Iago Quotes Flashcards
If thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport. (1.3.)
Here Iago explains how Roderigo can help him. He knows that Roderigo lusts after Desdemona and is angry to learn that she is married Othello. Iago encourages Roderigo to believe that by participating in Iago’s plot, he might have the chance to have an affair with Desdemona.
It is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets
He’s done my office. (1.3.)
This quote is one of the few moments where Iago explains his possible motivation for being obsessed with destroying Othello. He claims that there are rumors Othello has had an affair with Emilia, which would be a plausible reason for wanting to destroy Othello’s trust in his own wife. However, Iago only mentions this motivation very briefly, and it does not seem to fully explain the depth of his hatred toward Othello.
I am not what I am. (I.i)
Iago utters these words in conversation with Roderigo, thereby signaling that he is not all that he appears to be. However, Iago’s words also contain a deeper, more subversive message. The phrase “I am not what I am” serves as a parodic allusion to a well-known biblical quote from Exodus 3:14, in which Moses asks God his name and God offers an enigmatic response: “I am that I am.” By transforming God’s words into a negative formulation, Iago indicates his identity as a diabolical figure.
Men should be what they seem,
Or those that be not, would they might seem none! (III.iii.)
Iago says these words to Othello during a discussion of Cassio’s trustworthiness. Given Iago’s previous claims about his own deviousness, these words have an ironic ring. Iago’s words are doubly ironic, in fact, since he espouses the truism not just to cover up his own treachery, but also to cause Othello to doubt Cassio’s honesty. The kind of duplicity Iago demonstrates here points to his deep-seated cynicism about the world. It also serves as a warning to the audience to remain wary of appearances.
Thus do I ever make my fool my purse,
For I mine own gained knowledge should profane
If I would time expend with such a snipe
But for my sport and profit. (I.iii.)
Iago makes this confession to the audiences immediately after he sends Roderigo off to sell his land. Although he ostensibly convinces Roderigo to amass a small fortune for his own personal advancement, Iago makes it clear here that he intends to manipulate Roderigo in such a way that he will essentially function as Iago’s “purse.” Iago’s confession is the first moment in the play where he indicates the depth of his treachery. No one—even those apparently on his side—will be spared from his plot.
And, good
lieutenant, I think you think I love you. (II.iii.)
Iago speaks to Cassio in these lines. As implied by his use of the phrase “good lieutenant,” the surface meaning of these words has a positive ring. Essentially, Iago tells him, “I think you know I am your friend.” However, Iago’s recursive use of “think” also conceals a deceptive second meaning. To say “I think you think I love you” implies love without actually expressing it. In a single move, then, Iago both comforts Cassio and undermines his trust.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all. (II.iii.)
Iago utters these lines at the end of a soliloquy in which he further develops his treacherous plot against Othello. Here, he speaks specifically of Desdemona and how he plans to turn her goodness against her. Iago uses two ill-matched metaphors. He initially wants to “turn her virtue into pitch,” which is a sticky, black, tar-like substance. But in mid-sentence Iago shifts from sticky pitch to the image of a web in which he can ensnare all of his enemies. Iago’s treachery runs so deep that he cannot even commit to a single metaphor!
How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
Thou know’st we work by wit and not by witchcraft,
And wit depends on dilatory time. (II.iii.)
In response to Roderigo’s frustration with how slowly Iago’s plot is unfolding, Iago stresses the importance of patience. Iago knows that in order for any plan to work, one must be willing to wait for the right opportunities. Being able to spot the right opportunity depends on one’s wit, and wit, Iago emphasizes, “depends on dilatory time”—that is, time that moves slowly. Much like Roderigo, the audience is also subject to Iago’s dilatory time. We, too, must patiently watch as his treacherous plot plays out, and the slowness of its unfolding only makes it that much more tense.
Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. (III.iii.)
As Iago makes insinuations about Desdemona’s adultery and Othello pressures him to reveal what he knows, Iago warns Othello against succumbing to jealousy. Of course, Iago issues this warning with a false earnestness. That is, he knows that saying the word “jealousy” and conjuring an offensive visual image will intensify Othello’s concern. Iago’s anthropomorphizing of jealousy as a “green-eyed monster” is famous, and his use of the color green stems from a Renaissance belief that green was a “bilious hue,” linked to an imbalance of the humors that caused fear and jealousy.
Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ. (III.iii.)
Iago delivers these lines in a short soliloquy where he informs the audience of his plan to plant Desdemona’s handkerchief in Cassio’s room. Here, the handkerchief is the “trifle light as air.” In itself the handkerchief signifies nothing. However, knowing that Othello’s jealousy has already ramped up, Iago predicts that he will overestimate the handkerchief’s significance, taking it as a “proof of holy writ”—that is, as evidence direct from the Bible.
I will in Cassio’s lodging lose this napkin
And let him find it. Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ. This may do something.
The Moor already changes with my poison.(3.3.329–333)
In this soliloquy, Iago shares his evil plan for Desdemona’s handkerchief: He will place it in Cassio’s room as “evidence” that Desdemona and Cassio have been having an affair. Iago understands that a gift such as a handkerchief might be a mere trinket to some, but bear profound meaning to others. As a jealous man, Othello invests the handkerchief with great meaning. Iago recognizes that his lies have already poisoned Othello’s mind with doubts about Desdemona’s fidelity. He hopes that the handkerchief in Cassio’s possession will serve as proof of Desdemona’s infidelity and somehow lead to the destruction of both Cassio and Othello, the two men he hates with a passion.
