Iago

Iago

1. He plays an antagonist

   • Iago's job in the army was an ensign, juniour army officer who was the "standard bearer" (carries army's flag into battle)
   • cold, cynical - seems to take pleasure in evil and disorder, never has remourse for his actions. no clear motivations for his cruelty
   • clever schemer, good at manipulating people- trusted by everyone, creates illusion that he's "honest iago"- so easy for him to influence other characters
   • Hard to know what he's really like cause he adapts to the situations or characters around him- lies in soliloquies, meaning the audience can never fully trust what he says. - cause he's always speaking his thoughts aloud without anyone around

2. His motivations are ambiguous

   • Overlooked for promotion- thinks Cassio didn't desereve it - angry with Othello for choosing him casue he's "never set a squadron in the field"
   • inconsistent about various motivations- seem more like excuses than genuine motivations. does iago lose sight of his own imtentions
   • Lusts for Des, claiming, "Now i do love her too"
   • Generally racist and mysogenistic- seems to hate anyone who's different from himself.

3. Some critics argue he has no motivation

   • at end iago refuses to explain his motives - "from this time forth i will never speak a word"- makes him seem ruthless and remains in control.
   • Samuel Coleridge argues that iago has no real motives and is pure evil. Calls his behaviour "motiveless malignity"
   • Can be seen as a "vice" character- "vice2 = personafied evil and immorality in medievil morality plays. although iago = more complex, likely that shakespeare was influenced by this

4. He's a skilled manipulator

   • uses what he knows about other characters against them. - can manipulate them effectively cause he knows their weaknesses
   • his skills make him able to control people characters' actions. EG- in Act 4, scene 1, not only tells Othello to eavesdrop on him and cassio, but tells him how to interpret it. " mark the fleers, the gibes and notable scorns / That dwell in every region of his face"
   • Iago's success is a result of his vesatility- adapts his language to suit person he's speaking to . With Des he appears to be a trustworthy companion- "Do not weep, do not weep: alas the day!"

5. He has a complicated relationship with men and women

   • Low opinion of women - often labelled a misogynist
     • suggests women are premiscuous- claiming they, "rise to play and go to bed to work"
     • Marriage to Emelia is loveless- He's only interested in using her to his advantage. When she steals hankerchief, he snatches it and calls her a "foolish wife"
   • Relationship with men is even more complicated
     • Has no real friends- most open with Rodrigo but uses him for his own gain
     • Dispite Iago's hatred, him and othello have a close relationship which seems to intensify throughout the play. Some critics argue there is homosexual undertones. - Lawrence Olivier emphasises this aspect by kissing Othello on the lips at the end of Act 3 Scene 3 while playing iago in a 1938 production