Iago Quotes

Question 1

‘Iago, who hast had my purse as if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this’ - Roderigo in Act 1 Scene 1

Answer 1

Roderigo is Iago’s social superior however Iago controls him financially. Roderigo is just a puppet for him to manipulate.

Question 2

‘Make me his lieutenant off-capped to him… as loving his own pride and purposes’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 1

Answer 2

Reduces Othello to a pronoun, which reveals his racism and disgust in how Othello has promoted Cassio instead of him. Iago paints Othello as proud, selfish and deaf to others - he relishes in tarnishing Othello’s name.

Question 3

‘I am not what I am’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 1

Answer 3

Iago subverts what God said to Moses ‘I am that I am’ which is blasphemous, portraying Iago’s true colours and making him seem like the devil incarnate.

Question 4

‘Poison his delight…plague him with flies’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 1

Answer 4

Iago wants to infect Brabantio’s life with hatred, as he will do to Othello in time, highlighting how he loves to hurt others.

Question 5

‘An old black ram tupping your white ewe… or else the devil will make a grandsire of you’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 1

Answer 5

Iago shows extreme racist attitudes which a 17th Century audience would share - holding a mirror to society?

Question 6

‘You’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse… making the beast with two backs’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 1

Answer 6

Iago reduces Othello to an animal and speaks in prose - representing uncivilised speech and Iago’s status as lower class.

Question 7

‘I lack iniquity’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 2

Answer 7

This dramatic irony highlights his duplicitous and manipulative nature.

Question 8

‘By Janus’- Iago in Act 1 Scene 2

Answer 8

Janus, a two-faced Roman God who is an appropriate deity for Iago to invoke.

Question 9

‘Exeunt Othello and Desdemona (attended by Cassio)’ - Stage direction in Act 1 Scene 3

Answer 9

As soon as Othello and co leave, Iago’s true machiavellian self emerges and his facade melts away.

Question 10

‘Put money in thy purse… I say put money in thy purse…put money in thy purse’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 3

Answer 10

Repeated 6 times, enforces Iago’s power over Roderigo and how Iago takes advantage of his foolishness and gullibility for his own profit.

Question 11

‘And is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets he’s done my office’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 3

Answer 11

Believes Othello has slept with Emilia, will use this to fuel his hate and spur on his plan for destroying Othello.

Question 12

‘Hell and Night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light’ - Iago in Act 1 Scene 3

Answer 12

Connotes danger, cunning, malice - cements how truly evil Iago is.

Question 13

‘With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 1

Answer 13

Iago is the cunning, blood-thirsty spider that will weave his machiavellian web to trap Othello, Cassio and Desdemona.

Question 14

‘O, you are well tuned now! But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music, as honest as I am’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 1

Answer 14

Iago will make the harmonious and joyous love between Othello and Desdemona unharmonious and chaotic.

Question 15

‘Let thy soul be instructed… be you ruled by me’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 1

Answer 15

Emphasises his control over Roderigo, Iago seizes the one thing that is entirely his own.

Question 16

‘And what delight shall she have to look on the devil?’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 1

Answer 16

Racism towards Othello, comparing him to Satan.

Question 17

‘Till I am evened with him, wife for wife’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 1

Answer 17

He believes Othello has slept with his wife so he wants to destroy Othello and Desdemona in return - motiveless malignity?

Question 18

‘Honest Iago’ - Othello in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 18

Dramatic Irony, highlighting Othello’s blind trust in Iago and how well Iago keeps his facade of loyalty.

Question 19

‘Our general’s wife is now the general’ Iago in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 19

Iago uses a sarcastic tone as he is deeply misogynistic and cannot comprehend a woman in power.

Question 20

‘Good night, honest Iago’ - Cassio in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 20

Recurring use of ‘honest’ which reveals how skilled of a manipulator Iago is.

Question 20

‘What’s he then that says I play the villain, when this advice is free I give and honest’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 20

Iago is justifying his actions, saying he is not evil, that he is not forcing his victims to heed his advice.

Question 21

‘Divinity of hell!’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 21

Paradoxical and blasphemous statement which would be shocking to a 17th century audience - cementing Iago’s malice and his role as the tragic villain.

Question 22

‘When devils will the blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows, as I do now’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 22

Iago likens himself to the devil and says that even Satan will wear his sins like clothes, taking them on and off when it suits him - allowing him to be duplicitous and wreak havoc in disguise.

Question 23

‘So I will turn her virtue into pitch’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 23

Iago will taint Desdemona’s purity in the eyes of Othello, making her seem disloyal and promiscuous.

Question 24

‘My wife must move for Cassio to her mistress - I’ll set her on’ - Iago in Act 2 Scene 3

Answer 24

Iago is moving characters and placing them exactly where he wants them, like pawns on a chessboard.

Question 25

‘Cassio my lord? No, sure, I cannot think it that he would steal away so guilty-like’ - Iago in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 25

Planting a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind, igniting Othello’s curiosity and suspicion - suggesting that Cassio is taking what isn’t his.

Question 26

‘Honest, my lord?… Think, my lord?’ - Iago in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 26

Echoing Othello, creating a comedic moment with a sinister underlay. Iago is making Othello slowly lose his sanity - psychologically twisting his thoughts.

Question 27

‘Contract and purse thy brow together, as if thou the hadst shut up in thy brain some horrible conceit’ - Othello in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 27

This emphasises how much of a master actor Iago is - not just an excellent machiavellian wordsmith but also a cunning and skilled performer.

Question 28

‘O beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on’ - Iago in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 28

Iago’s weaponises the recurring motif of monster in order to warn Othello of how jealousy is a wicked feeling that consumes men, all while feeding Othello lies to spark his jealousy. This emphasises Iago’s cruel duplicity.

Question 29

‘Trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ’ - Iago in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 29

Iago’s lies have pushed Othello to the edge, now the smallest thing can topple him from his pedestal.

Question 30

‘Witness, you ever-burning lights above… Iago doth give up the execution of his wit, hands, heart to wronged Othello’s service’ - Othello in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 30

A highly romantic scene, mirroring the vows in a marriage ceremony. This shows how deep Iago has rooted himself, he’s got Othello’s trust entirely and is now pledging his own loyalty which the audience knows he will continue to betray.

Question 31

‘I am your own for ever’ - Iago in Act 3 Scene 3

Answer 31

The last line in an act full of emotion - fury, malice, heartbreak. This line cements Iago’s pure evil - how he deceitfully declares his love and loyalty for the person he wants to destroy in every way possible.

Question 32

‘Did you perceive how he laughed at his vice?… And did you see the handkerchief?’ - Iago in Act 4 Scene 1

Answer 32

Iago uses suggestive language to psychologically twist Othello’s way of thinking, unhinging his rational thought and sowing seeds of doubt, rage and jealousy in his mind. He deliberately brings to the forefront of Othello’s mind the details he planned and planted to ignite his wrath.

Question 33

‘Do it not with poison; strange her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated’ - Iago in Act 4 Scene 1

Answer 33

Iago’s misogyny leads him to suggest strangling as the method of murder. It is personal, intimate and will make Desdemona struggle to breath - therefore silencing her and enforcing power and control over her. Her death in the marriage bed symbolises how a place of love and loyalty has been twisted to become representative of betrayal and now death. It is also a humiliating and emotional death for Desdemona, she will be killed by her husband in the place where she should be cherished.

Question 34

‘Here at thy hand: be bold and take thy stand’ - Iago in Act 5 Scene 1

Answer 34

Why won’t Iago kill Cassio himself? Is it because he has never killed in cold blood and is scared of killing? Or because he enjoys controlling Roderigo and wants to see how far he’ll go for him? Or because he’s terrified of getting caught and wants to maintain his honest image?

Question 35

‘He hath daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly’ - Iago in Act 5 Scene 1

Answer 35

Iago’s motiveless malignity comes to light. Cassio is far more beautiful than Iago and Iago is repulsed by anything good - emphasising his pure evil.

Question 36

‘Iago wounds Cassio in the leg from behind’ - Stage direction in Act 5 Scene 1

Answer 36

Is Iago an opportunist or a schemer? Or is he a machiavellian schemer who also takes advantage of opportunities that come his way to cement his plans?

Question 37

‘O damned Iago! O inhuman dog!’ - Roderigo in Act 5 Scene 1

Answer 37

Roderigo is the first character to experience anagnorisis. He realises how malicious Iago is, using animalistic language to equate Iago to a barbaric brute.

Question 38

‘Demand from me nothing: what you know, you know; from this time forth I never will speak a word’ - Iago in Act 5 Scene 2

Answer 38

Iago refuses to provide an explanation for his actions, therefore ridding the play of a resolution and cementing his motiveless malignity. Iago is asserting his power for the final time with his voluntary silence. This creates incomplete catharsis for the audience, leaving them feeling uneasy and frustrated.

Question 39

‘For this slave, if there be any cunning cruelty that can torment him much and hold him long it shall be his’ - Lodovico in Act 5 Scene 2

Answer 39

Finally Iago is recognised for the evil, malignant character that he is. Lodovico wants a drawn out, agonising death for Iago - a just punishment that the audience is relieved by, some sort of consolation for the lack of a clear and satisfying conclusion.