Iago is the ultimate stage villain - calculating, manipulative, clever and ruthless.
To what extent do you agree do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer relevant comment on shakespeare dramatic methods.
In the play, it is clear that Iago is the ultimate stage villain. He is calculating, manipulative cunning and ruthless. Throughout the play, he spends the majority of his time plotting against Othello and Desdemona to bring them to their tragic downfall. This exposes his calculating and ruthless behavior hence the great amount of time and effort he puts into causing pain and misery for others. With no substantial reason behind his actions, Iago is the evil force behind the plot. In the sixteenth century, at the time of the play, Othello would have suffered great racism which is shown in the play when he’s referred to as the ‘moor’. Iago uses this social isolation that Othello would have experienced to play on his emotions and manipulate othello into believing an abundance of lies. However, it is also possible to argue that Iago is not the ultimate stage villain, but in fact, an opportunist who is able to be successful, due to Othello’s gullibility and lack of self esteem.
It is true that throughout the play, Iago could be seen as a Machiavellian, and therefore, the the ultimate stage villain. He appears to have no conscience when constructing lies which will eventually cause devastation for a number of people. His lack of a conscience is suggested when the audience hears one of the incompatible reasons behind his actions. He states ‘i hate the moor, and it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets’. Here, Shakespeare presents one of Iago’s ‘motives’, he ‘thinks’ that Othello has slept with his wife, yet he has no real evidence behind this claim. At another point in the play the audience hear’s of how Iago is annoyed over a promotion that Cassio got over him. To an audience, it is clear that both of these reasons do not excuse how Iago goes on to act, which consequently suggests that Iago is purely evil. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes Iago’s behavior as ‘motiveless malignity’ which furthermore indicates that his actions come from a much darker place in Iago’s being. By describing Othello as motiveless, Coleridge is supporting him as the ‘ultimate stage villain’. The word ‘motiveless’ epitomizes how Iago's has a sheer love of exerting power on people and feeling control at the expense of others. This may demonstrate how ruthless Iago is because his only true ‘motive’ is the pleasure he experiences from causing people pain.
Iago manipulative and calculating ways are possibly what makes him so villainous. Shakespeare presents Iago as carefully constructing an image of himself as truthful and honest to Othello and the other characters, which leads to Othello believing his lies. Iago plays this role convincingly to a great extent and othello even describes Iago as ‘honest iago’. Shakespeare's presentation of Iago declaring how he shall ‘wear (his) heart on (his) sleeve’ enlightens the audience by demonstrating how deceitful he is by claiming to be honest, when he really is plotting against Othello. Iago claims he will be honest with his emotions yet this is another carefully considered statement to subconsciously make Othello trust him. Shakespeare uses asides to demonstrate his manipulating qualities, such as when Iago says ‘I will give thee in thine own courtship’ after witnessing Cassio and Desdemona holding hands. This demonstrates how cunning Iago is as he is planning to manipulate an innocent situation into a plot which will lead to the deaths of numerous characters.
Shakespeare presents Iago as an clever character through his use of language. Iago speaks in both verse and prose which shows his great level of social awareness, that he takes advantage of. Iago speaks in prose to Cassio to gain his trust. Shakespeare would use prose for when soldiers converse in the play as a means for them to hide their feelings, as prose is less sincere than verse. However, This is a clever use of language because it indicates that Iago is able to select the best way to speak to characters to achieve a goal. He says to Cassio ‘confess yourself freely to her. Importune her to put you in your place again’ when trying to manipulate Cassio to go and speak to Desdemona. Prose would be the most suitable way to manipulate Cassio because he would feel most comfortable speaking in prose due to his career.
Characters who spoke in verse would often do so using the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter would suggest to the audience that what’s being said was honest and trustworthy because of the connection between the sound of the rhythm and the sound of a beating heart which indicates what’s being said is ‘coming from the heart’ and therefore honest. As well as speaking in prose, Iago also speaks in verse, he says to Othello ‘O, beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on’. This supports how dishonest and intelligent Iago is because using verse here would manipulate Othello into believing that Iago is really trying to warn him about jealousy being dangerous. Shakespeare creates a sense of irony when Iago speaks in the way because it would not be expected for a deceitful character to speak in verse and it also creates the impression he has remarkable insight into how others will receive him which furthermore highlights his intelligence.Shakespeare also uses language to create a hierarchy between the characters. It is clear that Iago, although of a lower social class, holds more power than Rodrigo. Iago often refers to Rodrigo as a ‘fool’ in his soliloquies which implies that he views himself superior to Rodrigo. This may be due to Iago’s use of language being much more advanced than any of the other characters in the play which highlights his intelligence which supports him being seen as the ultimate villain.
However, it is also true that Iago is not ‘the ultimate stage villain’ and it may be interpreted that only reason he is so successful, is due to Othello’s flawed traits. Throughout the play, the audience are presented with Othello low self esteem, He declares ‘haply for i am black, and have not those soft parts of conversation’, here shakespeare exposes how Othello feels he is not able to speak romantically to Desdemona which causes him great insecurity. This insecurity makes Othello an easy target for Iago to breed jealousy and therefore suggests that Iago is not the ultimate stage victim, but actually an opportunist. Shakespeare also presents Othello as a gullible n, he rarely asks for proof and when he does so, he still fails to question how reliable the information actually is. He states how ‘Iago knows that she with Cassio’, however, there is no substantial proof behind his claims. This indicates that Iago is not the ultimate stage villain because it is implied that the tragic fait of Othello may have been different if his character had been less guidable.
To conclude, Iago is the ultimate stage villain due to his manipulative, cunning, clever and ruthless ways. He is both a machiavellian who maliciously plots against Othello and Desdemona and also an opportunist who uses Othello's flaws to bring him down. This therefore makes Iago the most dangerous of villains.
