He feels that Shakespeare purposely intended for Iago's motives to be poor in order to show this evil. His main argument discredits his hatred for Othello due to him not being picked for lieutenant. He feels that if this was such a great motive then warfare would have been more of an issue in the play. (Flatter) Similarly, William Hazlitt feels that Iago is pure evil with no concern over who gets hurt. He is self-servant with no concern for himself or anyone else. The reader realizes that Othello and Cassio are Iago's foes but until the end believes that Iago has some feelings for Roderigo. (Hazlitt) Marvin Rosenberg is even more critical of Iago and discusses his interaction with anyone he comes in contact with. He refers to Iago's character is that of "raging torment". He also talks of the two personalities that Iago forces himself to play. The one side, which he only knows of, is filled with his hatred toward his foes. The alternate, is the side he must show in public to keep a low profile towards his enemies. Rosenberg goes on to describe a sort of bipolar tendency that evolves from acting hospitable to those who he really despises. In other words, the closer he becomes with them, the more he secretly hates them. (Rosenberg) All of these critics discuss how Iago comes off as a rather evil character without a motive but reluctantly don't include what this evilness leads to.
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The other side of the argument, voices the opinion that Iago is a victim of circumstance. He is put into these positions by Shakespeare to be a dramatic villain rather than an evil one. Jane Adamson uses Iago's placement in the play to deter the evil outlook placed on Iago. She believes that if Shakespeare had meant for Iago to be an evil villain, his past would have been brought up. If Iago is evil, then he would have had to always been evil. She concedes the fact that he was plotting against Othello in a sinister fashion, but she believes drama, not evil, was the result of his actions.
