How is Iago presented in Act 1 of William Shakepeare's play Othello

        Iago is portrayed as the perfect villain. He is evil and spiteful, yet at the same time he is extremely clever and cunning. On scene, he would be seen as sly, always hiding in the shadows or bursting into light, whenever appropriate. He is a very versatile character, one that can seem gentlemanly at times and at other times, he is a rogue. Most importantly, he has a position that is vital to the plot; he is very close to Othello.

        Iago despises Othello and shows it at many occasions in the first act. Because of Othello’s origin, Iago is racist and often refers to him as “the Moor”, or “his Moorship”. He is also sexually grotesque when referring to Othello and Desdemona. He tells Brabantio in scene 1 that “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe.” He also calls his master “the devil” and “a Barbary horse”.

        Although Iago is hateful, he is also extremely clever and we can see this from what he says and does. For example, when shouting to Brabantio in scene 1, Iago hides himself in the shadows so that Brabantio doesn’t know who it is because if he did know it was Iago, he would not trust what he is saying about Desdemona, his daughter. Iago constantly speaks in a clever manner as well, showing off his knowledge about many things (for example plants from line 313 to 324), but also speaking in an eloquent way, using techniques such as metaphors even though they are often grotesque. Such metaphors are ‘this monstrous birth”, describing his revenge, and “making the beast with two backs”, describing Othello and Desdemona having sex.

Iago’s soliloquy at the end of the act is very important. Not only does it show some more of his cleverness and character but also introduces us to the revenge that he has cooked up. He first explains in the line “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse” that he has been using Roderigo for his own good; he is not really helping him at all. Then he talks his thoughts explaining what he needs to take into account when planning his cunning revenge. He talks of Othello’s familiarity with his wife, his character, his own position in relation to Othello and others.

Thus Iago is portrayed as the ideal villain and essential character by William Shakespeare. He is conveyed as a character that will play a vital role in the rest of the play.