Iago is one of the most intriguing characters in Shakespeare’s Othello. His actions and deeds are difficult to understand for they need careful interpretation. Iago manipulates all the other characters throughout the play. On the one hand, he seems to be pure evil; on the other hand, however, he presents himself as a decent and honest person, which makes it easy to believe him. After reading William Shakespeare’s play “Othello” ordinary readers, as well as literary critics, fail to come to a unanimous conclusion about intricate traces of Iago’s character; some critics suggest that Iago is unique and the motivation for his actions is difficult to understand, while the others state that Iago is an expression of a fundamental aspect of human nature. Iago, just like all people has his vices; throughout the play, he tries to show other characters their imperfect human nature revealing at this his own weak emotional state.
First of all, Iago is the representation of all the vices which people have and which they try to conceal in the course of their lives. Iago as a character has a number of such vices, but he fails to conceal them. What is even more important, his vices took an upper hand over him and controlled his mind entirely all the time. That is why Iago did so many evil things to people who trusted him much. In the first scene of the play, we learn that Iago is jealous of Cassio because he has just received the rank of lieutenant, which Iago was expecting to receive. It is also obvious to the reader that Iago is contemptuous of Othello who granted Cassio such a high ranking. Alternatively, Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he prefers to kill him emotionally. By this he displays his evil nature, the vices he has; his words “I am not what I am” 9Shakespeare and McDonald 5) show that he realizes his evilness, but is not going to change. Thus, Iago expresses one of the aspects of human nature, namely morality, or the desire of a person to live in accordance with certain ethical principles.
Secondly, Iago is a character who through his sarcastic remarks tries to show to the rest of the characters their imperfect human nature. For instance, he tries to show to Desdemona that she, just like all the women, is revengeful, but only when she is hurt, not when she hurts somebody else: “Saints in your injuries, devils being offended” (Shakespeare and McDonald 37). Iago is an expert judge of people’s character and he uses this to his advantage. He and Cassio offer Emilia to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief knowing that the woman will not refuse to do it since she was a maidservant and got used to obeying somebody else’s orders. Iago shows to other characters that each of them has an evil side: he offers Othello to kill Cassio, hints to him that Desdemona gave her handkerchief to Cassio, and always shifts the blame to somebody else. Iago’s remarks are aimed at invoking certain feelings in other characters, such as hatred, desire for revenge, and jealousy, feelings which they have never known about before. He is like a devil that pushes them to evil deeds, playing at this the role of an advisor who wishes them only the best. However, apart from stabbing Roderigo to his leg, he never hurts others directly; he acts through other people simply rousing their vices.
Finally, Iago presents such an aspect of human nature as a weak emotional state and desire to take revenge when hurt. Iago is jealous of other successful people and this consequently makes him angry with the entire world. This proves his weak nature because only those who prefer to take the desired with force, rater tan earn it, are weak-willed. Iago’s potential was quite high and e could become successful if he had a stronger personality. Iago is weak and he has to use his evil nature to compensate for this evil; the only thing he can do is to make other people suffer, just like he does. Thus, when he suspects that his wife Emilia committed adultery with Othello, Iago decides to put Othello in his emotional state, so that he could understand what it feels like to be cheated by his wife. This proves that he has a weak personality because he never dares to tell any of the characters directly what he feels about them. In this way, Iago as a character shows that people tend to seek revenge when they are hurt.
In sum, Iago is a complex and many-sided character who serves as an embodiment of different aspects of human nature. He controls the play pushing Othello and other characters towards their tragic endings. A Shakespearean play always includes a typical villain character. Iago is an excellent judge of character, a brilliant psychologist who conducts himself with great composure, and, by manipulating his counterparts, makes people believe he is on their side. The way he displays his vices points at the imperfect nature of other characters and shows that he is weak by making other characters suffer just like he creates an idea that Iago is simply an extension of normal human behavior. Each person possesses the qualities which Iago displays, but they are concealed and almost never used until a person is incited to do this. Therefore, Iago is not the embodiment of evil; he presents the darker side which all the people have.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William and McDonald, Russ. The tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. London: Penguin Classics, 2001.