Othello VII: Act 5 Scene 2

Despite Iago's best efforts, Othello is still visibly conflicted after killing Desdemona. This is visible with Othello's almost schizophrenic speech, in which he rapidly switches back and forth between discussing Emilia and Desdemona. This is visible in his many short sentences, none of which other than the last is longer than a line. In particular, he uses "she" three times in lines 18-20, but switches from referring to Emilia to Desdemona and back to Emilia again without clarifying. When this play is performed, the best way to have this make sense to the audience would be to have Othello rapidly shifting his vision between the door behind which lies Emilia and Desdemona's body, which - given his abbreviated speech pattern - would result in a rapid switching of subject matter between the two. In particular, when he says "My wife, my wife! What wife? I have no wife," he switches his mind quickly as if arguing with himself, illustrating how this speech pattern results from his internal conflict about killing Desdemona. That this comes from Othello, who earlier spoke so elegantly before the Venetian Senate, serves to even more strongly illustrate his insanity now. Thus, Othello has been nearly driven to insanity by his deeds; unlike Iago's soliloquies, this speech is not directed at the audience - instead, Othello is visibly speaking to himself, showing the insanity to which Iago's persecution of himself and of Desdemona has driven him.

Othello VI: Act 5 Scene 2 Lines 1-24

Othello attempts to make his reasoning for killing Desdemona consistent with his earlier statement that, if she wanted another man, he would let her go. He does so by considering, despite the techniques that Iago used to convince him, Desdemona not as disloyal purely to him, but as a disloyal whore in general. As such, he says that "she must die, else she'll betray more men" (V.ii.6). Iago told him that it was natural for Desdemona to seek a white man in preference to Othello, and Othello accepted that reasoning as a portion of why Desdemona was unfaithful. With little other reasoning behind why Desdemona was unfaithful, this limited information would imply that Desdemona merely preferred Cassio to Othello. Yet, Othello's anger is so great that it overwhelms this logical conclusion, and he believes that Desdemona, despite her purity of appearance, is an unfaithful person, and must therefore be killed such that she will be unfaithful to no other man.

Othello V: Act 4 Scene 1

Iago frequently refers to himself as a villain; however, he uses very different connotations when he is speaking to the audience and when he is speaking to others of the play. Nevertheless, the frequency with which he refers to himself as evil can only lead to the conclusion that he is aware of the villainy of his own actions. Aside from the times when he speaks to the audience and calls his own plans hell-spawned, he frequently makes mild oaths that, if he is lying, he should be evil. For instance, when talking to Cassio, Iago states that there are rumors that Cassio will marry Bianca; when Cassio chuckles at the possibility, Iago replies, "I am a very villain else" (I.iv.144). While in context of the discussion, this is an innocent proclamation of Iago's verity, for an audience who is aware of the dramatic irony in context, this is, if taken literally, Iago stating that he is a villain (or, at least, given that he likely came up with this rumor in the moment rather than having actually heard such a rumor before hand, most likely stating that he is such), and thus, albeit mildly, acknowledging his own villainy. Thus, even in mild interactions, Shakespeare has Iago actively state his own evil - in the conversation, in jest, but placed in greater context, in truth.

Othello IV: Act 3 Scenes 3-4

Shakespeare is atypical as an author because, despite the quality of his writing, he occasionally came across a phrase that he wanted to express, but couldn't, or couldn't and maintain his rhythm. In such instances, he would invent his own word, and thus today we have words such as "eyeball" that Shakespeare invented purely for the sake of his own plays. Not all of his invented words "took," however, and Othello shows one such word - "exsufflicate" (III.iii.213). He took a Latin word and turned it into an English word (as would have been typical to invent a word, and as most educated people would have understood it due to their knowledge of Latin). The word combines the prefix "ex," meaning "out," with a "fl" sound that is present in words such as "flicker" (which likely has a similar root of "sufflicare"), "fly" and "flow," among other sound, to create a word that effectively communicates its meaning even to one who has no idea what the word means due to inherent phonetic associations. In this way, Shakespeare transcends the typical author, because Shakespeare doesn't even need to use actual English words to convey his meaning - sounds and subsections of words are sufficient.

Othello III: Act 2 Scene 2 - Act 3 Scene 2

In this passage, Iago maintains his principle of never making a statement that is entirely untrue except about his own feelings. He asks at the beginning of his soliloquy, "what's he, then, that says I play the villain, / When this advice is free I give and honest, / probal to thinking, and indeed the course / to win the moor again?" (II.iii.356-359). In other words, Iago asks the audience: why would Cassio think I am evil if I give him advice that is, indeed, the best course of action, even if I have my own motives behind it? Iago illustrates why every character in the play believes him to be honest: because he always offers advice that is valid and information that is generally plausible, despite his own motives for guiding characters in particular directions. Thus, Iago maintains his odd honesty that makes him, ironically, true to what he presents (honest) in the technical meaning of the word, without the trustworthiness that is connotatively associated with that diction.

Othello II: Act 2 Scene 1

An interesting feature of Iago's character is his strange honesty. He rarely makes a statement that can be illustrated to be incorrect except his expression of his own feelings. For instance, after telling Roderigo that Cassio and Desdemona love each other, he acknowledges that his statement could quite possible be true. He says that "that Cassio loves her, I do well believe 't. That she loves him, 'tis apt and of great credit," indicating that he finds is quite possible that nothing he said was false (II.i.308-309). Thus, everything he said on that topic to Roderigo could, theoretically, be logical, and therefore his opinions are, should he need to explain them if his plans unravel, plausible even if he weren't conspiring against Othello. While he acknowledges Othello's quality as a husband (in contrast to what he said to Roderigo), he still defiles Othello's name with respect to virtue, thereby rendering his opinions of Othello's future also plausibly true from his perspective should Roderigo analyze the truthfulness of Iago's claims to him. Thus, the only matter in this passage about which Iago has lied such that he contradicts what another person may perceive him to be is when he lies about his feelings about Othello to everyone but Roderigo. In this way, he simultaneously maintains multiple effective façades about his feelings, all of which are plausible interpretations of his internal opinions and thoughts based on all the information he grants to his combined audiences.

Othello I: Reasons for Iago's Actions

The most vexing type of villain is that which knows its own evil. The Party of 1984, for instance, is jarring in its philosophy because it recognizes that it acts for its own benefit. By the same token, Iago of Shakespeare's Othello is one of the most desirable parts in literature. In part, this is due to the variety of facades that Iago utilizes, but it is also, in part, due to his recognition of his own villainy. He even states that he is entirely self-interested, that "[he] follow[s] but [him]self" (I.i.64). Thus, his first, instinctual thought is to act in his own self-interest rather than that of his state and of society - and that he recognizes this makes him an unusual evil, since most evil believes, at heart, that it is doing good.

This does not, however, mean that he does not believe that his actions are justified in vengeance. Firstly, Othello did not choose him as his lieutenant; instead he chose "a great arithmetician, / One Michael Cassio" (I.i.20-21). Iago feels that he is better-suited for the position of second-in-command, and that Othello should therefore have chosen him. Secondly, his racist opinions cause him to think poorly of Othello, despite all respect he may have - he states that "Moors are changeable in their wills," and so does not hold respect for Othello's personal virtue despite his acknowledgement of his capacity as a general. Thirdly, Iago states, "it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets / 'Has done my office," meaning that he believes Othello has slept with his wife (I.iii.430-431). Although it may appear to be a reason for Iago's anger, the fact that Othello stole the woman that Roderigo, a friend of Iago, as declared when Iago stated "I have professed me thy friend," sought to marry is irrelevant to Iago's decision - Iago is not so considerate as to think of his friend's feelings (I.iii.379-380).