Decoding Iago’s Villainy through his Discourse

Abstract

Abstract

?Language most shows a man: speak, that I may see thee. It springs from out of the most retired and in most parts of us, and is the image of the parent of it, the mind. No glass renders a man’s form or likeness as his speech.? This aphoristic statement of Ben Jonson culled from Timber, or Discoveries may be applied most appositely to assess the character of Iago, William Shakespeare’s notorious villain in Othello. The dichotomy between his diabolical intentions and deceptively sweet assertions have confounded many and created impediments in ascertaining his true nature. Regarded as one of Shakespeare’s greatest studies in malevolence, matched only by Milton’s Satan, Iago sets new standards of wickedness. In fact, by presenting him as a loyal, ?honest? and a concerned confidant of the hero, the playwright subverts the conventional image of an antagonist. Iago continues to challenge all attempts to classify his villainy, jealousy and innate evil in any specified terms primarily because there exists a wide chasm between his thoughts in private and words in public, almost as if he were a split personality. A comprehension of his ambiguous personality and the discord between his twin selves necessitates an incisive study of his words, vocatives, speeches and soliloquies to interpret his mind.