Iago's Soliloquies In Othello Analysis

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Samuel Taylor Coleridge once wrote that Iago’s soliloquies are the “motive-hunting of motiveless malignity”. Is this an accurate observation? Does Iago have a motive or motives for his hatred of Othello?

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare makes Iago the focus of the play as he gradually shows his hate for the title character. His two main motives are prominent both in the First act and the Second act with his incisive soliloquies. In Act 1, he believes that Othello slept with his wife Emilia and this seems to be the main motive for his calculated manipulation. But, we then see in Act 2, that he reiterates his real motivation for his plots against Othello. It seems that Iago has this deep-seated racism, which is apparent

just by looking at his references to Othello. He calls Othello a ‘Barbary horse’, ‘an old black ram’, or an ‘erring barbarian’. However, it seems that these motives are merely rationalisations and Iago’s plots against Othello are too damaging to be driven just by a rumour of an affair and that he sees the ruination of Othello as a game , an interpretation acknowledged by Harold Bloom who describes Iago as an “artist of evil”. This means that Iago is making up motives to mentally assure himself as he is carrying out this scheme for his own pleasure. Also, since Iago is presented as an intellectual opportunist, it seems it is illogical for him to have a motive. Therefore, Iago can be represented as Shakespeare’s typical ‘Vice’ figure. A stock character from medieval morality that plays like the “Everyman”. Shakespeare makes Iago the personification of immoral behaviour, he is seen to be as Coleridge says, “a being next to the Devil—only not quite Devil”.

Iago’s motive for his hatred towards Othello stems from the rumour that Othello slept with his wife Emilia. This is evident when he states in a soliloquy: “And it is thought abroad, that twixt my sheets/ He has done my office” (1.3.387-388). The word “Abroad” means “everywhere”, and Iago’s “office” (function) between his sheets is to have sex with his wife. This suggests that Iago is saying that everyone thinks that Othello is having an affair with his wife and this is seen to be his motive for his hatred and after this Iago’s first impulse is to try to corrupt Desdemona and thus get even with Othello as seen where he states: “Till I am even’d with him, wife for wife.” It seems that he uses Emilia as a tool for power and in the meantime he also wants to damage Othello’s life. We see his behaviour shift to a power-hungry Machiavellian willing to use devious plots to rise to hierarchy. This is a view much acknowledged by Professor Gordon McMullan who writes that “Iago is Shakespeare's best-known Machiavelli, yet he doesn't ever admit Machiavelli's influence,". This view of Iago as a Machiavelli in a Shakespearean play would cause great surprise amongst an Elizabethan audience due to the idea of an individual climbing the “Great chain of being” through using other people as a tool to carry out manipulation on others.

Iago’s second main motive for his manipulation of Othello is this deep-seated racism and prejudice he has for the title character.

This is seen with the various racial slurs Iago uses when talking about Othello. For example, Iago uses racist slurs when he wakens Brabantio with the news that his daughter, Desdemona (a white Venetian), has had a surprise marriage with Othello (an older, black man). When Iago says an "old black ram" (Othello) is "tupping your white ewe" (Desdemona) to Brabantio, it suggests that Othello is almost animal-like and is seen to be this hypersexual person. This highlights the racial stereotype that Iago associates with Othello. Also, the fact that Iago described Othello as a “devil” in (1.1.97-101) and how Iago continually uses racial stereotypes to describe Othello shows us how Shakespeare presents racial prejudice in Elizabethan England. He is presenting the notion that black men were evil and that the devil often took the shape and form of a black man. This was an idea spoken about in Reginald Scott’s famous 1584 book, The Discovery of Witchcraft: "Bodin alloweth (allowed) the divell (devil) the shape of a black Moore, and as he saith (said), he used to appear to Mawd Cruse, Kate Darey, and Jon Harviller." A view of this nature would have been normal to an Elizabethan audience as prejudice to this level wouldn't have been as shocking or disturbing as in The Elizabethan era people of a different race were seen as the

‘other’.

However, it could be argued that Iago has no real motives for his hatred towards Othello.

This is because his plots against Othello are too destructive to Othello’s life and a motive of an affair to be the main driving force of this seems counterintuitive, especially that as we go on throughout the play, the rumour that Othello had an affair with Iago is proven to be false and almost ‘made up’. This is evident when Iago says, “I know not if't be true; / But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, / Will do as if for surety" (1.3.388-390). This suggests that Iago could be plotting against Othello as he shows a much more psychopathic and evil stance as he would invent other motives or believe false accusations to provide the framework for the devious problems he is creating. This is because the rest of the play makes it clear that this affair is not true; Othello and Iago's wife are not even vaguely interested in one another and it seems Iago is the only one to believe otherwise. Iago is lying to us and he knows it, but that doesn't change his attitude towards Othello. To Iago, the destruction of Othello is a game as seen where he calls this “…….a pleasure, to me a sport” once again enhancing this idea of Iago being this psychopath that is pure evil. A view similar to that of William Robertson Turnbull, who writes that, “Iago has no conscience, no ability to perform good deeds. Iago is a psychopath, and is not capable of forming affectionate relationships or feeling guilt and

concern over his behaviour”. Although this is very true, William Hazlitt writes that, "Iago is an extreme instance . . . of diseased intellectual activity, with the most perfect indifference to moral good or evil”. Although both views of Iago are accurate, I believe that Iago is a complete psychopath who sees his plot as a fiendish game and cannot possess any sort a motive for these evil actions. This view would cause great shock amongst an Elizabethan audience due to the pure “evil” Iago had in him and his pleasure in other people’s downfalls.

Furthermore, as Iago is presented as an intellectual opportunist it seems illogical for him to possess a motive. This can be seen in Act 2, upon asking Cassio to join him in a drink to Othello’s health, Cassio tells us that he has ‘poor and unhappy brains for drinking.’(Act 2, scene 3, line 30). At this point Iago initiates in one of his revealing soliloquies and tells of his plan. He intends to cause the drunken Cassio and the love sickened Roderigo to start a fight. In doing so will disturb the peace, causing Cassio to be shamed in front of Othello. This shows Iago’s opportunist nature as it highlights clearly how he took on these events and used it in tandem with his set plan to for fill his devilish scheme. This ultimately shows how Iago is motiveless as he does not have a set plan and uses things he acquires suddenly to form a scheme against Othello.

To conclude, In Shakespeare’s Othello, we see that Iago has listed many motives for his cold and destructive manipulation for Othello, the two main including the rumour that Othello slept with his wife Emilia and also the racial prejudice he seems to have for Othello as we see throughout the play. However, it seems that it seems that it is impossible to have a motive due to his opportunistic nature and the belief that he is psychopathic and pure evil. On balance, it could be argued that Iago can be represented as Shakespeare’s allegorical vice character. Iago is a personification of evil and immoral behaviour in a Shakespeare morality play. His appearance in this morality play was not to just be completely evil but the way he manipulated Othello to carry out his devious plan. This turmoil resulted in our hero being tempted, choosing poorly, and finally realizing his sins. Othello asks Cassio for forgiveness. "I do believe it, and I ask your pardon" (V.ii.352). The play ends with our fallen hero and the audience learning a moral lesson taught by the vice-filled antagonist.