Iago

Iago or Jago is a fictional character from William Shakespeare's play Othello .

Characteristic

In the play he appears as a brilliant, eloquent but equally vain schemer who does not lack acting talent. He deceives every figure in the play with mock pity or feigned loyalty , which is why most of them consider him to be extremely honest. Iago is aware that he is doing wrong and shameful, but he is neither impressed nor doubted about his actions.

Iago as a figure in Othello

Iago is Othello's ensign who, due to an unsuccessful promotion to lieutenant, weaves an intrigue on which the plot of the play is based. He uses Rodrigo, whom he lured to Cyprus with false promises concerning Desdemona , to start an argument with the drunk Cassio, whereupon Othello dismisses Cassio from the service. Iago then storms Cassio to ask Desdemona to make him and her master, Othello, friends again. Iago arouses jealousy through ambiguous remarks after a conversation between Desdemona and Cassio. Iago succeeds in slipping a handkerchief, which Desdemona received from Othello as a pledge of love, to Cassio, which makes Othello angry. In a conversation with Cassio, who speaks of his unwanted lover Bianca, Iago succeeds in convincing Othello that Cassio is speaking of Desdemona, whereupon Othello kills Desdemona. Iago's wife, Emilia, discovers the bloody act and, after initial disputes, resolves Iago's intrigue, for which he is arrested and imprisoned.