I also feel that most literary villains are immoral. In each case each character has feelings of guilt or a sign of remorse. In Macbeth’s case this is made most obvious. After cold-bloodedly having his best friend, Banquo, murdered, Macbeth’s guilty conscience builds. His guiltiness and regret is built up to such an extent that he starts to hallucinate.
What could be argued, as the greatest and most infamous literary villain of all time is the Devil. He is seen as the supreme form of evil and any kind of villain is seen to be his incarnate. He also has the trait of a traditional villain, as he is jealous of the power of God. He is also sly and manipulative as it could be said that he uses the souls of mortals to do his wrongdoings on Earth.
Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book in 1505 titled ‘The Prince’. It described the ways in which people ruled, from this Machiavellian characters were formed, whereby they were deceitful, manipulative liars. A dictionary definition for Machiavellis is that they ‘are practised liars and cruel political opportunists who delight in their own manipulative evil’. Iago can also be described as a clear defined Machiavelli character as he represents all those aspects and traits.
As I’ve previously said in most literary stories, jealousy seems to be the inner source of the problem. By using Iago, Shakespeare has shown just how powerful jealousy really is. Despite seeming impermeable to negative emotions such as jealousy, the opposite seems to happen. Iago can’t believe that he hasn’t been promoted. Instead, Othello has made Cassio his lieutenant. Iago fits the definition of jealousy as ‘he’s in a state of revenge due to competition’ (as defined by Collins English dictionary). Iago is determined to be vindictive towards Othello for ignoring his experience and choosing a man, who in Iago’s eyes has little practical experience of battle.
“That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More then a spinster.” So even from the opening scene we can see that Iago is intent on the destruction of Othello and the first obvious reason is jealousy.
Iago’s second reason for wanting to destroy Othello is that he believes he has cuckolded him, yet he has no proof.
“I hate the Moor….
He’s done my office. I know not if’t be true,
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do, as if for surety.”
Iago also seems to be a racist and a misogynist. He rarely uses Othello’s name but refers to him as “the Moor” or worse names such as a “black ram”, reducing Othello to the status of an animal. He also shows no respect to women. Iago treats Desdemona, a high merited Venetian woman, with disrespect and treats his wife Emilia as if she is an inferior. He calls her “a foolish wife”, and when she gives him Desdemona’s handkerchief, which he’s been harassing her for he says,
“a good wench, give it me.” From these remarks Iago is seen as a chauvinist who lacks all kinds of respect for women. Throughout the play he speaks to her and the various other female characters – such as Bianca – in a rude and discourteous manner. Iago constantly lies to Emilia and in the end receives his justice as she is the one who exposes his plans. In fact Emilia seems to have been the only character to question there being a villain amongst them. When speaking to Desdemona and Iago about who has planted thoughts of Desdemona cheating on Othello into his head she says:
“I will be hang’d, if some eternal villain,
Some busy and insinuating rogue,
Some cogging, cozening slave to get some office,
Have not devis’d this slander: I will be hang’d else.” Knowing that she is speaking of him, Iago abruptly reacts
“Fie, there is no such man : it is impossible.” Iago’s ability to say the right thing at the right time is what makes him so successful.
An alternative interpretation of Iago’s reasons for wanting to destroy Othello is that Iago is homosexual and is in love with Othello. As evidence for this interpretation there is Iago’s wife Emilia, who is portrayed as being quite masculine. He also shows a lack of respect and love for her, which could be seen as ignorance towards her (because of his love for Othello). He also shows his infamous trait of jealousy, however this time towards Desdemona and Othello’s perpetual love. It is obvious to Iago that Othello is in love with Desdemona, and therefore cannot love him. Also when Iago is explaining Desdemona’s infidelity, he reassures his honesty by saying to Othello,
“My Lord, you know I love you.”
The last indication that Iago has homoerotic tendencies is his account of Cassio’s dreaming.
“would he gripe and wring my hand,
Cry 'O sweet creature!' and then kiss me hard,
As if he pluck'd up kisses by the roots
That grew upon my lips: then laid his leg
Over my thigh, and sigh'd, and kiss'd”
The way he descriptively explains this fictional occurrence, it is believable that he has felt these fantasies about other men. However, this is an interpretation, which Shakespeare provides as to make Iago a complex character to understand.
Shakespeare starts the play as a comedy script, with the misfortunes of Roderigo and Iago. He does this as (at this time in Elizabethan theatre) the audience knew what to expect from a comic play, a story of love with a twist in the plot, which somehow concludes with a happy ending. So by presenting the audience with comedy in the opening of the play he achieves more emotion and sentiment, as the audience don’t expect such a tragic end.
Throughout the play are extreme examples of dramatic irony. As quoted from an Othello study guide, “This opening scene is laced with dramatic irony, all of which centres on Iago.” Shakespeare uses this dramatic irony, to enable the audience a full view of all the deceit and dishonour portrayed in the play. Roderigo is blind to see that after all this time and money Iago still hasn’t attempted to get him what he wanted – Desdemona. Yet through Iago’s spontaneous thinking and wit Roderigo still goes along with his plans. Iago even confesses to only doing things for himself.
“Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself.
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty”. He even confesses to being a fraud and untruthful, “I am not what I am.” This proves how smart Iago is as he’s revealed himself very early and it’s fascinating to see that the other characters ignore this and still remain to be manipulated by him.
Within the play Iago is given the title “honest Iago”. Many times it’s Othello who uses this phrase, which is most ironic as its Othello whom Iago is trying to devastate. Othello holds Iago to be his closest friend and advisor. He believes Iago to be a person “of exceeding honesty”. Othello trusts Iago more than anyone, even the woman he loves. Iago tricks Othello into believing his wife is having an affair without any evidence. Othello is so caught up in Iago’s lies that he refuses to even let Desdemona deny her case. He uses the trust Othello puts into him to turn Othello into a jealous man.
Being as intelligent as he is Iago is quick to recognise the advantages of trust and uses people as a pawn to forward himself. Trust is a powerful emotion which is easily abused. Iago is the master of deceit. During the play the characters rarely stop to consider that Iago may be manipulating them. Iago is also an excellent judge of character. He uses this ability to his advantage in the way that he is going to manipulate people. For instance he realises Othello’s undying love for Desdemona, and uses this to play with Othello’s emotion to his great benefit. I feel it would be fair to say that all the characters fall victim to Iago.
From the start Iago takes advantage of Roderigo, making a fool of him. Roderigo remarks
“That thou Iago who hast had my purse,
As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this.”
Iago manages to escape from these accusations by saying that he “hates the Moor.” By declaring he hates Othello, he’s able to keep Roderigo’s trust and money, as Roderigo shares a hate for Othello – because he loves Desdemona. Act four, scene two; once Roderigo is entirely bankrupt he once again questions Iago’s honesty. He says “I think it is getting a bit scurvy and begin to find himself fopped in it”. Iago instantly offers to kill Cassio to aid his course, and Roderigo unwittingly gets drawn into it. This again shows how good a thinker Iago is and how he improvises when something unexpected happens. For a villain to have such hidden skills who controls all of those within the play, it makes it more interesting.
Cassio is also fooled by Iago’s plans to get vengeance. Cassio gullibly believes that Iago was trying to help him when he said, that Desdemona could help him get his job back. Iago says
“Confess yourself freely to her: Importune her
help to put you in your place again.”
But unaware to Cassio this is just aiding Iago to destroy Cassio’s reputation further. Cassio answers,
“You advise me well.” Yet the audience know this is untrue. At this point in the play Iago has already planned Cassio’s downfall. From when Cassio takes hold of Desdemona’s hand just before Othello’s arrival, Iago says “with as little a web as this will ensure as great a fly as Cassio.” Showing his ability to take advantage of situations as they arise.
No worse is the effect of manipulation, than with Othello. At first Othello is a much-respected soldier, yet by the end Iago has managed to fill his mind with thoughts of jealousy and rage, which lead him to murder the one he loves. Some people however feel Othello is to blame for his downfall and Iago is merely a catalyst who speeds up the process. These essays state that because Othello is so inexperienced in love, any slight problem (such as thoughts of jealousy) will greatly affect Othello. Because of this lack of experience and due to Iago’s lies, Desdemona falls victim and pays the price with her life. She had done nothing wrong and, remarkably, Iago showed no sign of remorse not even in any soliloquy, which seems to show that Iago has no conscience.
Iago manages to steal from his friends without the feeling of guilt. He also has little mercy of the lives of Roderigo, Desdemona or even his own wife Emilia. He has no guilty conscience over his actions and in some ways tries to make the situation worse. This can be seen when Othello is explaining that he will poison Desdemona for cuckolding him, and Iago suggests,
“Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed,
Even the bed she hath contaminated.” When he knows very well Desdemona is innocent and shows no remorse.
In my opinion I would say that Iago does not conform to the tradition of literary villains. This is because I believe villains are immoral. They all seem to know what they’re doing is wrong, yet are still content to destroy the hero or heroine. I consider Iago as being amoral. He doesn’t seem to realise what he’s doing is unethical and that he is destroying the lives of all those around him.
Iago’s lack of emotion and conscience proves that he is amoral. In today’s terms he may be described as a psychopath, which is defined as a ‘mentally ill person who behaves violently without felling guilt.’ Iago’s amorality makes him more ruthless and dangerous in comparison to the traditional immoral villain. Only Iago’s jealousy and his thirst for power made him continue and ultimately lead to his failure.
Study of Shakespeare
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