Iago’s soliloquys
Iago’s soliloquies reveal “his hateful feelings toward Othello in addition to his plot to ruin
the marriage between Othello and Desdemona.”
Iago’s soliloquies are the gears that drive the tragedy of Othello. Through them, the
audience becomes his unwilling confidant, watching as he shifts from petty professional
jealousy to a purely “motiveless malignity.”
First Soliloquy – Act I, Scene III
Key Revelations
- Iago’s resentment at being passed over for promotion.
- His plan to use Roderigo as a pawn:
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse.”
- His suspicion (without evidence) that Othello slept with Emilia:
“I know not if’t be true, / But I… will do as if for surety.”
Iago’s soliloquies reveal “his hateful feelings toward Othello in addition to his plot to ruin
the marriage between Othello and Desdemona.”
Iago’s soliloquies are the gears that drive the tragedy of Othello. Through them, the
audience becomes his unwilling confidant, watching as he shifts from petty professional
jealousy to a purely “motiveless malignity.”
First Soliloquy – Act I, Scene III
Key Revelations
- Iago’s resentment at being passed over for promotion.
- His plan to use Roderigo as a pawn:
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse.”
- His suspicion (without evidence) that Othello slept with Emilia:
“I know not if’t be true, / But I… will do as if for surety.”
