Assess The Effectiveness Of The Presentation Of Iago In Othello

Assess the effectiveness of the presentation of Iago in the first two acts of the play.

Iago is presented as the villain in the tragedy, much like Richard in Richard III as Shakespeare carries out his explorations of manipulation, dramatic function and the conventional view of order, through the use of language and structure in Othello.

Shakespeare uses Iago’s manipulation of other characters to explore the theme of villainy and duplicity. The main victim of his direct manipulation is Roderigo, and his statement “in following him, I follow but myself” could suggest that he does not obey Othello, quite the opposite – in reassurance that he, Iago, is on Roderigo’s side. What it further implies however, is that Iago obeys no man but himself
His first of two soliloquies in the first two acts reveal his manipulation of Rodergio: “thus do I ever make my fool my purse.” The metaphor implies that he has benefitted from using foolish Roderigo to contribute towards his goal of “bring[ing] this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” The word “birth” implies something that will develop over time, and represents the product of the suspected sexual activity between his wife and Othello, as defined in “it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets/ H’as done my office.” The metaphor suggests that Othello has done Iago’s ‘job’ of sexual pleasures in his own bed with his wife. The product of this therefore, as previously mentioned, will be his revenge. The ellipses “...” in the soliloquy not only displays his thought process but also the structure of the play, as he thinks out his next plan of action – and so he proceeds to describe how he will carry out his devious plan – through “abus[ing] Othello’s ears/ That [Cassio] is too familiar with his wife.” We see a direct plot of revenge, where he uses the form of suspicion he has of Othello upon the “proper man” and “arithmetician” Cassio. Shakespeare uses the dramatic irony of Iago’s evil plotting to form the structure of Othello. While claiming “I hate the Moor” he also hates Cassio, who had robbed him of the job of a lieutenant and yet lacks the ability, for he has “never set a squadron in the field/ Nor the division of a battle more than a spinster.” The implication that Cassio has no more experience than that of a woman conveys the distinct, underlying bitterness that is so strongly inherent, for Cassio has now obtained a job of a higher rank while Iago is left to serve the man whom he suspects has slept with his wife. This poses an opportunity to get back at both, as he once again states his plan in the second soliloquy, where he will “abuse him [Cassio] to the