It is the popular opinion of many that Iago is Shakespeare’s evilest creation, with S.T Coleridge going as far as to describe him as a ‘motiveless malignity’, while Don John is perceived as Shakespeare’s most humane, if not passive villain. Whereas Iago is characterised as a villain of concealment, Don John is one of disclosure, and this stark contrast may suggest contrasting ideologies between these villains. The idea of motive that Coleridge presents is not in the sense that we know, as he argues that motive is merely rationalisations for a characters true nature; it must be deduced if Iago is an amoral malignity, or rather has a concealed aim in his plans. Comparatively, Don John is perceived to be immoral, as he does present clear motives,
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It can be argued though that Don John is driven by society into becoming a villain, as his bastard statues, being ‘born under Saturn’ removes him from mainstream society, due to his status as a 'saturnine ' stereotyping him by Elizabethan standards as melancholic, sullen and sardonic . His self-deprecating monologues such as ‘I am a plain dealing villain, seek not to alter me’ and his belief that his ‘blood renders him evil’ conveys a sense that Don John feels that he has no choice but to behave badly. Therefore, his conformity to Elizabethan society’s expectations would allow him to fulfil the position of an outsider, rather than to just be a nothing. This idea of Don Johns yearning to be recognised is highlighted through the theme of companionship, as his attitude to life juxtaposes with Iago 's preference of singularity in his scheming. Unlike Don John, Iago is praised and trusted by all ‘honest Iago’, ‘good Iago’, which poses the question of why he would destroy a …show more content…
Iago openly states, ‘I am not what I am’, alluding to the idea of Shakespeare modelled Iago on many predecessors, a vice character, much like Richard III, to simply represent true evil present in society, correlating with Shaw 's interpretation of this character. Furthermore, Iago’s hellish imagery for example ‘monstrous birth’ and oxymoronic phrases such as ‘divinity of hell’ may reveal his true hellish nature, and evil logic. Iago 's self-reference as 'divine ' suggests a sense of arrogance and self-assurance, while being contrasted with 'hell ' implies the cocky and manipulative nature that the devil is portrayed to have. This idea of a motiveless Iago has similarly been explored by others such as Turnbull who argues, ‘Iago acknowledges God, like Satan, to defy him,’ and the line ‘I am not what I am’ can be interpreted as ‘I am not what I seem’, which draws parallels with the biblical quote ‘I am that I am’. Therefore, if ‘I am that I am’ stands for God and ‘I am not what I am’ is the direct opposite of God, Iago is the devil, a motiveless unprovoked malignity, created to cause
It can be argued though that Don John is driven by society into becoming a villain, as his bastard statues, being ‘born under Saturn’ removes him from mainstream society, due to his status as a 'saturnine ' stereotyping him by Elizabethan standards as melancholic, sullen and sardonic . His self-deprecating monologues such as ‘I am a plain dealing villain, seek not to alter me’ and his belief that his ‘blood renders him evil’ conveys a sense that Don John feels that he has no choice but to behave badly. Therefore, his conformity to Elizabethan society’s expectations would allow him to fulfil the position of an outsider, rather than to just be a nothing. This idea of Don Johns yearning to be recognised is highlighted through the theme of companionship, as his attitude to life juxtaposes with Iago 's preference of singularity in his scheming. Unlike Don John, Iago is praised and trusted by all ‘honest Iago’, ‘good Iago’, which poses the question of why he would destroy a …show more content…
Iago openly states, ‘I am not what I am’, alluding to the idea of Shakespeare modelled Iago on many predecessors, a vice character, much like Richard III, to simply represent true evil present in society, correlating with Shaw 's interpretation of this character. Furthermore, Iago’s hellish imagery for example ‘monstrous birth’ and oxymoronic phrases such as ‘divinity of hell’ may reveal his true hellish nature, and evil logic. Iago 's self-reference as 'divine ' suggests a sense of arrogance and self-assurance, while being contrasted with 'hell ' implies the cocky and manipulative nature that the devil is portrayed to have. This idea of a motiveless Iago has similarly been explored by others such as Turnbull who argues, ‘Iago acknowledges God, like Satan, to defy him,’ and the line ‘I am not what I am’ can be interpreted as ‘I am not what I seem’, which draws parallels with the biblical quote ‘I am that I am’. Therefore, if ‘I am that I am’ stands for God and ‘I am not what I am’ is the direct opposite of God, Iago is the devil, a motiveless unprovoked malignity, created to cause