Despicable Iago

This is the second time I've read this play (the first time was in high school), and I have to say I think I've grown to hate Iago more than I did the first time around. I think Iago is one of the greatest villains I've read in Shakespeare to date. From the beginning of the play, Iago wears a mask, so to speak, to hide who he truly is and how he really feels which allows him to cause a great deal of mischief throughout the play.

He pretends that he is friends with Othello, and that he is the only person who would never steer him wrong. Yet we find that Iago is the character that causes all the mayhem! What makes Iago so absolutely dreadful is that he doesn't very often tell outright lies, but instead he tells half truths. He will leave out pertinent information when speaking to Othello OR he will play on a possible insecurity. Iago points out to Othello that Desdemona lied to her father and ran away with Othello, so how does he know she won't do the same to him? This reminds me of when someone puts a bug in someone's ear that their boyfriend or girlfriend had cheated on someone in the past, and once a cheater always a cheater, so that person always looks for a reason to question their partner's innocence. Desdemona left with Othello out of love, but now that idea has been tainted by Iago, and she has been made to look like she has the makings of a deceitful bride...a bride to watch out for. Despicable!

Furthermore, the fat that Iago also points out the fact that Desdemona had given her precious handkerchief to Cassio, her lover, was downright nasty. Not only was it wrong, but it leads to Desdemona's death! What kind of man can sleep at night knowing he got an innocent woman killed? While Don John's plot in Much Ado About Nothing was horrific, at least poor Hero had a chance at redemption. Although, I suppose if things had turned out differently in Much Ado About Nothing, we would probably have read of Hero's death as something permanent.

Not only does he lead to her death, but it smears her and Othello's reputations and what about poor Cassio? All Cassio wanted was to be back in Othello's good graces, but Iago had to ruin this. Iago both figuratively and literally hurts Cassio. Cassio seemed to believe that Iago was perhaps a friend of his, but then he is deceived by his "friend" and physically wounded by Iago. With friends like this, who needs enemies? I can't wait until someone puts Iago in his place!