Iago Character Analysis Term Paper

Bria Gustave

ENC1102

April 23, 2012

Iago: A Tragedy in the Making

"One bad apple ruins the bunch" is what comes to mind when I think of the evil, deceitful, antagonist Iago in Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello." It is surprising how one person alone can utterly destroy, a group of trusting faithful peoples' lives in a matter of days. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the villainous Iago pretends to befriend Othello in order to manipulate him to serve his own selfish needs revenge. As the antagonist, he has an extraordinary gift for manipulation, lies and deceit. Iago in some way is both directly and indirectly responsible for many of the tragedies that unfold. He is a master of treachery and simply enjoys ruining people's lives. Iago cunningly plays on Othello’s trusting nature causing immense uncertainty for himself and everyone around him. Iago befriends Othello, Cassio, Roderigo, and Desdemona; he earns their trust and gets into their good graces only to play on their frailties and weaknesses.

Every time Iago does something evil, he stops to muse on it and tell us how brilliant his plan is. These moments show the audience who he really is. Robert Di Yanni in “Character Revealed Through Dialogue” says that the evil antagonist true character emerges in his speech:

Iago’s language reveals his coarseness; he crudely reduces sexual intimacy to animal

copulation. It also shows his ability to make things happen: he has infuriated Brabantio. The remainder of the scene shows the consequences of his speech, its ability to inspire action. Iago is thus revealed as both an instigator and a man of crude sensibilities. (Yanni123).

Iago hates the Moor because of a rumor that Othello slept with his wife. He is never sure if it is true, but the suspicion is enough for him to betray Othello. Since Iago is his right hand man he plans to make the Moor question himself and the faithfulness of his wife. When Iago discovers Cassio is appointed to the job he wants, he decides to imply...