago now actively working against them both to gain Cassio's place ("To get his place, and plume up my will in double knavery." - Act 1 Scene 3). He also states that a rumor has been going around that Othello has slept with Iago's wife, Desdemona's lady Emilia; while Iago does not know if the rumor is true, the mere possibility of it so enrages him that he is going to get revenge by convincing Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.
Iago begins his plan by getting Cassio drunk, which results in him attacking both Roderigo and then Governor of Cyprus Montano, when Montano tries to stop him ( resulting in the latter being stabbed by Cassio) causing Othello to demote him. Iago then advises a disgraced Cassio that the best way to regain Othello's favor is to ask Desdemona to intercede on his behalf. Iago is with Othello when Desdemona requests Cassio's reinstatement, and here drops the first hints to Othello that Cassio and Desdemona may be sleeping together behind his back.
In the Third Act, Iago has Emillia steal a handkerchief from Desdemona, which had been given to her by Othello as a special gift during their courtship. Iago then plants the handkerchief in Cassio's quarters. He then tells Othello that whilst sharing a bed with Cassio, he heard him declaring his love for Desdemona in his sleep, while grabbing onto Iago , and says he is certain he saw Cassio wipe his beard with the handkerchief. Othello believes Iago, and makes him his new lieutenant on the condition that he kill Cassio. Iago now has Othello right where he wants him, and tells him that "I am yours forever" (Iago, Act 3, Scene 3).
In Act 4 Cassio stumbles across Iago and Othello, whilst Othello has a fit in despair, during which Iago tells Cassio he would like to speak with him. Once Othello calms down, Iago allows him to overhear a bawdy conversation between him and Cassio about the latter's mistress Bianca, while tricking Othello into thinking they are talking about Desdemona by not mentioning her name . Bianca then enters with the handkerchief and accuses Cassio of giving her a love-token given him by another woman. Bianca and Cassio both leave, and Othello, who recognizes the handkerchief, is thoroughly convinced, wanting both Cassio and his wife dead. Iago convinces Othello to strangle Desdemona in her bed.
Later on, Iago is brought in by Desdemona and Emilia, with Desdemona lamenting the change in her husband, and tells Iago that her husband has accused her of infidelity. Iago, again pretending to be an honest man, acts shocked and tells her that, as Othello's closest friend, he will do what he can to figure out what has gotten into him. Once Desdemona and Emilia exit, however, Iago is confronted by Roderigo, who accuses his "friend" of using him. Iago uses flattery and his keen manipulation skills to convince Roderigo to give him one more chance, telling him that Othello and Desdemona are going to Africa , and that Cassio stays in Cyprus as governor and that by killing Cassio, Othello would be forced to stay in Cyprus as governor .
That night, Iago sends Roderigo to kill Cassio in an ambush attack. Cassio however, manages to escape with his life, albeit a severely wounded leg. Whilst everyone is in commotion with what has happened to Cassio, Iago kills Roderigo to stop him from talking and then sets up Bianca as Roderigo’s accomplice .
At the same moment, in the final scene of the play, Othello smothers Desdemona to death. Emilia arrives on the scene and finds her lady murdered. Othello confesses to the murder and explains that she was unfaithful and that Iago knew of it all. Iago arrives with Montano and Gratiano, Desdemona's uncle. Emilia interrogates Iago, who eventually reveals he did tell Othello that Desdemona cheated. Realizing his evil plot, Emilia reveals to everyone, despite threats from Iago, that she gave the handkerchief to her husband. Enraged, Iago kills her and runs off, only to be captured and brought back by Montano and his men .
Realizing that Desdemona was innocent and that Iago lied to him, a grief-stricken Othello attacks Iago, wounding him but not killing him deciding “tis happiness to die” He then demands that Iago tell him why he ruined his life, but Iago refuses to explain his motive. After Othello commits suicide, Cassio is left in charge, and the play ends with Iago being condemned to imprisonment and torture and presumably execution .
Personality[]
Iago presents himself as an honest and nobleman, but this a front to hide his true colors, and gain the trust of others around him, most notably Othello, whom he despises ("I follow him to serve mine own turn." - Iago, Act 1 Scene 1) as he had a plot to lie and make people think he is good. Out of a strong hatred for Othello, for numerous possible reasons, he makes the decision to ruin Othello's life by playing on Othello's jealousy and insecurities as an outsider in Cyprus, convincing him that his new Venetian wife Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio by lying. Because of his nature, no one truly knows why Iago hates Othello so much though it could be because Othello is black.
Iago is, in essence, a textbook psychopath. He has no qualms or concerns for the lives of others around him and shown to have an incredible talent for manipulating and exploiting the weakness of his enemies. He is cold and calculating, but he is also an opportunist with the ability to think on his feet. He also has no notable fears beyond doing his best not to incur Othello's wrath until the time is right.
Everyone around him sees Iago as an honest and decent man, who is not only seen as trustworthy by everyone but also usually the first person people turn to when things go wrong throughout the story until he is revealed as a villian. But this is nothing but a ruse to make them easier to manipulate. He ridicules the idea of people putting their trust in others or having loyalty to someone, and in his eyes, the only good kind of servant is one who is only feigning loyalty to make their masters easier to manipulate. Thus, making him lack any true concern for anyone but himself.
Even after his scheme didn't go the way he planned, Iago never showed remorse meaning he doesn't care about telling the truth and doesn't care if he murders or if people are murdered; his decision not to speak being more because of shattered pride than anything else. Until the truth got revealed, Emila was the only one who knew of his true nature, though she didn’t know at the beginning of the book. Therefore, this shows how great he is at lying and manipulating people. If not for his wife, he would not have been found out. Furthermore, while not as impressive, he managed to hide the abuse he inflicted on Emila until his murder of her. He loves to lie and manipulate others and then murder others and is really good at it and also likes to see people get murdered and murder people himself. He also likes it when people commit suicide as Othello committed suicide and Iago didn't even care.
Motives[]
There is a debate on why Iago decided to ruin Othello's life and didn't care about him at all; while Shakespeare clearly established that Iago "hate[s] the Moor", he does not say what Iago's primary motivation is. There have been several different motives ascribed to him, including:
- Rage over being passed up for promotion
- Jealousy of Othello's success and happiness
- Indignation over the rumor that Emilia is cheating on him with Othello
- Racism
- Psychopathy
- Sadistic enjoyment of creating chaos and causing other people harm
- Feelings of personal betrayal by Othello, whom he considered a friend
- Unrequited romantic feelings for Othello or Desdemona, or both (depending on the theory)
Film and stage portrayals[]
Iago has been portrayed by several actors on stage and screen. They include:
- The late Frank Finlay (who also portrayed the Witchsmeller Pursuivant in Blackadder, Amafi in Shaft In Africa and Jacob Marley in the 1984 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol).
- Christopher Walken (who also portrayed Max Shreck in Batman Returns, Frank White in King of New York, Vincenzo Coccotti in True Romance, Gabriel in The Prophecy, Mr. Smith in Nick of Time, Bradford Whitewood Sr. in At Close Range, King Louie in The Jungle Book, Salvatore Maggio in Kangaroo Jack, Reed Thimple in The Country Bears, Max Zorin in A View to a Kill, The Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow, Colonel Cutter in Antz, Shaddam IV in Dune: Part Two, and Cornelius Hatcher in The Rundown).
- Ian McKellan (who also portrayed Magneto in the X-Men series, The Toad in Flushed Away, Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code, Kurt Dussander in Apt Pupil, Roy Courtnay in The Good Liar, and two other Shakespeare villains, Macbeth and Richard III, in the 1989 TV adaptation of Macbeth and 1995 film adaptation of Richard III, respectively).
- Kenneth Branagh (who also portrayed Dr. Arliss Loveless in Wild Wild West, Viktor Cherevin in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Edmond Burke in the 2003 London theatre play adaptation of Edmond, A.O. Neville in Rabbit-Proof Fence, Andrei Sator in Tenet, and Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).
- Daniel Craig (who also portrayed Connor Rooney in Road to Perdition, Jaapie Botha in The Power of One, and John Ballard in Elizabeth).
- The late Philip Seymour Hoffman (who also portrayed Owen Davian in Mission Impossible III, Dean Trumbell in Punch Drunk Love, Brandt in The Big Lebowski, and Allen in Happiness).
- Ewan McGregor (who also portrayed Mark Renton in Trainspotting, Patrick McKenna in Angels and Demons and Black Mask in the DC Extended Universe).
- The late Bob Hoskins (who also portrayed Mr. Smee in Hook and Old Joe in the 2009 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol).
- Tim McInnerny (who also portrayed Kevin Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth).
- Rory Kinnear (who also portrayed Frankenstein's Monster in Penny Dreadful).
- Jake Gyllenhaal (who also portrayed Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler, Anthony Claire in Enemy, Johnny Wilcox in Okja, Danny Sharp in Ambulance, and Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
- Dominic West (who also portrayed Jigsaw in The Punisher: War Zone, Theron in 300, Fred Casely in Chicago, Sab Than in John Carter, Walt Camby in Money Monster, and Simon Ambrose in Johnny English: Reborn).
- The late Andre Braugher (who also portrayed Darkseid in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse), the first Black actor to play the role.
- Christopher Eccleston (who also portrayed Henry West in 28 Days Later, Raymond Calitri in Gone in 60 Seconds, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk in Elizabeth, Destro in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and Malekith The Accursed in Thor: The Dark World) portrayed Ben Jago, a corrupt British policeman, in a modern adaptation of Othello that takes place in contemporary London.
- In the 2001 film O, a modern retelling of Othello set in a high school, Josh Hartnett (who also portrayed The Colonel in Sin City and Cooper in Trap) portrayed Hugo Goulding, the film's version of Iago. In this adaptation, Hugo is a teenaged basketball player who plots against the team's star player out of jealousy.
Gallery[]
