Iago's Motivation In Othello Is Evil

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago plays the villain who sets out to destroy the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. His appalling, horrific actions and malicious spirit often cause readers to wonder what Iago’s motivation is. While, the play does explain minor motivations for why Iago commits so much evil, these causes are not sufficient. Iago’s true motivation is pure evil because he is malicious, psychopathic, and devil-like; he will not stop committing sinful crimes and will never feel remorse because he is consumed by evil. Othello tells the beginning and end of Othello and Desdemona. Othello is a general, and he recently gave an amateur solider, Cassio, a promotion that Iago had wanted. In addition to the promotion, Iago thinks that Othello slept with Emelia, Iago’s wife. Othello also recently married Desdemona, which was highly frowned upon because he is a Moor or a lowly …show more content…
If he has always been malicious without regret, he must have something that drives him towards his motiveless evil. It is possible that that drive is the idea that he is a psychopath or has psychopathic tendencies. A psychopath is a person who does not feel guilt or shame (West 29). Iago is a “moral blank” (West 29). It is apparent that he lacks a conscience, and he does not regret his wicked deeds. This lack of guilt is a major sign of psychopathy (West 29). Iago almost completely lacks motive. The motives or excuses he does reveal are more like afterthoughts (West 29). He sees no wrong in his actions which is a very psychopathic quality. The fact that Iago has no shame is also an indicator that he is ultimately evil. His sanity may come into question, but Shakespeare shows that Iago lacks self-delusion and is very intelligent (Bowman 461). Iago knows the weight of his actions, yet he continues his devious crimes and shows no remorse; this sounds very close to the definition of a