Explore Shakespeare’s presentation of the character Iago in Othello

Introduction

• Thesis = Shakespeare present Iago as an embodiment of malevolent duplicity which enables him to orchestrate the downfall of others

• Through Iago, the play interrogates appearance versus reality

Iago as a Master Manipulator

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• ‘I am not what I am’ = A direct contradiction of Exodus 3:14 ("I am that I am"), this line immediately establishes Iago’s duplicity

• ‘I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear’ = may be mirroring another Shakespeare character - Lady Macbeth (‘poison’)

• image of ‘pouring’ suggest a calculated intimate invasion

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• Renaissance society, particularly Renaissance Humanist, believed in the power of language to shape perception and reality

• Iago’s manipulation is grounded in this: through suggestion, insinuation, and false loyalty, he constructs a version of reality others believe

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• Leavis ‘Iago is the play’s chief humourist and manipulator, relishing his own cleverness’

Symbol of Moral corruption

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• ‘I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear’ = may be mirroring another Shakespeare character - Lady Macbeth (‘poison’)

• image of ‘pouring’ suggest a calculated intimate invasion

• The “pestilence” metaphor aligns Iago with disease and moral corruption, implying that his manipulations are both psychologically and socially destructive

• ‘I play the villain’

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• Iago embodies the Machiavellian villain, where moral corruption and the rejection of ethical boundaries are seen as a means of achieving personal gain

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A character who conceals his malevolent intentions behind a facade of honesty and loyalty

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• ‘honest Iago’ = highlights the theme of appearance vs reality

• ‘I am your own forever’ Iago presents himself as a loyal and devoted servant to Othello, positioning himself as someone whose allegiance is unquestionable

• Shakespeare uses the dramatic irony that ‘men should be as they seem’, to make Iago appear wise and honest on the surface, while the audience knows his deceptive person

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• Elizabethan and Jacobean society valued honour, reputation, and loyalty,

• Iago’s duplicity would have been deeply unsettling for an audience that viewed outward appearances as indicators of inner truth

• Shakespeare’s portrayal of Iago as an expert at concealing his intentions critiques the potential for moral decay beneath seemingly virtuous appearances

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• Bradley “The most alarming feature of Iago is his ability to present himself as trustworthy while perpetrating unthinkable evil.”