“Motiveless Malignity”
1. The soliloquy is used as a build up to dramatic irony – Iago is telling the audience his plan so they
will know the truth of what’s happening when the plan is carried out. Iago’s soliloquy also
reveals his true feelings towards Roderigo and Othello and reveals his true selfish nature, which
is shown when he says he is willing to ruin his wife’s image to achieve his revenge (Lines 385388). Iago also uses his soliloquy to reveal how perceptive he is because he can read people well
and interpret their reactions, which allows him to manipulate their weaknesses (Lines 395-398).
Iago’s soliloquy also hints at themes that will appear later during the play because of his plan,
such as love and jealousy, man vs. woman and appearance vs. reality.
2. Three examples of spontaneous speech that are shown by Iago are “I hate the Moor”, “How?
How? Let’s see” and “I have’t, it is engendered!” These instances of spontaneous speech gives
the audience an idea of how Iago’s thought process is moving and how he is working out his plan
in his head. When Iago suddenly switches from talking about Roderigo to talking about Othello
by saying “I hate the Moor”, it shows how strongly Iago hates him because the emotion jerks
him out of his current line of thought.
3. Iago sees Roderigo as an idiot and as someone he can easily manipulate to achieve his own ends.
This is shown when Iago says “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse” when talking about how
he manipulates Roderigo and also when he describes Roderigo as a “snipe”, which is a small bird
as is used as a term of contempt to describe a fool.
4. Iago strongly despises Othello and sees him as someone who trusts others too easily and is a
follower rather than the leader he is depicted as. This is shown when Iago suddenly says “I hate
the Moor” and when he says that Othello “will as tenderly be led by th’ nose/ As asses are”,
which suggests that Iago thinks Othello doesn’t use his brains and just listens to others.
5. I would interpret “motiveless malignity” as great hatred or malice without a just cause for the
feeling. Samuel Taylor Coleridge described Iago using this statement and meant it as the events
Iago uses as an excuse for his behaviour, such as being passed over for promotion, are not fully
justified and therefore his malignity is motiveless. The motive Iago offers for his treatment of
Othello in the soliloquy is that “’twixt my sheets/ He’s done my office” – Iago suspects that
Othello has slept with his wife Emilia. Another reason for Iago’s attitude towards Othello could
just be simple jealousy – Iago doesn’t like the fact that Othello, a Moor, is of a higher rank, is
more respected, has a lovely rich young wife and overall has a better life than he does do he
intends to ruin it.
6. Iago plans on using Roderigo to get more money by pretending to help Roderigo win
Desdemona. He intends to get revenge on Othello and Cassio by making Othello think that
Cassio is getting too close to Desdemona and because Othello is very trusting he will believe Iago
and may possibly fire Cassio, which will result in Iago getting Cassio’s job. Iago also intends to
somehow manipulate the rumour that Othello has slept with his wife in order to help further his
revenge.
7. The quote “The Moor is of a free and open nature/ That thinks men honest that but seem to be
so” shows that Iago intends to manipulate Othello’s open and trusting nature.
8. The quote “He hath a person and a smooth dispose/ To be suspected, framed to make women
false” shows that Iago intends to exploit Cassio’s good looks to achieve his plan.
9. Animals – Iago uses the word “snipe” to describe Roderigo and the word “asses” to describe
Othello’s nature which could possibly suggest that he sees others as lower than him and not as
intelligent as he is by describing them as animals.
Heaven and hell – Iago uses the terms “Hell” and “light” to describe the trouble he is going to
make, which suggests that Iago hates happiness and is jealous of others’ happiness and so he is
going to ruin it by creating trouble or bringing “hell” to destroy their heaven or “light”.
Light and darkness – Iago uses the word “night” in conjunction with the word “hell” and uses
the phrase “the world’s light”. Similarly to Iago’s reference to heaven and hell, this could mean
that he intends to take away the world’s light or people’s happiness and plunge it into darkness.
Money – Iago says that he has made Roderigo his “purse”, which suggests that Iago is incredibly
focussed on money and that he is a material person.