Throughout all of literary history there have been two basic types of characters the
protagonist, or hero, and the antagonist, or villain. Perhaps the greatest villain of all time is most
greatly expressed in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello. The villain, Iago, would hold a place in any
dictionary, next to the word villain better than any antagonist in the history of all written or
spoken word, rivaled only by Satan himself. He expresses evil, deceit, and wickedness in the
purest of forms. These are the qualities that make Iago the total antithesis of heroism.
From the very beginning of the play it is clear that Iago is an evil figure. He clearly states
in the first scene his undying hatred for the hero, Othello. At first glance such hatred seems
unfounded. The only explanation that he gives in the beginning to the rather rubish character
Roderigo, is that he wants revenge for being passed over for a promotion to lieutenant by his
commander, Othello. We later find that he has an underlying, ridiculously unfounded jealousy
that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia. Those are only superficial reasonings for his hate,
though. The real characteristics that make up his depravity and keep his machination of revenge
alive are as innumerable as they are evil. An entire essay could be written on that subject alone.
The most obvious characteristic keeps him going is his ability to uphold a facade of being honest
and trustworthy. This is done mostly by playing a role as a reluctant truth-teller. Through this,
he gains the blind trust of Othello, Roderigo, and almost every other character in the play. This
makes him very convincing, which is another characteristic that is so vital to the success of his
plot. The ease with which he convinces Roderigo to play along in his scheme is one of the most
essential elements in that scheme. The complete control over almost all of the characters ...