The Character of Iago from Othello

The Character of Iago from Othello

The character of Iago is crucial for the play, and its essence has often been presented as ‘the evil taking a human form.’ What is important to any attempt to understand this play is the mechanism that makes the action moving forward. If this is ‘the force of evil’, represented in the character of Iago, this gives him the most relevant role, the power to forward the entire course of the play in certain direction. A number of fortunate circumstances helps his plot, and even in the most dangerous moments everything seems to fit his plans. From the beginning the readers (or the audience) are fascinated by this character of ‘a villain’ ; they are, in some way, participating in his plot, being the only spectators of his famous soliloquies in which he reveals (if he ever does) his true face, or at least, the bitter content of his thoughts. He is tormented by hate, jealousy and lust, he creates the self-deception about his own magnitude, his fantasies are lascivious and immature, and yet he is observed with the mixed feelings of repulsion and admiration. Why is this so?

In Othello, as opposed to many other great Shakespeare’s plays, there is no clear indication of a supernatural guiding force directing the course of action. ‘The Fate’ doesn’t seem to be the ally of the positive characters – what’s more, the circumstances are certainly convenient for Iago and his plans. The favorable drop of a handkerchief, the situations in which one word would be enough to destroy the entire ‘construction’ he built; all this was resolved into his advantage. It can almost appear that this is a display of how even those who are in our eyes the most distinguished and noble, must subdue to the irresistible power of ‘the dark fatality’, ruling the world and corrupting the human nature. At the end of the dramatic events there is no feeling of peace descending after the storm, but instead a bitter awareness of how fragile our mind is when facing such utter evil. As Bradley says, it seems ‘as if the Fate has taken sides with the villainy.’ There are no divine forces getting in the way of the course of the play directed by Iago, and this makes the tragedy to follow, inevitably, even more terrible. Pure malice he displays is not being controlled, and it prays on the ‘good’ characters, causing even the downfall of The Noble Moor, Othello.

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... often attributed, a villain. The problem of finding the strong foundation from which it emerges is still unsolved. The two possible, quite opposite interpretation seem the most probable: he is either a pathetic, paranoid man tormented by his many complexes he tries to

turn into his own advantage over those better than him, or simply one of those majestic Machiavellian villains who compensate the condemnable nature of their actions by a certain grandeur, even charisma, they posses.

Whatever may be the answer, and the opinions on this are rather diverse, it stands as the fact that he is one of those curiously appealing Shakespeare’s characters that, from the first line capture the readers attention. This is a strong argument to reject the approach of imagists and symbolists, and it reinforces the claims of the certain level of identification with Iago’s frustration. He does not choose the ‘socially accepted forms of behavior’, he dares to cross the line of what is acceptable, and maybe that is a form of courage. It is fair to say that, if we cannot justify Iago, in a way we can understand him and thus he obtains the much needed authenticity that can correspond with the reader.