Introduction
Most storylines require a villain or, at the very least, an antihero. Shakespeare’s plays are a case in point in this regard. The plot is typically advanced by the antagonists, who pave the way for the protagonists to either succeed or fail. In Othello, Iago is the villain who has complete possession of his self-knowledge, therefore, making him a suitable person to play the villain. By understanding Iago’s character before the precipitating events in the play, the audience can recognize how he owns his personality and uses it to influence the other characters. Iago is a man obsessed with power and domination over others and has allowed this obsession to consume his entire life.
Analysis of Iago’s Character
Othello’s promotion of Cassio to the lieutenancy and his marriage to Desdemona serves as the play’s impetus. Iago is extremely disturbed by both of these occurrences and as a result, he orchestrates a scheme to oust Cassio and ruin Othello’s union. If one is to understand Iago as a person; his self-knowledge and his personality, they have to first ask themselves why the triggering events affect him so profoundly as they did. Moreover, they should ask themselves why his revenge take the particular form that it did. In answering these questions, it is important to understand Iago’s character as it was before his crisis began. Only by understanding his anxieties, defenses, and objectives in life can one appreciate the impact upon him of the play’s events and the functions of his diabolical plot. When the audience understands Iago empathically, they see that he is a disturbed, destructive, but suffering person.
Most of what we know about Iago must be inferred from the very behavior that we are trying to explain. In Act I of the play, there are two scenes between Iago and Roderigo which give us a great deal of insight into the structure of his character. Iago discusses his egoistic philosophy to Roderigo near the opening of scene one while trying to help him comprehend his display of loyalty to Othello. “…And, throwing but shows of service on their lords, / Do well thrive by them; and when they have lined their coats, / Do themselves homage. These fellows have some soul, / And such a one do I profess myself…” (Shakespeare 1.1.56-61). It is good practice to be skeptical of anything he says to other characters given that his utterances are motivated almost constantly by his schemes of deception. However, the above speech expresses Iago’s genuine attitude and is a good key to his character.
In his speech, Iago is saying much for his satisfaction as for that Roderigo. On this rare occasion, Iago can throw off the burden of his hypocrisy and express his real feelings about life. He presents his ideas on human nature, values, and the order that goes along with the extreme version of the conceited-vicious solution that he has adopted. Iago believes that the world is a jungle where the powerful abuse the weak and doing good does not bring in any rewards. There are two types of individuals in the world: realists, who take advantage of others out of fear of being taken advantage of themselves. The second are fools, who place their faith in the loyalty and affection of others and end up suffering as a result. Even though he is aware of the existence of “honest” people, he detests them as fools and believes they are doomed to suffer misfortune. To validate his worldview, Iago must victimize them himself. He believes that master-servant relationships, which are founded on conventional ideas of loyalty, are inherently dishonest.
Behind Iago’s views against masters, lies intense competitiveness and desire for power. His true complaint is that he is not a master, not that masters do not adequately reward their servants. Iago is intolerant of anyone who accomplishes more than he does, holds more authority, or in any other way challenges his superiority because of his haughty-vengeful personality. Even when he submits himself for the sake of his profession, he is plotting for eventual success, and since he is not constrained by instincts of loyalty, he may be deceitful easily. “Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, / But seeming so for my peculiar end” (Shakespeare 1.1.65-66). Iago harbors tremendous anger for it and seeks payback by undermining the principles upon which it is founded. His honest record and his level of success in deceiving his superiors are evident. Although they may direct him, he finds solace in the fact that he still has some power over them. He manages his interactions with his superiors and gets over his feelings of helplessness and insignificance by deceiving.
Iago’s Self-Knowledge
Iago’s bargain is with himself while the bargain of other servants is with their masters. He has no faith in anyone and does not believe that there is a moral hierarchy in the universe or human affairs. Because he is concerned with himself, he assumes that those above him are equally egoistic and that no one will be looking out for him: “Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago” (Shakespeare 1.1.63). The speech to Roderigo makes the nature of the pact Iago has with himself very clear. He must not be deceived by the old code of values, which is nothing more than a tool used by the privileged to take advantage of the helpless if he is to succeed in this corrupt world. He must continuously look out for his interests and, most importantly, he must keep his genuine intentions and sentiments hidden. He must never be seen as duplicitous or acting selfishly.
One of Iago’s needs is to deceive Roderigo, Cassio, Othello, and Desdemona simultaneously, in a brilliantly integrated scheme that must be improvised, moreover, as he goes along. Everything runs smoothly for the first four acts, but Iago overreached himself, and his plan abruptly falls apart in Act V. When Emilia betrays him, he immediately kills her out of wrath over the damage to his sense of mastery and the rejection of his claim to loyalty. He would have been defeated by Roderigo’s allegations and Cassio’s survival even if she had remained silent. Iago now holds onto his pride in the only way that is left open to him. He will prove his self-control and thwart his tormentors by never speaking a word as to his motivations for his duplicity. Iago has a deep and personal knowledge of himself that he can drive the play to its conclusion.
Conclusion
The resolution of a tragedy play’s plot always serves as a catharsis for the audience, but in Othello, the struggle over love, loyalty, and will is exacerbated by Iago’s manipulation of everyone around him. Tragedies typically finish with the death of the tragic hero, unlike Shakespeare’s comedies. Shakespeare depicts a character in Iago who acts contrary to his reputation. Iago has a significant influence on the other characters in the play due to his duplicity which eventually leads to misdirection and the tragic death of Othello through suicide.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Othello (AmazonClassics Edition). AmazonClassics, 2017.