Laura DeLuca’s article conveys both the understanding of the character Iago at large as well as an analysis of what he actually does and is capable of. She describes how often, Iago is put on a pedestal in the eyes of viewers and scholars who believe the character “personifies pure evil” (DeLuca 25) due to Iago’s lack of apparent motive in causing Othello’s destruction, a belief which the author claims is hasty and “rash” (27), and actually “disregards Iago’s complexity” and “disguised evolution” throughout the play” (31). DeLuca states that close analysis of Iago’s character, actions, and relative success of his manipulations reveal that although clearly the villain of the play, Iago is still a mortal man of limited power, and a lot of his success can be attributed to pure luck as well as his craftiness and ruthlessness. Shakespeare’s character of Iago is a complex, ruthless, crafty character, but not a supernatural one, who can show viewers the capacity for evil a human can have, through which the viewer can “examine humanity and its flaws” (31).
-Mathew Stephens
DeLuca, Laura. "The Manipulation of Masks: The Rhetoric and Deceit of Shakespeare’s Character Iago." Bergen Scholarly Journal 25 (2015). pages????
