In “The Infection and Spread of Evil: Some Major Patterns of Imagery and Language in Othello,” by Alexander Gonzalez, we have an argument that Shakespeare has given use interpretive clues to help diagnose Iago’s character. In the article, he urges us to see Iago as a kind of negative God or Lucifer who corrupts religious language and spreads “evil” through this corruption. We should note that no characters use any animal imagery until after they have had contact with Iago, and that the order of “corruption” follows from Roderigo to Brabantio to Cassio to Othello. Thus, Gonzalez argues, we can trace Iago’s “infection” of the other characters while also observing the change in those characters (they move from reverent to irreverent and start debasing each other via animal imagery). Given this, Iago’s plan becomes much clearer; it is through the use of his words that his “evil infection” spreads to others and reduces them to the “mere animals” who would have no use for the “dignity of persons.”
Gonzalez, Alexander G. “The Infection and Spread of Evil: Some Major Patterns of Imagery and Language in Othello.” South Atlantic Review, vol. 50, no. 4, 1985, pp. 35–49. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3199381. Accessed 2 July 2021
Tony Thorstenson
