Lago’s True Character.

I should be wise, for honesty is a fool

Part of the reason Iago is seen as such a villainous character to the audience is because Iago is such an intelligent character. An evil person of intelligence can be a very dangerous and scary villain. Iago knows exactly what to say to every other character that will provoke and enrage their jealousy or motive. He knows exactly where everyone's weakness is, and he knows exactly how to spark the evil, jealous rage that exists in most characters of Othello. Iago did not really do anything to directly harm anyone until the end when he killed Roderigo and Emilia. Everything else was done by the evilness in other characters. Iago was not making people jealous, but unleashing the jealousy that already existed. He was targeting everyone's weakness and proving that they themselves are to blame for their actions because they themselves have killed through their own jealousy, not jealousy Iago created.

To prove in another way that Iago was once honest and has turned evil, he begins to go "motive hunting" after a motive to rest his conscience from the evil he is going to commit. In Iago's numerous soliloquies, he comes up with several possible motives for his plot, but he has no evidence to back these motives up and refers to them once before moving onto a different motive. Iago first says his motive for hurting Othello is that he promoted Cassio over him. And after the first soliloquy Iago never mentions this motive again. In fact, in the fifth act Iago states: Cassio "hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly" [V. i. 20]. However, Iago has already been made lieutenant at this point in the play, so some other grudge against Cassio that partially makes up his motive must exist as well. Iago also suspects Othello and Cassio of being sexually involved with his own wife. However, Iago has no evidence of this theory and never mentions it as a motive again. He also can not be that upset about his wife, Emilia, having an affair, for he shows no affection for her at all in the play and ends up killing her in the end. Iago also mentions a love for Desdemona in the second soliloquy, but does not mention it before or after this instance as part of his motive. This motive hunting expressed by Iago is a sign that Iago once had or still somewhat has an honest conscience. He has turned evil to get his life back on track, but shows remnants of a conscience. Iago is a man "setting out on a project which strongly attracts his desire, but at the same time conscience of resistance to the desire, and unconsciously trying to argue the resistance away by assigning reasons for the project" (Bradley, 438). This can be familiar to us all when we try to push away our conscience by almost lying to ourselves. Nonetheless, the mere fact that Iago has a conscience proves he is not pure evil as most would suspect. In Iago's first soliloquy he states in regards to Othello and Emilia, "I know not if't be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety" [I. iii. 387]. This shows he is pulling logical motives out of thin air as to why he should go through with his plot, just to shut up the honest and loyal conscience that does in fact exist inside of him.

As thou dost ruminate, and give thy worst of

In the play "Othello", Iago comes forth as an apparently evil, vicious, and inteligant person who is creating havoc for reasons of seemingly pure villainy. However after examining the text, it can be stated that Iago is not a pure evil charactor, but was once hone

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