Shakespearean Criticism, Research Paper Example

Being able to manipulate people and situations for one’s own gain is referred to as a villain. Iago is often referred to a Shakespeare’s greatest villain. Many consider him the most evil of all the villains because he does not have a legitimate gain from the havoc is causes between Desdemona and Othello. Iago’s actions are indirectly responsible for the death of Desdemona, Othello, and Roderigo.  Although Othello had become jealous, it was Iago who caused Othello to lose confidence in Desdemona. Every action that leads to the death of the characters is orchestrated by Iago. Iago has crafted such an elusive crime that the other characters do not suspect him as anything other than a noble man. It is this loyalty that he uses to get closer to Othello and cause his downfall.  Many believe that Iago has no real motive for his actions, but it is quite obvious that Iago is driven by the desire for power, which makes him deathly jealous of Othello and anyone else who stands in his way.

Iago takes advantage of innocent people. Roderigo is the first character that Iago uses for his evil scheme. Iago is able to do this because he knows that Roderigo is gullible and easily manipulated. Iago explains his plan by saying, “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse” (I.iii.426).  In other words, Iago is planning to use Roderigo just as he would use money- to purchase something he wants or needs. Iago uses Roderigo hopes of being with Desdemona to manipulate him into his scheme. Iago recognizes early that trust is very important and the lack of trust sets the action into motion. Roderigo trusts Iago and accepts friendship as truth. At one point he questions if Iago is being truthful, yet he accepts Iago advice.  Roderigo says, “I have no great devotion to the deed, / And yet he hath given me satisfying reasons” (VI.i.9-10).  Roderigo does not want to kill Cassio, but Iago encourages him to do so. Iago wants Cassio dead, but instead of doing it himself he manipulates Roderigo into doing it.  Having one’s trust betrayed is a villainous act because the person who is trusting has formed a false relationship with the villain. Likewise, Iago takes advantage of Othello. Othello has great confidence in Iago and trusts him calling him “Honest Iago” (II.iii.355). Iago works for Othello and portrays himself as loyal servant. Yet, he despises Othello secretly because he was not chosen as Othello’s lieutenant. Iago says:

“I have / told thee often, and I retell thee again and again, I hate the Moor” (I.iii.407-408). Yet, Othello is unaware that Iago hates him. He too, believes that Iago is his friend and trusts him.  Iago even says to Roderigo, who hates Othello because he wants Desdemona for himself, “O, Sir, content you. / I follow him to serve my turn upon him. / We cannot all be masters, nor all masters / Cannot be truly followed” (I.i.44-47).  

Iago is saying that he is only befriending Othello so that he may sabotage him. Iago believes that he will eventually get the title of lieutenant if Othello trusts him. Mackenzie says, “The jealousy of Othello is not more gradually and skillfully raised and developed than the vengeance of Iago. At first angry enough, no doubt; but he has no defined project. He follows the Moor to take advantage of circumstances to turn them to his own use. Nothing of peculiar malignity is thought upon: if he can get Cassio’s place, he will be satisfied” (156). Iago is able to take advantage of both Roderigo and Othello through his lies.

Iago is very cunning with his choice of words and the appropriate time to use them. He willfully misleads his victims in order to gain the reaction he desires. Iago is very careful to avoid confrontation by being a skillful manipulator.  Heilman conveys an example of just how cunning Iago is with his word usage by referring to how he and Roderigo confront Barbantio about his daughter, Desdemona. Barbantio does not believe what he is hearing and makes it known by calling the entire issue absurd. He has been awoken from his sleep and is very angry (190). Mackenzie goes on to explain how Iago quickly begins to use his play on words to justify the accusations. The justification only causes Brabantio to become even angrier. Eventually, they are able to convince Desdemona’s father that the information is true when he finds her missing from her bed. Brabantio is quickly drawn into the web of lies weaved by Iago (162).

Shakespeare uses relationships to convey how vulnerable people may become when relationships are formed. Iago is able to expose the insecurities that each person has within his/her intimate relationships. Yet, the centerpiece of the relationships seems to have no insecurities that are exposed. Nonetheless, everyone else’s relationships expose vulnerabilities. Othello’s marriage to Desdemona is the most vulnerable of all relationships. Othello’s relationship with Desdemona brings many attitudes and emotions to surface. Shakespeare uses Othello’s marriage to show that even love cannot conqueror the desire for control and power. In his article, Mackenzie states: “Othello made himself available to public criticism and assaults on his character by marrying a young white girl. Furthermore, the couple’s constant struggle over power and control makes them susceptible to destruction of their happiness. Othello seeks complete control over his wife, Desdemona” (170). Othello says:

“O curse of marriage. 
That we can call these creatures ours,
And not their appetites! I had rather be a toad 
And live upon the vapor of a dungeon.
Then keep a corner in the thing I love” (line 267-270)

It is obvious that Othello believes that having Desdemona’s full submission and love is essential to his power as a man. These feelings about Desdemona convey that Othello is also driven by jealousy and the desire for control. Likewise, Desdemona attempts to use her sexual relationship with Othello to control him as well. Desdemona says,

“I give thee my warrant; assure thee, I do vow friendship
to the last article my lord shall never rest…
I shall watch him tame and talk him out of patience”.
(line 19-28).

Desdemona conveys that she will use her sexual connection with Othello to calm and tame him into patience.

It is just that sexual connection that Iago manipulates to enrage Othello.  Jacobsen says that “Iago uses suspicion, hints, affirms by denying, cover his traces, forestalls criticism, and blurs the contours of reality” (519). The tale of Desdemona and Cassio is one of convenience. Iago’s overall goal is to cause Othello to become so jealous that he loses control. He knows that the best way to do this is by implementing Desdemona, Othello’s love. By chance, Othello and Iago see Desdemona and Cassio together. Iago seizes the opportunity and makes a cunning remark that causes Othello to doubt Desdemona. Othello quickly asks Iago what he means, but Iago will not comment further. This fact only makes Othello more suspicious that something is going on between the two. “Ha, I like that not” mumbles Iago. Othello asks, “What dost thou say?” Iago answers, “Nothing, my lord” (III. iii. 34-40). This line helps to convey just how manipulative Iago is.  “This short initial exchange also shows how Iago seeds ideas by implied communications,” says Jacobsen (520). Iago has quickly changed Othello’s perception of Cassio by hinting that he is not to be trusted. Iago’s refusal to elaborate on the subject only leaves Othello guessing what Iago meant. Eventually, Othello becomes obsessed with finding out what Iago meant. Next, Iago warns Othello to not even think about the possible reasons Cassio and Desdemona were together. Of course, this only makes Othello think of the possible reasons. Nevertheless, Othello is persuaded by Iago not to go directly to Cassio or Desdemona, his wife. Consequently, he is unable to question either of them directly. Ironically, after Desdemona’s handkerchief is found in Cassio’s bedroom, Othello only trusts Iago. Yet, Maginn proclaims the handkerchief is very symbolic. He says,    “The handkerchief … relays emotions that could not be spoken; it enfolds as a text a series of messages which, due to departure, death or some other physical circumstance or social code could not be directly expressed. The handkerchief imparts its emotive message across a certain geographical or semantic distance: it waves or signals, it absorbs the tears of loss or it passes an illicit message” (45)Many critics have tried to decipher what the handkerchief represents. Some have come to the conclusion that it represents Desdemona’s fidelity to Othello.

Through Iago’s cunning scheme, he leads Othello to believe that he can only trust him. With his plan well underway, Iago now steers Othello in the way he wants him to go. Iago even reminds Othello that Desdemona is a liar and cannot be trusted. Iago says, “She did deceive her father, marrying you” (III. iii. 206). For the first time, Othello looks at the incident from a different perspective because he realizes that Desdemona did deceive her father in order to marry him. Othello really begins to speculate if Desdemona will deceive him as well.  At this point, Iago has changed Othello’s attitude towards his wife.

Iago’s character is very complex making it all the more terrifying. Although he is very cruel, he is just as brilliant. Nearly all the characters in the play refer to him as “Honest”, when in fact he is the most dishonest of them all. Nonetheless, he is quite honest with himself and his motives.  Iago acknowledges his flaws and uses those flaws to his advantage whenever possible.  For example, he knows that he is not a born leader. He says:

“We cannot all be masters,” yet he is able to use that to help himself (I.i.46).  “Others there are / Who trimm’d in forms and visages of duty, / Keep yet their hears attending on themselves, / And throwing but shows of service on their lords / Do well thrive by them, and when they have lined their coats / Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul, / And such a one do I profess myself” (I.i.52-58). 

He believes he services will eventually pay off in his favor.  He uses his servitude as a means to an end.   He knows that Othello has everything that he wants and if he must pretend to serve him in order to use what Othello has, he is willing to do that. However, by chance, if Othello were to lose his power and wealth, Iago would move on to someone else that would be beneficial to him.

In order to adequately analyze Iago’s character, Othello’s character must be examined in conjunction. Heilman does just that in his article titled Cold Reason Overcomes the Power of Love. In this article, Heilmans examines Othello and Desdemona’s love for one another.  He believes it is their love for one another that makes Iago deathly jealous because he is incapable of the same caliber of love. Iago’s view of love is different from Othello’s view. Iago sees love as a form of bewitching. It is something that he cannot control and therefore does not trust it. Frankly, Iago is incapable of love. Heilman says, “Good sense, hard sense, common sense, no nonsense, rationality—all these terms we may suppose, are ones which Iago might consider as defining his perspective” (183). Iago takes joy in creating chaos and is constantly thinking of ways to create more chaos. He uses something as simple as a handkerchief to create a twisted web of disaster for the characters. Yet, throughout the play Iago remains calm and stoic in the presence of the people he is deceiving.  Iago uses rationality and calmness to create chaos and irrationality. Although Iago feels he is inferior to Othello in power and control, he believes that he is far superior in wit and reason.  Symbolically, Iago’s wit is silenced by the end of the play when he refuses to speak.  His most powerful weapon, his voice, is silenced. He no longer will be able to use it to hurt anyone again. Yet, Desdemona’ speech after her deaths proves that love overcomes wit and reason, despite the tragedies they may cause. Heilman concludes by pointing out some of the similarities between Othello and Iago. He says:

“An inadequate selfhood that crops up in self-pity and an eye for slights and injuries, an un-criticized instinct to sooth one’s own feeling by punishing others (with an air of moral propriety), the need to possess in one’s own terms or destroy, an incapacity for love that is the other side of self-love”. (Heilman 180)

Here, Heilman is conveying that because Iago was not pleased with the person he was, he sought to destroy those that seemed to have everything he wanted.

Many critics consider Othello to be an extrovert, if this is accepted as true, Iago must be an Introvert. Accordingly, Jung believes that Iago has many qualities of an introvert. Jung says:

“He is easily mistrustful, self-willed often suffers from inferiority feeling and for this reason is also envious…He therefore suspects all kinds of bad motives, has an everlasting fear of making a fool of himself…for everything must be judged by his own critical standards. He often prefers to see the worst in people rather than their better qualities”. (109)

In respect to this description, Iago can be considered the complete opposite of Othello. Iago and Othello are completely different in this respect. Othello is overly obsessed with the image he portrays to people, while Iago is obsessed with making Othello’s faults visible to the public. However, Iago pulls Othello’s weaknesses out through the art of manipulation. Many critics have concluded that Iago is motiveless, but Jung points out that Iago is driven by jealousy and desire for power. Iago said,   In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp’d to him; and by the faith of man, I know my price, I am worth no worse a place”( 189  ) According to Jung, people with introverted personalities are easily made jealous. Clearly, Iago’s motive is jealous and resentment for being passed over for a position of power. However, Jung concludes that Iago’s jealousy is not the only factor that makes him an introvert.  Jung believes that Iago is suffering from feeling sexually inferior. At one point, Iago says that he suspects that Othello is being with his wife. It is unclear how he has come to this conclusion, but he alludes to feeling sexually inferior to Othello.  Iago says, “I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets (H’as) done my office. I know not if’t be true, But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, Will do as if for surety” (1.3.384-390). Here, the reader gets a glimpse into Iago’s mind.

Racial prejudice is prominent in Othello. From the very beginning when the play opens, Iago and Roderigo are using explicit racial terms to describe Othello. They call him “Barbary horse and thick lips”. Repeatedly, the other characters refer to Othello in terms that relate him to an animal or beast of some kind. They use racial language to define and describe Othello as an outsider of their society. In other words, they believe Othello is less of a human than they are and therefore deserves less respect and power than they have. These racial remarks cause Othello to internalize these remarks. In one instance, Othello even refers to himself in racial terms.  On a number of occasions he describes himself in similarly unflattering racial terms. Othello says,

“When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,
Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely, but too well;
Of one not easily jealous, but, being wrought,
Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued eyes
Albeit unused to the melting mood,
Drops tears as fast as the Arabian trees
Their medicinable gum. Set you down this.
And say besides that in Aleppo once,
Where a malignant and a turbaned Turk
Beat a Venetian and traduced the state,
I took by the throat the circumcised dog
And smote him—thus.” (341–56)

When Othello believes he has lost his control and power due to the unfaithfulness of Desdemona, he is outraged. He inadvertently becomes the sub-humans that the characters have been describing. Racism in 17^th century Venice was common place. African people were seen as being savage and wild. Likewise, many critics believe Shakespeare encountered pressure from society for including an African in his play as a main character and not an inferior sub-human. Both Iago and Roderigo paint a symbolic picture of him as inferior due to his physical appearance. Yet, Shakespeare portrays him as a gallant, military leader who is intelligent and well spoken. Yet early critics were even guilty of racism when critiquing the play. For example, Heilman points out:

“Now a good deal of trouble arises, I think, from a confusion of colour and contour. To a great many people the word “negro” suggests at once the picture of what they would call a “nigger,” the woolly hair, thick lips, round skull, blunt features, and burnt-cork blackness of the traditional nigger minstrel. Their subconscious generalization is … silly. … There are more races than one in Africa, and that a man is black in colour is no reason why he should, even to European eyes, look sub-human. One of the finest heads I have ever seen on any human being was that of a negro conductor on an American Pullman car. He had lips slightly thicker than an ordinary European’s, and he had somewhat curly hair; for the rest he had a long head, a magnificent forehead, a keenly chiselled nose, rather sunken cheeks, and his expression was grave, dignified and a trifle melancholy. He was coal-black, but he might have sat to a sculptor for a statue of Caesar, or, so far as appearance went, have played a superb Othello” (180).

Although many critics steered away from racism in Othello, this early critic obviously did not.

Iago motive for causing chaos is jealousy that stems from the desire to have power and control. Iago is the catalyst for all the chaos that takes place in the play. Although Othello views himself as an outsider, clearly he is an asset to his society. He is a skilled military man who has created power and wealth for himself through hard work and determination. Nevertheless, many odds are against Othello that he is unaware of. Most notoriously is Iago’s hatred of him. Othello is one of the first realistic tragedies of all times that affected everyday people. Racial prejudice is prominent in Othello. In order to adequately analyze Iago’s character, Othello’s character must be examined in conjunction because Iago’s plan may not have worked on any other character.

Bibliography

Mackenzie. Redfield, 1856. 155-170. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Mark W. Scott. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1987. Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Apr. 2015

Maginn, William. “Iago.” The Shakespeare Papers of the Late William Magin, LL.D. William Maginn. Ed. Shelton

Heilman, Robert B. “Othello: The Unheroic Tragic Hero.” A Casebook on Othello. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Thomas T. Crowell Co, 1961. 185-199.

Jacobsen, Ken. “Iago’s Art of War: The ‘Machiavellian Moment’ in Othello.” Modern Philology 106.3 (Feb. 2009): 497-529. Rpt. inShakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 139. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

Jung, Carl. The Undiscovered Self. Trans. R.F.C Hull. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1958. Print.