Aimee Jurado

Dr. Stanton

ENG 316

11/18/18

The Role of Iago in Othello: Representing Societal Evils

Shakespeare throughout his many works brings to light societal issues that he not only

found detrimental in his time, but that are also prevalent in the present. Among these issues are

toxic masculinity, the inequality of men and women, and the everyday pressures of life itself. In

the play Othello, Shakespeare touches on societal issues through his character Iago. Shakespeare

represents Iago as the devil, which is made evident through the many allusions in the play to the

devil and through Iago’s intentions and actions that lead to the misery of those around him.

Through the thoughts and actions of Iago, Shakespeare also expresses the societal issues he

considers to be truly evil, issues like jealousy, manipulation, and toxic masculinity. Shakespeare

argues that it is because of the evils that Iago spreads that love as well as life dies in the play.

Throughout Othello, many allusions to the devil are made to create connotations of evil

and temptation, and perhaps to also clue readers into knowing that Iago’s role in the play is to act

as the ultimate source of temptation and misery for the other characters. The devil allusions

begin broadly in the play and slowly become directed towards Iago specifically as the play

progresses. After Cassio gets too drunk and engages in a fight, he says, “O thou / invisible spirit

of wine, if thou hast no name to be / known by, let us call thee devil!” (II.iii.300-302). Cassio

blames the wine that he drank for causing his unruly behavior which led to his losing his title as

lieutenant. He also describes the wine as having a spirit with evil intentions, much like the devil.

The dramatic irony of Cassio’s comment is that the audience knows that it wasn’t an invisible
spirit that caused Cassio to drink too much; rather, it was Iago in pressuring him to do so.

Because he acted as the “invisible spirit” that enforced Cassio’s poor decisions, it is Iago whom

Cassio is calling the devil, not the wine. Cassio goes on with his reference to the devil and says,

“It hath pleased the devil drunkenness to give / place to the devil wrath” (II.iii.315-316). Cassio

here is saying that the devil is pleased that evil has found its way to him, and that he has pleased

the devil by fulfilling his wrath. While Cassio is speaking hypothetically, what he is saying is

literally true. It was Iago’s intention to get Cassio drunk and his hope that by getting him too

drunk, he would engage in a brawl, causing him to look bad in front of Othello. In this way,

Cassio truly did please the “devil” that influenced his bad behavior by fulfilling the plans of the

one who encouraged his bad behavior, which is Iago. While some allusions to the devil in the

play remain broad, these allusions speak specifically towards Iago and his actions and intentions.

The devil is defined in many cultures as a hostile and destructive force, and

Shakespeare’s comparison of the devil and Iago is not only suggested through the allusions made

but also through Iago’s hostile and destructive behavior. Among these destructive behaviors is

the way in which Iago manipulates other characters for his own personal gain. Early in the play,

readers become aware of Iago’s intentions through his asides. In one aside, Iago describes his

plan to manipulate and trick Othello. He says, “He holds me well. / The better shall my purpose

work on him” (I.iii.433-434). Because this is an aside, readers are being shown Iago’s internal

thoughts that are honest and that aren’t influenced by anyone around him. Iago proves that he is

aware of how highly Othello regards him and that he is willing to take advantage of his good

nature and respect. He says that because Othello holds him well, his purpose, which is to demerit

Cassio and destroy Othello and Desdemona’s relationship, will be successful. Here, Iago is

speaking honestly about his intentions, which are aimed to be hostile, like in the classical view of
the devil. Shakespeare could have also chosen the word “purpose” for dual denotations; one

being Iago’s plan and the other being Iago’s reason for being in the play. While it is normal to

have ill thoughts, Iago acts on his evil thoughts, further suggesting that he is not only hostile but

destructive. When giving Cassio advice after the brawl, he says to him, “Confess yourself / freely

to her. Importune her help to put you in your / place again” (II.iii.337-339). Cassio believes that

Iago is giving him good advice, and Iago is aware of this and is willing to use this trust to his

advantage. He takes advantage of this situation by pushing his own agenda and compromising

Cassio’s reputation and feelings. By putting action to his ill thoughts, Iago become a force that

causes destruction around him.

Throughout the play, Iago demonstrates manipulative behavior that is rooted in societal

evils like jealousy and toxic masculinity. When Iago is comforting Roderigo, who is deeply

saddened by the marriage of Desdemona, he tells him, “It is merely a lust of the blood and a

permission / of the will. Come, be a man! Drown thyself?” (I.iii.377-378). Roderigo here is

expressing his emotions to Iago, who in return is dismissing these feelings and telling him to “be

a man.” Iago here is pushing the idea onto Roderigo that Desdemona and Othello’s relationship

will not last and that the “manly” thing to do is to stop expressing his feelings. By representing

Iago as a source of evil, Shakespeare is arguing that this way of viewing masculinity is toxic and

evil. Iago’s disrespect towards Desdemona and Othello’s relationship also represents ways in

which toxic masculinity is unvirtuous and against love. All of Iago’s evil intentions and actions,

however, are rooted in one emotion that Shakespeare illustrates as especially heinous, which is

jealousy. Iago’s jealousy in this play is arguably the worst of his toxic traits, being that it is the

driving force of his destructive behavior. When speaking to Roderigo about his anger towards

Othello, he says to him, “Preferment goes by letter and affection, / And not by old gradation,
where each second / Stood heir to th’ first” (I.i.38-40). In this quotation, Iago is blaming

nepotism for Othello’s preference of Cassio over himself for the position of lieutenant. If Iago

had not been jealous, he most likely wouldn’t have plotted against Cassio and Othello. In this

way, most of the pain that Iago inflicts onto the other characters stems from his own inner pain

and feelings of jealousy. It’s probable that Shakespeare made jealousy the driving factor of

Iago’s evil ways as if to say that if people do not conquer their own inner toxic feelings, they will

manifest into an evil force, as it did for Iago.

Throughout Othello, Shakespeare presents Iago as a devil who embodies societal issues

that are killing love and life. Among these societal issues that Shakespeare deems as “evil” are

manipulation, toxic masculinity, and jealousy. Though the devil is supernatural, Shakespeare

argues that the evil he is seeing in society is not supernatural, and can be found even in common

people. Iago’s evil intentions stemmed from his inner feelings of jealousy, which in turn

manifested into a destructive force that hurt those around him. In this way, Shakespeare could be

championing the need to solve inner feelings of evil to prevent harm to others. By representing

Iago as the devil, Shakespeare is also illustrating the ways in which toxic views and destructive

behavior can make man as evil as the devil.

 Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Othello. The Folger Shakespeare Library. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul

Werstine. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2017.