Othello as Tragedy of Evil, Evil in Iago
Personification
of Evil:
Contrary
to Hamlet where evil is prevalent and hangs over the whole country, in Othello,
it is personified in one character who wears the mask of seeming virtue. In
Iago, we see evil as deception and as a direct challenge to the order and
compatibility of the universe. Iago's outward brilliance and self-control is
the 'reason' for Renaissance skepticism which in Shakespeare's day was
challenging the great vision of harmony and order.
Iago
as the Evil Force:
Despite
his sanctimony and pietism, Iago reveals himself to the reader as an active
force of evil right from the first scene of the play. It is Roderigo alone who
is given the insight into Iago; but he is foolish and doesn't understand the
inferences of Iago's plans. Iago stands for social disintegration. He is not
one of the servants who get paid by their masters for their service and are
loyal to them. He is a cunning one whose loyalty is a mask.
Iago's
Egotism and self-centredness:
The
supreme egotism of Iago is a demonstration of the code of 'reason' by which he
lives. True human reason in terms of Renaissance Christian humaness was a
reflection of the supreme wisdom of God. And it consisted in yielding one's
will to the purposes of God. The reason of Iago is the sin of pride, for it
denies the supremacy of God and sees man as the sole author of his destiny,
able to control himself and others by the power of his mind. It is expressed in
his speech to Roderigo which begins the words "Virtue! A fig! 'it is in ourselves
that we are thus ." And also where he compares our bodies to gardens. In
denying the purposes of the power of God, Iago strikes at the very roots of
Christian Humanism. He is only a desire and lust of the blood and a permission
of the will. He is conceited and excessively proud of his intelligence and
wisdom which ultimately cause the fall of his personality.
Iago's
Self-betrayal:
Iago's
self-betrayal is quite expected and possible despite Bradley's wonder that how
his supreme intellect should finally betray him into such colossal errors as
his misjudging the relationship between Desdemona and Othello and the character
of his own wife, Emilia. But it is in the very nature of Iago's intellect that
he should be so. He observes that Desdemona's love for the Moor was only animal
lust and nothing else. He can perceive only the outward appearance of Othello;
he can't see the qualities for which Desdemona married him; and thus their
relationship seems only a product of lust which lust must destroy. Out of
Iago's failure of perception will come his own destruction, but his failure is
inherent in the very 'reason' by which he lives.
Views
about lago:
The
audience doesn't have the same views about lago as the other characters in the
play do. The audience knows him to be a Semi-devil. The very incarnation of
Devil and the negation of moral values. To the audience, he is devil; but to
Othello, he is 'Honest Iago.' Honest is very much like that of Claudius in
Hamlet. He is put up with false appearance and it is fitting that Shakespeare
should give the celebrated lines:
Who
steals my purse steals trash
But
he that filches from me, my good name
Robs
me of that which not enriches him
And
makes me poor indeed.
lago versus Othello:
lago
embodies evil in the guise of good whereas in Othello himself, we have a
depiction of true virtue which seems to be wearing many of the signs of evil.
As in story of Cinthio, Othello's wedding with Desdemona was unnatural. Cinthio
does not state the blackness of the Moor, mentioning it only once in the story.
In the Renaissance, the color black was a symbol of lechery. It was so
repeatedly used in the books that it was also the color of the devil whose
redness is a fairly recent innovation. To the audience of Shakespeare, Othello
would have all the outward appearance of the blacker devil which Amelia calls
him. His marriage to Desdemona would appear as aberration in nature. lago
awakes Brabantio with a narration of the marriage in these terms, punctuated by
images of brute sexuality - comparing Othello to a black ram who is going to
take advantage of Brabantio's white ewe.
Unnaturalness
and Appearance:
The
first two acts of the play these themes, the evil of the unnatural marriage and
that of Iago's mask of seeming virtue. Othello has the blackness of Satan, Iago
the whiteness of truth and virtue. True virtue and goodness bears the mark of
evil and evil is marked with the semblance of honesty. Shakespeare assures the
audience that of the falsity of these outward sign, that lago is seemingly
honest and that Othello, despite his appearance, is a man of true nobility with
whom Desdemona can love for his 'honours and his valiant parts'. We see his
dignity before the consul where he denies the very lechery which his outward
color represents. Shakespeare's careful reversal of normal appearance is so
shocking that the audience must be left till incredulous, with an uncertain
fear that appearance be still be truth. This fear is supported by Brabantio's
warning:
Look
to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see
She
has deceived her father, and may thee
Upon
this outward violation of nature, lago will work his temptation of Othello and
under lago's influence; Othello will see Desdemona exactly Brabantio has see
her.
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