Shakespeare's Most Terrifying Villain: Iago

Iago is asserts himself as the villain early and continuously throughout Othello. He is a very frightening character because he never reveals any of his motivations for his actions. In the opening scene Iago proclaims his hate for Othello because Othello did not select him as his lieutenant. Then in Act I, scene iii Iago claims that he believes Othello slept with his wife (I.iii.369-370). He revisits this once more in Act II, scene i, saying how he wants to get even with Othello “wife for wife” (II.i.286), even though this is never proven to be true. These accusations provide the audience little insight into Iago’s true reasons for his deep hatred of Othello, making him an unpredictable and terrifying villain.

He does not let Othello know of his hatred towards him. Iago is called “honest” by most of the characters in the play, but he is actually scheming and deceitful. He uses his ability to manipulate people in order to appear honest, so the characters continue to believe everything he has to say. Iago convinces Roderigo that Cassio is secretly attempting to woo Desdemona, evidenced when he took her by the hand and led her away to talk privately (II.i169). In a soliloquy at the end of the scene, Iago tells the audience that he is also in love with Desdemona, not out of lust, but to get his revenge on Othello. As stated above, Iago’s wild accusations about Othello sleeping with Emilia are unproven and do not give a definite reason for Iago’s strong hate for Othello.

In the final act, Iago’s wickedness is finally revealed. In the first scene, he sets up to Roderigo ambush Cassio and when that fails, Iago kills Roderigo to keep him silent and appear as the hero. He says, “This is the night / That either makes me or fordoes [undoes] me quite” (V.i.130–131), foreshadowing his demise in the next scene. It is his wife who ousts him for his evil actions. Even though he is executed at the end of the play, Iago succeeds in destroying Othello. It was his devious plan that drove Othello to murder Desdemona, but we never really know what his motivations were for causing such chaos.