Exploring Iago's Character

You know that I find Iago fascinating. And who wouldn't? Why does he do what he does? What kind of man could he be? Assorted critics have attempted to answer these
questions and there seems to be three main possible points of view: villain, motiveless malignant, and practical joker. Below I have summarized some of their arguments as well as
included quotes to help you explore Iago's character. Choose 3 of the bolded quotes (one from each section) and write a paragraph for each reacting to the statement. You may
qualify, agree with, or disagree with the particular statement but you need to do so with evidence and well-reasoned arguments. See the example below which is a student response
to the following quote: What makes The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice so harrowing a work is the total triumph of Iago, until he is brought down so unexpectedly
by his wifes outrage at the victimage of Desdemona.
I agreed with this quotation as I read the scene in which Iagos well thought-out designs are unveiled by Emelia. Up until this time, Iago was victorious in
manipulating everyone at will. No one had known that Iago was the source of all the confusion which ultimately ruined many relationships. Emelias revelation
heightens the dramatic effect of Iagos actions to a much more vexing level. Finally, Emilia is informed that Iago had told Othello the falsehood about
Desdemona. Emilia slowly attempts to unwind Iagos twisted psyche in an attempt to understand his malicious objective. I had assumed that Iagos plan would
never have been elucidated; for this, I was surprised when his deceitful plot was exposed.
Perhaps Iago wanted his deception to be discovered. This would allow him to create murky confusion about the origin of his true motives. Once again, Iago
could control the pace of the drama by leaving an unsolved conundrum. But then I think: Iago is neither that simple nor easy to understand. The reader is
challenged to contemplate how the villain can be so cleverly evil and manically mysterious.

Villain--Bormann, Bloom, West Motiveless Malignant--Coleridge Practical Joker--Auden

A villain feels like he has been wronged by society and
wants revenge for this.
A villain has a general grudge against society.
Iago does not care for his reputation. This is in direct
contrast to Cassio, who laments the loss of his
commission: I have lost the immortal part of myself,
and what remains is bestial (II.iii.257-59).
His religion is war, and his god is Othello... For Iago,
God or Othello is everything, because war is
everything, and if Othello prefers Cassio, then Iago is
nothing,
The adjective motiveless means, firstly, that the tangible
gains, if any, are not the principal motive, and secondly,
that the motive is not the desire for personal revenge upon
another for a personal motive and a malignant is one who
is evil so this refers to one who is evil for no reason.
Thus, by the time we meet Iago he is no longer
operating on the human level. He has lost the human
capacity for understanding, compassion, concern for
others, and forgiveness.
Iago, as great improviser, traps himself also in his
own web.
The success of a practical joker depends on his accurate
estimate of the weaknesses of others, their ignorances,
their social reflexes, their unquestioned presuppositions,
their obsessive desires, and even the most harmless
practical joke is an expression of the joker's contempt for
those he deceives.
The practical joker needs to play these "jokes" in order to
feel that he is alive...without his deception, he is a nobody.
The practical joker despises his victims, but at the
same time he envies them because their desires,
however childish and mistaken, are real to them,
whereas he has no desire which he can call his own.

Iago is a more complex psychopath. He does not The two men digging up the street, for example,
regard his own actions as horrendously evil. might have been two burglars who wished to recover
some swag which they knew to have been buried there.
But in that case, having found what they were looking
for, they would have departed quietly and never been
heard of again, whereas, if they are practical jokers,
they must reveal afterwards what they have done or
the joke would be lost.

All practical jokes, friendly, harmless or malevolent,

involve deception, but not all deceptions are practical
jokes.