PLAY: Othello ROLE: Iago Scene: Act III, Scene III SETTING: In Othello's office, winter, marble walls,
desk, chair, Othello's raging anxiety and suspicion. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF CHARACTER: 30, Male, 5'4'', 123lb, Black Hair, Rather Plain Features. INITIAL IMPRESSION: Though infamously conniving, Iago is, deeply, a sympathetic character. While his deeds and actions throughout the course of the play are undeniably heinous, his sheer detachment from the world around him is what renders him as cold as ice. It is clear that he has a difficulty in connecting with others, and is only capable of engaging on a superficial level in his interpersonal relationships. Take, for example, the lurid dynamic between him and his wife. The two are alienated from one another by the emotional distance they put between them. The mutual inability to form strong relationships is, truly, what bonds them together. To fill this emotional void, Iago compensates by trying to gain official recognition in the military. For, truly, he is incredibly cunning and intelligent, and worthy of his position. The time which others would typically invest into their personal relationships he spends in cogitation, and thus he reaps a good standing with his position. However, once this fails him, he is crushed, left feeling all the more inadequate and unworthy. To divert his consciousness away from this profound insecurity, he takes it upon himself to begin a new project, one which will bear a ripe fruit. Specifically, to seek revenge. All he need to is drag Othello down into his world of incredulous thoughts, and he is defeated. BACKGROUND AND RELATIONSHIPS: 1. Iago, at all times, conveys a sense of submission in his posture. He is stout and subordinate, trying to give Othello a sense of security in every way. This opens up the door for opportunity when, upon the latter's heartfelt exposure of his vulnerabilities, he instantly takes action. In his mind, Othello is a wall who is guarded in his emotions, as his struggle upward has rendered him strong. However, the one point of vulnerability he perceives is Desdemona, as that is where his emotions run the most rampant in his immediate life. Therefore, Iago need only exploit that weak spot. 2. In his relationship with Othello, Iago is, tragically, just as distant as he was with everyone else. His primary focus was his career, with those involved having little to no bearing on his impressions, as he is incapable of forming any kind of attachment or intimacy. Therefore, others are simply pawns, parts that others play in the grand narrative of his life. Therefore, the only thing that Othello meant to Iago was a means of obtaining a higher position in his job. Once he failed to do this, he instantly became an adversary. Which is precisely what he is enacting upon in this scene.
INTENTIONS/OBJECTIVES: 1. Above all, Iago simply wants to exploit Othello's weaknesses. He is trying to plant the idea into his head that Desdemona has been unfaithful. Now that he has already spun the tale that his wife is fickle, he must now implant the notion of infidelity to irritate his rage even further. This relates to Iago's ultimate goal of getting back at Othello for not promoting him and, consequently, making him face his unbearable amount of low self-worth and emotional solitude. 2. Iago is willing to endure essentially anything. Since his relationships are superficial to begin with, he does not need to exert any specific effort in putting on his respective "masks" to deceive others. After all, he knows who he is at heart, and his selfimage resides solely in the corners of his isolation, why, then, should he compromise them for any one person? 3. The obstacles are, quite paradoxically, Othello himself. Othello's rage may potentially spin out of control, something Iago is not always prepared for, because Iago is so precise in his methodical execution of his grand scheme that he puts himself in physical danger when faced against his mighty superior.
