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Lyle A. Parker
Professor Starr
Composition I
19 April 1996
Appearance and Deception, Iago as a Satan Figure
The play "Othello" by William Shakespeare is based on an Italian story in
Giraldi Cinthio's Hecatommithi (Groliers). In "Othello" we encounter Iago, one of
Shakespeare's most evil characters. Iago is an ensign in Othello's army and is
jealous of Cassio's promotion to Lieutenant. Through deception and appearance,
we see unfolded a plethora of lies and clever schemes. The astonishing thing about
Iago is that he seems to make up his malicious schemes as he goes along without
any forethought. Noted writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes Iago's plan as
"motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity" (Scott 413). Iago seizes every
opportunity to further advance his plan to his advantage. Greed plays a major role
as a motive for his various schemes. Throughout the story, Iago portrays himself as
a Satan figure. In many ways, Iago can compare with Satan.
Iago, like Satan, has proved himself to be a master at deception. He lies to
everyone taking great care to disguise his own thoughts. For example, in Act 1,
scene 2, when he is speaking to Othello about his feelings toward Cassio, he uses
very strong language of a manly soldier, while at the same time, he lies throughout
the whole speech faking loyalty to a fellow soldier and all the while implying that
he is reluctantly holding back the full truth: "I had rather have this tongue cut from
my mouth/ Than it should do offense to Michael Cassio" (I.ii.21-22). This
deception impresses and convinces Othello that his ensign is a good and loyal
soldier. Iago also succeeds in deceiving Cassio. After Cassio's drunken fight, Iago
counsels
him
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to speak to Desdimona about trying to convince Othello to reinstate him as
lieutenant, all the while knowing that this will only prove helpful to his plan of
having Othello see him with Desdimona. Cassio answers him: "You advise me
well. . . Goodnight, honest Iago" (II.iii.332/340). Thus, even Cassio is capable of
being deceived by Iago. With all of this deception, it is a wonder that Iago is not
Satan himself. He even gives an account to his plan of deception, in a soliloquy, in
Act II. In comparing himself with Satan, he says:
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
Desdimona to repair his fortunes/ And she for him pleads strongly to
the Moor,/ I'll pour this pestilence into his ear. . . (II.iii.301-306)
Iago describes how Satan uses the appearance of something good to disguise the
various temptations that we know are evil. He then tells how he will do the same;
that while Cassio is begging Desdimona to tell Othello to take him back, Iago then
will start his destructive scheme. Satan also deceives by lying and twisting the
truth. When he told Eve in the garden of Eden: "surely you will not die" (Gen.3:4),
he twisted the truth to deceive her. The apostle John calls him the ultimate liar: ". .
. for he is a liar, and the father of lies" (John 8:44). As you can see, Iago and Satan
both use deception to further benefit themselves.
Through deception, Iago creates the appearance of good which is what
ultimately fools the people around him into thinking that he is loyal and honest.
Being an ensign is an honorable rank. Historically, an ensign carried the company's
banner- which he was never to desert. In battle, if the company's banner was
threatened, all the soldiers had to fight to defend it and also it's bearer. Thus, an
ensign, by tradition and definition, had to be universally well liked, brave, and,
above all, trusted (Cliff 74). Iago, already has the appearance of being a good and
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honest man so he has an advantage when it comes to keeping that honest look
about him throughout the story. Othello, it would seem, has fallen for this
appearance when he tells Iago: "I am bound to thee forever" (III.iii.214). Othello
relates this to Iago because he trusts him. Satan works in much the same way as
Iago does. He creates something pleasant out of something totally evil by making it
appear glorious. The apostle Paul makes a comparison between the appearance of
men and Satan in II Corinthians: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful
workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (II Cor. 11:13-14). Iago deceitfully
organizes his plan so as to appear trustworthy to everyone.
Iago also uses appearances to create deception. When Cassio had finished
asking Desdimona, in the garden, if she would talk to Othello for him, he left her
presence. Iago and Othello were standing off in the distance observing them. When
Othello asks him if it was indeed Cassio that he saw, Iago replies: "Cassio, my
lord! No, sure, I cannot think it,/ That he would steal away so guilty-like,/ Seeing
you coming" (III.iii.37-39). He uses that scene to convince Othello that Cassio
looked mighty guilty when he left Desdimona. This shows that not only can
deception be used to create appearance, but that appearance can also be used to
create deception. Othello proves this fact further, later on in the play, when he,
himself, asks for appearance as proof of Desdimona's fraudulent behavior. So
much to the point that he threatens Iago by telling him:
Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore,/ Be sure of it; give me
the
ocular proof;/ Or, by the worth of mine eternal soul,/ Thou hadst been
better have been born a dog/ Than answer my wak'd wrath! (III.iii.359363)
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Othello demands to see it with his own eyes in order for it to be convincing. Iago
then changes the subject and lies to Othello outright by telling him that he heard
Cassio talking in his sleep. He then goes so far as to say that Cassio was making
sexual implications to him while sleeping:
And then, sir, would he grip and wring my hand,/ Cry "O sweet
creature!" and then kiss me hard,/ As if he pluck'd up kisses by the
roots/ That grew upon my lips: then laid his leg/ Over my thigh, and
sigh'd, and kiss'd; and then/ Cried "Cursed fate that gave thee to the
Moor!" (III.iii.421-426)
This undoubtedly upsets Othello, thus showing that Iago's craftiness knows no
bounds. He made Cassio appear dishonest by lying to Othello. Satan also uses
appearance to create deception. We see an example of this when he tempts Eve in
the garden. He uses the pleasing appearance of the fruit to deceive her.
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
a
delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise,
she took from it's fruit and ate. . . Then the Lord God said to the
woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The
serpent deceived me, and I ate." (Gen. 3: 6,13)
The appearance of the fruit, to the eyes of Eve, deceives her into taking it and
eating of it. Satan also uses the woman to tempt Adam into eating the fruit as well.
Satan and Iago, both, have a unique way of twisting appearances into looking like
truths. This, sometimes, makes it hard to distinguish between the two evils.
Iago and Satan have been compared in many ways. He is called a viper just
as Satan is called a serpant. Lodovico asks: "Where is that viper? bring the villain
forth" (V.ii.285). When Satan is in the garden, he is referred to as the serpant. "And
the serpant said to the woman. . ." (Gen. 3:4). Iago could also be compared as the
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opposite of God. When Moses asks God what people are to refer to him as, He
says: "I am the I AM. . ." (Ex. 3:14). Iago says that he is the I am not. He is, in
essence, the exact reverse of God. As we have seen, metaphorically and by
example, Iago has proven to be the epitome of evil in that he uses the same tactics
that Satan does to get what he wants.
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Works Cited
Carey, Gary M.A. Cliff's Notes. Cliff's Notes Incorperated. Lincoln Nebraska,
1980.
Holy Bible. New American Standard Version.
The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopidia. Rel. 6. CD-ROM. Online Computer
Systems Incorperated. 1993.
Scott, Mark. Critical Interperatation of Othello. from Shakespeare for Students.
Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Incorperated, 1992. 411-457.
Shakespeare, William. Othello, The Moor of Venice. from Literature and the
Writing Process. McMahon, Day, Funk. Prentice-Hall Publishers: New
Jersey, 1996. 864-947.