"Demonic Ventriloquism and Venetian Skepticism in Othello"

Morris, Blair. “Demonic Ventriloquism and Venetian Skepticism in Othello.”, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 53, no. 2, 2013, pp. 311–335., www.jstor.org/stable/24510001. Accessed 10 July 2021.

Blair Morris analyzes how Shakespeare projects the pitfalls of religious skepticism and

humanism in the Venetian setting as enabling evil, such as Iago’s successful use of demonic ventriloquism, in order to criticize the English government and religions’ lack of caution. Venice and other city-states “...followed the ideals of humanism more than other European countries… [and] many observers condemned the city-state as a place of irreligious permissiveness” (314). In Othello, the Venetian characters are oblivious to Iago’s devilish plans and projections in light of their religious skepticism, allowing for Iago to be successful in his destruction; this presented a stark warning for the adapting views of demonic ventriloquism in England at the time, as the government and the Church of England were becoming skeptical of its existence and power. Morris gives the example of Iago’s language being mimicked by Roderigo and later Brabantio in the Venetian senate, where Iago is physically silent, but his words about the supernatural resonate with Brabantio’s arguments. The Duke, representing a skeptical humanist, rejects such accusations and refuses to investigate their cause, freeing Iago to wreak his havoc for the rest of the play. Tracking Iago’s demonic possession of voice and action through Othello, Cassio, and Desdemona, Morris investigates the weaknesses of the skeptical, humanist thought explored by Shakespeare’s Othello and the harm caused in its wake.

--Hannah Nagy

"The Manipulation of Masks: The Rhetoric and Deceit of Shakespeare’s Character Iago"

 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????

The Infection and Spread of Evil: Some Major Patterns of Imagery and Language in ‘Othello’

 

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