Othello: Iago's Universal Evil

In Shakespeare's play, Othello, Iago’s devilish abilities allow him to be the only character that does not change in both of the settings, Venice and Cyprus. The land of Venice represents christianity, civilization and order, whereas Cyprus displays paganism, uncivilization, and chaos. Iago exemplifies universal evil by displaying his ability to manipulate and deceive in both settings. Iago goes from slightly manipulating the characters to directly controlling them but his evil intentions never become dull. In Venice, he uses Roderigo to help manipulate the characters, but in Cyprus Iago interacts directly with the other characters instead of using Roderigo. This reflects Iago’s universal evil in both settings. Iago displays this when he
Iago remains clean throughout the whole situation by deceiving others to do his dirty work for him. Shakespeare reveals Iago’s devilish elements by correlating his ideas to the Bible. While speaking to Roderigo, Iago states "I am not what I am" (1.1.71). In opposition, in the book of Exodus 3:14 God states, "I am that I am.” If those words stand for God, then Iago's "I am not what I am" displays the direct opposite which would be the Devil. By relating the play to the Bible, Shakespeare displays his alignment of connecting Iago to the devil.
Similar to Othello, Desdemona goes under a significant change as she travels from Venice to Cyprus while Iago still exhibits his deceiving actions. In Venice, Desdemona was very adventurous and full of life. Although when Desdemona follows Othello to Cyprus, their marriage becomes damaged due to Othello's jealous thoughts of Cassio. In Cyprus, she loses the positive aspects of her personality along with the very special handkerchief that Othello gave her. Meanwhile, Iago betrays Desdemona by leading Othello in the wrong direction making him believe that she cheated on him with Cassio. Iago told Othello, “I know not that, but such a handkerchief—I am sure it was your wife’s—did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with.” (3.3.496). These false assumptions ultimately become the reasoning behind Desdemona's