Iago’s soliloquies and asides play an important role in the play. Iago describes his true intentions and uses very strong, vicious language, “Though I do hate him as I do hell-pains.” These private, one-way conversations with the audience allow us into his thoughts and give us an insight into his cruel intentions. They are very important to the audience as Iago expresses his true thoughts and we see what he is truly like through his fiery language, such as “hell and night” or “monstrous birth.” Language of this sort is later reflected in Othello’s speeches after the antagonist, Iago, has twisted his mind. When conversing with others, Iago’s language at times seems sexual and distasteful. For instance, when talking about Desdemona with Cassio, he describes her as “full of game,” which means sexually responsive and he says her voice sounds a “parley to provocation.” If Othello heard Iago speaking like this he would surely be outraged as Othello only uses delicate and respectful language to describe women: “If it were now to die, ‘Twere now to be most happy.” Othello’s language is laced with beautiful imagery and poetry as seen when describing his love of Desdemona to the Duke, “Of feathered cupid seel with wanton dullness.” But as Iago succeeded in turning the moor’s mind, the language used by Othello clearly reflects Iago’s misogynistic nature. When confronting Desdemona, Othello calls her “…that cunning whore of Venice” and even results to hitting her. Iago’s distasteful language is now planted in Othello’s mind, “I’d rather be a toad.” His language worsens the further the play progresses when he is convinced that Desdemona is unfaithful, he enters a state of turmoil, “I’ll tear her all to pieces!” The dramatic change in Othello’s language and character is due to Iago’s deceitful lies.
However separate Othello and Iago may be, in some way they make up a collaborating partnership. Although they are both highly delineated characters, their strengths and weakness fit each other perfectly. The huge passion of the dramatic events, such as the deaths of Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo and the fallen handkerchief are the product of two men almost acting in concert. By the end, they seem to constitute one collective man with two separate minds working in unity. This is shown through Othello’s changing language that was once so pure and sweet, but by the end, is so bitter and incensed; such is the influence of Iago.
Iago finds his way into Othello's trust and his mind; their paths become parallel, then one. By the middle of Act 3, when Iago's poison is clearly working and Othello's mind has turned, the dialogues between the two are often so rapid that they could be enacted as the expansive thoughts of a single mind at war with itself. Othello is thinking the worst, calling for blood and disregarding all pretences of reflection, which is a total contrast to his former self. After finding out the false truth, Othello seemed to have become the master of taking things to the extreme, “O, blood, blood, blood!” and becomes equally good at making rash decisions, “That Cassio’s not alive.”
The relationship between Othello and Iago is at its most crucial in Act 3 scene 3, in which Iago convinces Othello of the affair between Cassio and Desdemona. This scene dramatically highlights Iago’s status in the relationship between himself and Othello. At first, he exploits Othello’s insecurity by planting a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind after seeing Cassio innocently walking away, “Ha! I like not that.”
G. Salgado describes this innocent-seeming half-line as ‘the first poisonous drop in the hellish brew concocted by Iago.’ Immediately Othello inquires into what he means and Othello’s insecurities shine through. Iago manages to establish his mastery and Othello fast becomes the underdog. The unerring trust that Othello has in Iago is vital in their relationship as it enables Iago to work his witchcraft without fear of getting found out. Iago plays on meaningless trivial incidents to rouse Othello’s suspicion of Desdemona. It doesn’t matter what people actually do, but what others think they have done and this is precisely how Iago traps Othello.
Iago’s methods when twisting Othello’s mind highlights his status in the relationship between the pair. He starts with a question, which apparently has little importance, “Did Michael Cassio…..know of your love?” but which is deliberately given heavy significance by Iago’s reaction to the reply, “Indeed?” He is provoking Othello into a reaction by deliberately appearing to be holding information back. His second ploy if to feign reluctance to give a straight answer, which he does by irritatingly echoing Othello’s questions, “Honest, my Lord? ...Think, my Lord?” We have seen previously that Othello hates evasions and once again Iago is playing on his weaknesses, which again demonstrates Iago’s control. Iago suggests his words carefully: “No further harm,” for example, might imply that there must be some ‘harm’ to begin with. All this has the desired effect of suggesting to Othello that there is a “monster” in Iago’s thought that is “Too hideous to be shown.” These discreet and subtle methods of corruption work perfectly in favour of Iago as Othello barely takes a moment thought to consider the situation as he immediately acts irrationally. Othello’s gullibility suggests that he trusts “honest Iago” more than his true love and wife, Desdemona. Othello is tricked into thinking that everything is too perfect with his wife and there must be a catch. He might think that Iago understands how he feels being an outsider so he inevitably trusts him even more. At the end of Act 3, Iago is utterly dominant and has complete power over Othello. Othello is Iago’s puppet. Their relationship is at its most strongest and destructive. Iago is now the only person that Othello trusts, but the irony is that he has been the only person to betray him.
Othello’s trust in Iago is highlighted in the sense that he only asks for proof of the affair once, “Give me a living reason she’s disloyal.” Of course, Iago has no proof so he makes up more lies by proclaiming that he heard Cassio dreaming about Desdemona, “In sleep I heard him say, Sweet Desdemona.” Othello inevitably believes his words at once and enters a state of mental turmoil. Further ‘evidence’ is provided in the handkerchief but because Othello is in such a rage, he falls into that trap instantly. Over the duration of the play, Othello only questions Iago once or twice and he fails to recognise that Iago is the only person to spot the alleged affair. Despite being honest, kind and noble, Othello, to a degree, is quite self-involved. He thinks Desdemona had an affair partly due to the how the Venetian women behave, but mostly because of his unchangeable traits, like the colour of his skin. As F.R Leavis said, ‘the essential traitor lies within the gates,” and this is very much the case with Othello. He chose to believe Iago over his wife, Cassio and Emilia. Iago is just the catalyst in the experiment, whereas Othello is the potion. To clarify, Othello did not need to believe Iago. In fact, although the execution of plan forwarded by Iago is carried out cleverly, Othello may have fallen into a similar state if a total stranger had pointed out these fake happenings; such is the state of his insecurities.
When Othello first contemplates killing Desdemona, thanking Iago by saying “Now art thou my lieutenant'', with Iago responding, “I am your own forever,” there is a strong sense of being bound together, not just by duty but something far more elemental. They appear to be stranded on the same emotional wavelength whilst fully understanding each other. This is possibly why Othello so readily accepts Iago's urgings: the devil within - the fatally insecure side of Othello's mind. This devil is persuading Othello to do the wrong thing because of what he fears will happen if he does nothing. Iago has the ability to trigger this inner-devil, which is perhaps why they share a unique understanding, and the reason why Othello trusts Iago more than he trusts his wife. Othello listens to the monster inside of him that’s triggered by Iago, just as much as he listens to Iago himself, “Heaven truly knows that thou art as false as hell.”
Othello may be the hired gun of the Venetian ruling class, and he may be respected, but he is not accepted. At the start Desdemona's father is convinced that his daughter has been duped and seduced by use of magical charms or black magic, “She is abused… By spells and medicines,” as she could never willingly marry a Moor. Roderigo refers to him as “the thicklips'” and Iago constantly suggests to him that he is naive about the ways of Venetian women and Venetian society at large. Othello is an outsider and he has an outsider's insecurities. On one level Iago is playing on those insecurities; on another, Iago is that devilish part of Othello's mind that houses those insecurities. Their dialogues in the later scenes of the play reflect the lack of stability of someone who has lived too long in his own mind, and whose sense of reality and actuality has become almost completely internal.
The extraordinary relationship that exists between the traumatic, noble moor and the cunning, deceitful misogynist finally collapses after Iago’s villainous plot is revealed, albeit after Othello has murdered his wife. He eventually stabs Iago, leaving him wounded but not dead and describes him as a “demi-devil.” After subsequently stabbing himself, he falls down on Desdemona and dies. The once powerful, poetic leader of men has fallen into a world of agony and turmoil due to a unique relationship with a villainous “Spartan dog.” To some extent, it is possible that Iago is not even necessary in those final scenes for the tragedy to take place due to the inhuman emotional state that Othello was sustaining. Even at the end of the play, Iago holds the power by refusing to give Othello any reasons for his evilness, “I bleed sir, but not killed.” This shows the almost unimaginable effect that Iago must have had on his mind, and Othello, by this stage of the play, would be quite capable of creating his own Iago if the real one were suddenly to withdraw.
