" Does Shakespeare create villains who are evil or is he presenting characters whose motivations are misunderstood?"

" Does Shakespeare create villains who are evil or is he presenting characters whose motivations are misunderstood?"

Shakespeare’s Othello is a haunting tragedy in which the motivations of the main antagonist Iago often seem unclear. The play demonstrates the hold that psychological manipulation and suggestion can have even on a virtuous character of integrity like Othello himself. The central antagonist of the play is Iago, a man who is motivated by resentfulness, jealousy
Love and suspicion to manipulate the events and lives of those around him. It is easy to interpret Iago simply as the embodiment of evil, as all the characters describe him as a nice and trustworthy person but it turns out he is two faced as the other characters are forced into his twisted way and lies. but Shakespeare presents us with a more rounded and complex character, I do not see Iago as evil I see him as someone who is just in love and would do anything to steel Desdemona’s heart he may not be doing it in the right way but I do not think he is pure evil and wants everyone dead as It could be interpreted.

In the opening scene of the play, Iago lets the audience know that his intention to manipulate the lives around him is motivated by resentfulness upon Othello as he was not chosen to be one of his lieutenant, and his love for Desdamona. For example, he says: ““One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field”… This tells us that Iago is hateful towards Othello for choosing Cassio over him for the promotion, Iago believes he is more qualified than Cassio.

However, even prior to this the first three lines of the play, said by Roderigo, also let the audience know that Iago may be motivated by money and hatred.
“I take it much unkindly
That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse
As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this.” This tells us that Rodrigo thought him and Iago were friends but now feels he is using him for his money and doesn't hate Othello at all.
Therefore we can assume that Roderigo doesn't understand Iago’s ways and that Iago’s judgment is clouded by his jealousy.
Thus, while it is tempting to see Iago simply as the embodiment of evil, Shakespeare uses things like emotions e.g. jealousy, love, hate and friendship to let the audience know that his ways are misunderstood and not just evil. Furthermore, it seems clear that Iago is, in contemporary terms, a racist. This can be ascertained by the way he refers to Othello as "Barbary horse," an "old black ram," or an "erring barbarian" . These insults suggest that Iago is trying to upset the senator, he uses Othellos different colour against him to play with other peoples emotions. Iago even has suspicions that Othello has seduced his own wife Emilia.
In addition to this, we sense another motivation behind Iago’s actions in his suggestion that Othello has committed adultery with his wife. This is suggested by the lines: “And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;” Then, shortly afterwards, he says:
“I do suspect the lusty Moor
Hath leap'd into my seat: the thought whereof
Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards;
And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife.”
The fear that Othello may have cheated on his wife leads us to suspect that maybe Othello isn’t the all good character everyone thinks he is and that Iago now has reasoning as to why he hates Othello and wants him gone.

Thus, Iago is primarily depicted as a character who believes that life has treated him unfairly. Due to the fact that he was not chosen for a promotion which he thought suited him, the women he had an infatuation with was taken by one who he had now despised also believing that whilst Othello had taken his crush he had also slept with his wife.

In conclusion, Shakespeare presents us with a character we are never really certain why it is Iago wants to destroy Othello but throughout the play Iago provides multiple motives for hating Othello at one point he says he is angry at Othello because he passed him over for a promotion. Then he suspects that Othello is having an affair with his wife Emilia. We could say that Iago has no real motives and that he's just plain evil. If we agree that Iago has no real motives for hurting Othello, we could also argue that Iago's character is someone who is Immoral. We follow Iago’s storyline more than Othello's. We watch him in a selection of relationships e.g. his influence on Roderigo, his behavior towards his wife and his fake friendship with Othello.