"Othello" Response

Throughout reading the play Othello, the makeup of the character Iago both intrigued and infuriated me. I was initially shocked by Iago’s evil motives and insincere promises and how effortless it was for him to betray everyone around him, yet still portray himself as a trustworthy man with good intentions. It somewhat stunned me that although Iago lied to and took advantage of almost every character in the play, no one but Roderigo questioned his motives until the end when Emilia fully revealed him. Although the fact that only the reader knows how much Iago is screwing everyone else over throughout the play adds a sense of drama, I feel like Iago would not have gotten away with manipulating that many people for that extent of time in a realistic situation.

Also, I found it interesting that towards the beginning of the play Iago stated that “these fellows have some soul, and such a one do I profess myself” (Act I, Line 56). I immediately interpreted this dialogue as a means of possible foreshadowing since I figured there would be no reason for Iago to blatantly point out that he has a soul if he had not yet done anything to make anyone question this. Clearly, by the end of the play Iago’s actions have made him be thought of as a soulless liar who should rot in hell. This dramatic shift confirms that Iago’s words at the beginning of the play were solely an attempt at preserving his innocent and honest demeanor for as long as possible.