Iago's Soliloquy

"And what's he, then, that says I play the villain?

When this advice is free I give, and honest,

Probal to thinking, and indeed the course

To win the Moor again? For 'tis most easy

The inclining Desdemona to subdue

In any honest suit. She is framed as fruitful

As the free elements. And then for her

To win the Moor- were't to renounce his baptism,

All seals and symbols of redeemed sin-

His soul is so enfettered to her love 

That she may make, unmake, do what she list, 

Even as her appetite shall play the god

With his weak function. How am I then a villain, 

To counsel Cassio to this parallel course, 

Directly to his good? Divinity of hell!

When devils will the blackest sins put on

They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,

As I do now. For whiles this honest fool

Plies Desdemona to repair his fortune, 

And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor, 

I'll pour this pestilence into his ear

That she repeals him for her body's lust.

And by how much she strives to do him good,

She shall undo her credit with the Moor. 

So will I turn her virtue into pitch, 

Add out of her own goodness make the net

That shall enmesh them all" (II.iii.313-339).

      This soliloquy is given by Iago as his plans are set in motion. Cassio has recently been relieved of his position of lieutenant, and he ironically seeks advice from Iago, the man who cost him his title and reputation. Iago takes great pride in knowing that he can construct the disasters and then also be included in their false reparations. The first half of the soliloquy is dripping with sarcasm. Iago, fully aware that he has been manipulating the characters and the plot, asks who could consider him villainous after he so thoughtfully offered such charitable advice? No. If I push my sister down the stairs and then suggest that she go to the emergency room, the intentions of my actions were malicious and cannot be reconciled by possible solutions to the problem which I created. Furthermore, the manner in which Iago calls Desdemona "fruitful" and says how she "shall play god/With his weak function" is both insulting to Desdemona and Othello. Desdemona is being portrayed as a lustful temptress, and Iago is poking fun at Othello, the renowned navy general, by insinuating that she dominates the relationship. In this era, women were supposed to be submissive to men, so by suggesting the opposite Iago is insulting both of the characters and their marriage.

      About half way through the soliloquy, Iago begins to take responsibility for his actions. Once he aligns himself with the devil: "When devils will the blackest sins put on/ They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,/ As I do now," he unravels his plan to the audience. Iago plans to drive a wedge between the married couple by manipulating their love for each other into mistrust. "That shall enmesh them all." The reader is still wondering why Iago has such a lust for revenge, but through this soliloquy we can see that he is singularly focused on their destruction and is willing to ruin the lives of others to enact his revenge.