IAGO

1

• 
  IAGO

2
Character

• Inherently evil.
• A villain who is adept at quick-witted
  improvisation, fashioning his plots out of the
  materials he has at hand.
• Perhaps Shakespeares most evil figure. Has the
  ability to manipulate all those around him by
  taking advantage of their trust and using
  victims own motivations and weaknesses to
  achieve his end.
• More evil than Macbeth?
• More evil than Don John?

3
Motivations Iago has real grievances.

• Cassio was promoted instead of Iago.
• Believes Othello seduced Emilia.
• I do suspect the lusty Moor hath leaped into my
  seat.
• Believes Cassio seduced Emilia.
• I fear Cassio with my night-cap too.
• Is Iago the jealous one?
• - Jealous of Cassio?
• - Jealous of Othello? Does Iago love Desdemona?
• I do love her too, not out of absolute lust, but
  partly let to diet my revenge.

Where else in the play are there references to
eating and consuming?
4

• EMILIA
• Tis not a year or two shows us a manThey are
  all but stomachs, and we all but foodTo eat us
  hungerly, and when they are full,They belch us.
  Look you, Cassio and my husband!
• 
  Act 3 Scene 4.
• IAGO
• O beware, my lord, of jealousy
• It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
  Why use the word mock?
• The meat it feeds on. Act 3 Scene 3.
• IAGO
• He takes her by the palm. Ay, well said
  whisper.
• With as little a web as this I ensnare as great a
  fly as Cassio. Act 2 Scene 1.

5
Motiveless Malignity

• This was the opinion of Coleridge.
• Iago is evil personified and has no motive
• Iago himself says several times
• I hate the Moor
• In Act V scene ii, Othello asks why Iago ensnared
  him body and soul, to which Iago replies
• Demand me nothing what you know, you know. From
  this time forth, I shall never speak a word.
• Does Iago know his own motivation?
• Iago could be a demi-devil. He is characterised
  by the imagery of hell.
• Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth
  to the worlds light.
• Iago essentially gets what he wants in Act III,
  Scene iii. Why does he not stop here?

6
Believable character.

• Perfected the art of manipulation.
• Uses others motivations against them
• - Roderigos ?
• - Cassios ?
• Exploits peoples strengths and weaknesses
• - Roderigo?
• - Cassio ?-
• -Desdemona?
• - Othello?

7

• Uses others motivations against them
• - Roderigos obsessive love of Desdemona.
  
• - Cassios desire to be reinstated as
  lieutenant and his admiration of Desdemona.
• Exploits peoples strengths and weaknesses
• - Roderigo loves too much.
• - Cassio needs his reputation and can
  not handle his alcohol.
• - Emilia wishes to be on his good side.
• - Desdemona is kind and trusting.
• - Othello is proud, jealous and
  insecure.

8
Skilful manipulation of rhetorical skills.

• How does Iago use repetition, leading questions,
  hesitation, intimation, and rhetorical appeals to
  unsettle Othello mind in Act 3 Scene 3, 93-280?