Iago constantly tries to give Roderigo hope that he will have her in the end; “she is sated with his body she will find the error of her choice: she must have change, she must.” Iago’s view on love is again made clear; he thinks love will eventually burn out, it is not love Desdemona has for Othello so she will eventually become undesirable to him.
In Iago’s speech to Roderigo, he constantly makes the remark “put money in thy purse”, this gives a great effect and empahasis. The word “money” is mentioned eleven times when talking to Roderigo. Iago does this in one sense to emphasise the stupidity of Roderigo who eventually answers “I am changed. I’ll sell my land.” He hasn’t learnt that Iago is cheating him and he also hasn’t leanrt from his mistake that we learnt at the beginning of the Act. Iago has failed to achieve what Roderigo paid him to do; to get Desdemona to wed him. This just emphasises how weak and desparate Roderigo is. It also empahsises that Iago is a cleaver and manipulative man who can easily twist things. Iago’s repetive urge of “put money in thy purse” shows his prioty in money and he ties his friendship with money.
Iago shows his power and intelligence of being a lier; “thou art sure of me” this dramatic irony in which the audience know Iago is not what he seems. He is very persuasive to Roderigo and tires his best to prove his hate for “the Moor”. Iago’s hate for Othello are deep felt emotions; “My cause is hearted”.
The very horror of Iago is that he has less passion than an ordinary manand yet he does these frightful things. The only ground for attributing to him, not a passionate hatred, but anything deserving the name hatred at all, is his own statement, ‘I hate Othello’: but we know what his statement are worth.
Iago is “ponding his design, and unconsciously trying to justify it to himself.” He speaks of one or two real feelings, such as resentment against Othello, and he mentions one or two real causes of these feelings. But these are not enough for him. Along with them, or alone, there come into his head, only to leave it again, ideas and suspictions, the creations of his own bareness or uneasiness, some old, some new caressed for a moment to feed his purpose and give it a reasonable look, but never really believed in in, and never the main forces which are determining his action. “Iago in the siloquies is a man setting out on a project which strongly attracts his desire, but at the same time conscious of a resistance to the desire, and unconsciously trying to argue the resistance away by assigning reason for the project.” He is the counterpart of Hamlet, who tries to find reasons for his delay in pursing a design which excites his aversion
Throughout, Iago’s motivies revolve around the twin poles of greed and envy.
Now that Roderigo has exited, the audience have a first glimpse of the real Iago and his inner thoughts; we have not yet seen the real Iago
When Roderigo exists Iago changes once again from being a different man to whom he is with Othello and when he is with Roderigo alone. He becomes a spiteful little man who mocks, who we believe to be his friend, Roderigo.
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse;
For I mine own gained knowledge should profane.
If I would time expend with such a snipe, but for my sport and profit.”
These lines simply mean that he would not normally waste his time with such a fool as Roderigo, other than for his own gain and profit. And gain and profit he does, he gains Roderigo’s trust at the same time as making a profit by keeping the gifts Roderigo has works hard to buy for Desdemona.
“I hate the Moor” is the next words spoken, and this plainly reinforces to the audience that he is very angry with Othello and actually loathes him. This is not the first time he has expressed his hatred for Othello, but it is the first time he has done so and have nothing to gain by saying it, for example when he says it just to gain the trust of others when in actuality he despises Othello for the better life he has been handed. Iago also talks about the fact that it is generally believed that the moor has slept with his wife, in reality this is untrue and just a rumour. Iago “not know if it be true” but will “act as if it was for surety”. This also gives Iago yet another motive for his ill-famed deeds.
Shakespeare creates this Iago character as a man who likes no-one and perfers his own company and likes to cheat everyone He is portrayed by every character as being an honest and trustworthy person. Yet, as the audience is well informed by this stage, especially after the soliloquy, he appears to be quite the opposite. He’s a two faced character, honest and kind on the outside, but seemingly evil on the inside. He is a different person to different people, he doesn’t seem to have any care for Roderigo, and uses him to “go, make money” so Iago can profit. He associates with Roderigo for his own selfish motives, not because he feels any affinity with him.
“I hate the Moor”; this simpicity yet complex in meaning commet from Iago makes us question to whether he is telling the truth or lying.
He declares that he hates the Moor and will have his revenge on him through Cassio. He advises the audience that he will bring Cassio into the plot by saying, “Cassio’s a proper man: let me see now; to get his place, in double knavery.” He is suggesting here that he will undermine Cassio’s position so that he will lose his office, but he will also use Cassio in order to bring down Othello by concocting lies “to abuse Othello’s ear.” He acknowledges that Othello “is of a free and open nature that thinks men honest that but seem to be so”. In other words, he is too naïve. The soliloquy ends by him saying that he “must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” This shows that he is totally evil. He regards this manipulation of people and their lives as a game.
Iago also proudly boasts that he has a great talent for spotting the weaknesses of others.
We see Iago as inherently evil and there are associations of him with the images of hell and the devil. In his soliloquy, he outlines his intentions when he says “Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” It also seems that he revels in the fact that he is dishonest and malevolent. He even vows to make Desdemona’s life a living hell and promises to wreak vengeance on her.
In the soliloquy, Iago introduces a second motive for his hatred of Othello; he says that it is common gossip that the Moor “'twixt my sheets … [has] done my office” and, for Iago, “mere suspicion … will do … for surety”. It need hardly be pointed out here that we are listening to a man whose mind is poisoned. There is not the slightest bit of evidence anywhere in this play to indicate that Othello has had an affair with Emilia. Iago also reveals his next malicious plan of action. Aware that Othello trusts him, he will convince the Moor that Cassio is “too familiar” with Desdemona. Othello, he says, “is of a free and open nature”; precisely, in Iago’s words, Othello is an “ass”—naive, in other words, and we recall that Othello himself has already admitted that he knows “little of this great world … [except that which] pertains to feats of broils and battle”. In the final couplet, which contains the reference to “hell and night” and to “monstrous birth”, we sense Iago rubbing his hands in glee; we see all too clearly the unnaturalness and the diabolical elements of his plans to destroy the union of Othello and Desdemona. By referring to hell, night and monstrous he is saying that this will be the start of something truly evil. In Iago's soliloquy, it is obvious that he cares little about anyone or anything except destroying Othello. Iago also reveals the reason that he ahs anything to do with Rodrigo and his future plan to destroy both Cassio and Othello.
Iago's soliloquy is very revealing, and effectively shows that he isn't honest at all, but a manipulative and vengeful person.
Much has happened in this scene. The pace has accelerated due to the military developments and Iago’s scheming.
The themes that are involved in this play are as of yet not established, this being so early in the play and one of the first of many soliloquies. But what we have seen so far from Iago is merely just the beginning of the lies and deceit implicit in the remainder of the play.