Mamuyac, G-Yan D.

The Villainous Character of Iago

“Othello” is a tragedy by one of the greatest English writers— William Shakespeare. The story
revolves around Othello, a Moorish general, and how he was tricked by his ensign Iago into suspecting
his wife Desdemona of infidelity. When we think of it, Iago has the full control of what happens in the
play because of his manipulative abilities. Iago is a powerful character in the story. It was evident in
the story that he hated Othello. He loathed Othello for promoting Cassio to Lieutenant instead of him.
He also allegedly suspected that Othello shared a bed with his wife Emilia. Thus, I reckon that his
motive was to get the position [lieutenant] and to revenge.
In this paper, I will be analysing Iago’s techniques of deceiving the other characters by using
the deception strategies by Buller and Burgoon in their Theory of Interpersonal Deception. There are
also some portions in this paper which I will discuss some characters in the story. Basically, Buller and
Burgoon (1996) in their theory supposed that “a liar will utilize several strategies to manipulate
information so that it appears credible and the receiver of information will be unable to detect
deception.” The three dominate deception strategies have been observed by Buller and Burgoon. These
compromises (1) Falsification; (2) Concealment; and (3) Equivocation. These were all used by Iago in
deceiving and manipulating the characters in the story.
Let us have first ‘falsification’. It is s a strategy which the deceiver creates fiction or untrue
stories (Buller and Burgoon 1996). Falsification was used by Iago when he fabricated a story that
Desdemona was having a secret affair with Cassio. Iago made sure that all the information is not vague.
He manipulated information and made a lot of connections among the parts of his story to make it
convincing and believable.
Like for instance, the handkerchief which is very significant to Othello. An Egyptian witch
gave it to his mother and told her that it would keep Othello’s father loyal as long she would not lose
it. It was given by his mother on her deathbed. The handkerchief is a symbol of fidelity. And Iago was
smart enough to use the handkerchief as a proof of Desdemona’s infidelity. Iago asked his wife to steal
the handkerchief. When Desdemona accidentally dropped it, Emilia got it and handed it over to Iago.
(But note that she was unaware about his husband's plan.) Iago put the handkerchief to Cassio's room
to make his story credible to Othello. He created then an untrue story about Cassio and Desdemona.
He was also victorious in making Othello believed that he’s not worthy of Desdemona because of his
colour and age. Moreover, Iago instilled an idea that Desdemona will certainly betray Othello the way
she betrayed her father. With this, Iago was successful in planting a seed of suspicion in Othello's mind.
When we ponder about it, Othello was a great and skilled general and soldier, but he was easily fooled
by Iago. Iago was clever to use Othello's doubts and insecurities as a weapon for his downfall.
Another instance was when Iago staged a scene with Cassio meant to convince Othello that
Cassio shared a bed with Desdemona. In that scene, Iago and Cassio were not actually talking about
Desdemona, but they were talking about Bianca— a prostitute who was in love with Cassio. He asked
Othello to observe Cassio from a hidden place, and was eventually convinced that his wife was having
a forbidden affair with Cassio. Iago made a false scene to persuade Othello that he was telling the truth.
The created stories of Iago were products of his mental efforts. At some point, he seems to think the
way the other characters think before taking a move. Hence, this shows how effective deceiver Iago
was.
The second one is ‘concealment’. In this strategy, the deceiver omits certain facts which results
in deceptive communication (Buller and Burgoon 1996). In the story, Roderigo was just one of the
gullible victims of Iago. He was a Venetian suitor of Desdemona who could sacrifice everything for
her. And Iago used it to manipulate him. He made a word of honour that he would help him to get
Desdemona. However when Roderigo started to realize that he was just being cheated by Iago, he
confronted him. He told him that Iago has just been taking his gold and jewels, and that he did not
deliver it to Desdemona. Iago was careful with talking with him. There are certain facts which Iago
refused to tell. These are the following: (1) what happened to Roderigo’s jewels; and (2) there was no
progress between Roderigo and Desdemona. In truth, Roderigo was out of Iago’s concerns. He lied
that he was truly helping him. However, his acting skills come in handy which made him successful in
deceiving and manipulating Roderigo. He then diverted his attention by making a plan— a plan about
killing Cassio. He convinced him that this is the best way to get Desdemona, and that he was really
helping him. Roderigo was again caught by his deceitful words. Thus, this led to a deceptive
communication.
I assert that Iago did not truly care about helping Rodrigo to Desdemona because if he really
cared, he should have 'first' helped Roderigo to Desdemona. Moreover, when Rodrigo was injured by
Cassio, it was Iago who eventually killed Rodrigo. He did it to prevent Rodrigo from being a burden.
If Rodrigo had survived, he would have let out Iago's secrets. This will just ruin his plans. Hence, Iago
was only concerned about his selfish intentions.
The last one is ‘equivocation’. When employing equivocation, the deceiver dodges the issue
by offering pointless response (Buller and Burgoon 1996). In the story, when Emilia gave the
handkerchief, she asked why Iago wanted her to steal it.
Emilia: What will you do with ‘t, that you have been so earnest
To have me filch it?
Iago: Why, what is that to you?
(Act 3, Scene 3, Page 15)
This shows that Iago dodges the issue by giving her an inappropriate answer to avoid discussing
about the handkerchief. Thus, Emilia was not able to detect Iago’s plans.
Like the other characters, Iago was able to control his wife in the story. Emilia is a loyal and
obedient wife to his husband. She is submissive to Iago because wives ought to follow their husband.
She couldn't even defend herself whenever Iago talks something unpleasant about her. However, when
she found out that it was Desdemona's handkerchief which became the main evidence in convincing
Othello of his wife's alleged affair, she knew that her husband was the sole reason behind Desdemona's
death. Emilia eventually transformed into a strong woman who did not hesitate to speak out for the
truth. It was the time when she did not allow Iago to manipulate her. This shows how Emilia valued
her friendship with Desdemona. She desired to clear Desdemona’s name so she will not be remembered
as a ‘whore’. However, Emilia was killed by Iago as a result of unmasking his husband. This portrays
how profoundly vicious the character of Iago was.
Generally, Iago comprises the true definition of the word “villain”. As a Shakespeare scholar
Harold Bloom argued that Iago is an artist of evil. He has a talent of words which he gained a reputation
for honesty and credibility. Ergo, this gave him the power to brainwash the characters even the highest
minds. Because of his evil character and intentions, most of the characters died in the story. Iago is a
wise deceiver. However, no matter how good he was in deluding, the truth still prevailed in the end.

References
Buller David, and Burgoon Judee. 1996. “Interpersonal Deception Theory.” Communication Theory,
no. 6 (August 1996): 203–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1996.tb00127.x
Shakespeare, William. Othello: 1622. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.