One of the most frightful, intriguing and remarkable character in the tragic play, Othello by William

Shakespeare is Iago. He is represented as an incarnation of envy, who to get on with the world
regards everyone with enmity. A.C. Bradley his lectures on Othello says, Iago has very remarkable
powers both of intellect and will. Iagos insight, within certain limits, into human nature; his
ingenuity and address in working upon it; his quickness and versatility in dealing with sudden
difficulties and unforeseen opportunities, have probably no parallel among dramatic characters. It is
a story based upon the revenge of two characters, Othello and Iago and these two characters are
subject to Murphys Law which states that if something wrong can happen, it will: for Othello it is the
wrongful killing of his wife and friend, for Iago, it is getting caught for his actions and finally being
tortured.
An experienced soldier and a trusted commander in Othellos army Iago manipulates his way through
the larger framework of his schemes building upon the very idea of his unstable self, that everyone
else takes to be as stable and honest. The first to fall victim to Iago's manipulation is Rodrigo. Iago
understands the illogical yet obsessive desire for Desdemona. Iago, the rising middle class man,
through his wit, strategy, planning and knowledge pose a treat to the decadent aristocracy shown by
Rodrigo. his morality is too meek to disturb his conscious while taking away the foolish Rodrigos
money and not giving anything in return. Iago keeps him in the dark and continues to profit himself
monetarily. In Iagos second speech we get an insight on who he really is and what is going on in his
mind when he says, I am not what I am. By using the word am at both level, Iago is pointing out
that no one can be sure of what he is at the core of his heart and the level of appearance. He does not
look at himself as a constant, stable being but in a continuous state of flux. His reality, it seems, is
always transient.
Despite Iago's unquestionable malignancy, the motivation behind his actions lie more in his quest for
personal gain as opposed to just being evil for evil's sake. In order to achieve his personal gain, Iago
manipulates Rodrigo, Cassio and most importantly Othello. Iago finds pleasure in disrupting the
socio-polical system. system. Being a man in the lower strata of the society, he tries to attack the
centre and destabilize the system. He represents the Renaissance man who believes strongly that
great chain of being cannot be held static and man has the ability to move up or down the social
ladder. Iago forces himself to be someone without any link to society or culture. Iago also shows a
storehouse of the stereotypical notions of the Elizabethan era in the context of the woman. Act two
scene one explores the streak of misogyny in Iagos character. The traditional image of the woman is
fallible, inconsistent and unfaithful stemming from male insecurity in the face of female sexuality
seems to be at the core of Iagos assessment. He understands that both the man and the woman in a
relationship exercise contrary and self-centered pulls on a see-saw and thus if he somehow makes
them pull a little too forcefully this see-saw will collapse. And it is this idea of a woman, locking her
in the image of a temptress, that become the basis of his plot against Desdemona and Othello, also
skillfully dragging Cassio into it.
Cassio, like Rodrigo follows Iago blindly thinking the whole time that Iago is trying to aid him, when
in fact Iago motivated by his lust for power is attempting to dispose off his position as lieutenant.
Iago does this by getting Cassio drunk and causing him to get in a fight and disturb Othello; Othello
then demotes Cassio off his rank as second in command and thus securing the position of Iago.
Cassio also serves as the "middle man" in Iago's plan. Iago's shrewd mind conjures a plan that not
only gets Cassio demoted but also makes him the main focus of Othello's rage by making it look like
he is having an affair Desdemona.

Iago's main interest is the destruction of Othello, the reason being that Othello has chosen another
man, Cassio as his second in command, preceding him to Iago. This ascendant accompanied by Iago's
fabricated accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise Othello and shortly
thereafter begin to conspire against him. Instead of just killing Othello, Iago proceeds to attack him
emotionally. Iago begins to manipulate the people around him in order to hurt Othello and make him
think that his wife, Desdemona was unfaithful to him, thus evoking him in the fear of not only being
cuckolded but more importantly reaffirms Othellos constantly nagging suspicion about her infidelity.
When Othello begins to believe that Cassio and Desdemona are involved together he is so consumed
with grief that he sends Iago to kill Cassio and he himself kills Desdemona in all his rage. Iago just
gives a push to the already convinced Othello, through the medium of the handkerchief, and through
his astounding rhetoric and a little amount of fate, is able to turn it into ocular proof. Instead of Iago
killing Cassio, he sends Rodrigo to do his dirty work. This is where Iago's plan begins to fail. Othello,
Desdemona, Cassio and Rodrigo are victims of Iagos rhetoric and also their own convictions. It
becomes all clear at the end of the play, what is was that Iago wanted. Iago was not evil for the sake
of being evil. His evil was driven by his untamed jealousy and greed.
He is often funny and quite charming throughout the play, but the most captivating part of his
personality is his sheer lack of reasoning behind his hatred for Othello. Iago makes various statements
to Rodrigo, and he has several soliloquies. He gives two reasons for his hatred, Othello has made
Cassio lieutenant and he suspects and has heard it reported, that Othello has an intrigue for Emilia.
However, resentment for Cassios appointment is expressed in the first conversation with Rodrigo,
and from that point never once mentioned again in the whole play. Hatred for Othello is expressed in
the first Act alone and even his lust for Desdemona is mentioned just once. He does no care for his
wife, but the fear of another mans getting the better of him, and exposing him to pity or derision as
an unfortunate husband, is wormwood to him. Iagos longing to satisfy the sense of power is the
strongest force that drives him on. It can also be the pleasure in an action very difficult and perilous
and therefore, intensely exciting. He is man setting out on a project which strongly attracts his desire,
and unconsciously trying to argue the resistance to the desire, and unconsciously trying to argue the
resistance away by assigning reasons for the project. Iago must be given credit for his sheer skills,
self control, intellect and will. Iagos insight, within certain limits, into human nature; his ingenuity
and address in working upon it; his quickness and versatility in dealing with sudden difficulties and
unforeseen opportunities, are remarkable.
Iago is able to manipulate others to do things his way that benefits him and moves him closer to what
he wants through "Othello". Like a Machiavellian figure of Renaissance drama, Iago is sophisticated
at the intricate political working of the state, and a genius at manipulating key people and events for
his own personal motives. Iago's ability is as a puppeteer and his disposition is to know the flaws of
all the characters, undermine people in position of authority. Iago uses his selfish, cunning and
untrustworthy traits to his advantage by slowly planning his own triumph. Iago was the evil veiled
and disguised by the more obvious villainous acts of Cassio and Rodrigo. He seemingly seeks
revenge on everyone around him and apparently takes joy and pride in whatever havoc he wreaks. At
the same time he condemns his victims showing true sympathy. Iago plays the role of the catalyst
throughout the play, playing one of the most captivating villains in history. It is impossible to say
whether he had a positive or negative while e everything he did was negative and he was the main
character and acted as the majority of the entertainment throughout the play.