The name Iago comes from the Latin “Iacobus”, which means “one who stumbles over another and takes his place”. This name also belongs to the most important character in Shakespeare's Othello and one of the most wonderfully evil characters of all time. The character Iago is more than worthy of his name, because in the process of "tripping" the character Cassio in order to obtain Cassio's lieutenantship, Iago takes extreme measures to take revenge on Othello, the general who defeated him. first deprived of the lieutenancy. By taking these measures, Iago turns the lives of the characters upside down and creates disorder. Thematically, this disorder manifests itself in the juxtaposition of opposing camps: honesty versus deception and appearance versus reality, black versus white and good versus evil, and God versus the devil. Iago illustrates the theme of opposition and contradiction and casts an aura over the play that reflects this theme with his paradoxical statement: "I am not that I am." (Act I; i)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay This statement is significant in many ways, one being that it reflects the theme of contradiction within the play. It is also significant because it directly abrogates God's statement to Moses in Exodus III: "I am that I am." By this, God meant that He was All, the complete and unique “I Am”, Ego, Being and Power. By deliberately contradicting God's statement, Iago insinuates that he is the opposite of God, implying that he might be the devil. The idea of ​​Iago as a representation of Satan will be discussed further. Iago's declaration of self-sacrifice can also be used as a formula throughout the play - whenever he uses the words "I am", they can be replaced with the words "I am". I am not", to give a completely different meaning to what he says. This idea obviously coincides with the theme of opposition in that it deals with opposing meanings. For example, at one point Iago says to Roderigo, “I am for you.” (Act I; ii) Plugging in the phrase translates this statement to “I am not for you.” This makes much more sense, because Iago is not for you. all "for" Roderigo - he simply uses Roderigo to carry out his plans, and he dislikes Roderigo at all, considering him an idiot for his passive cooperation and gullibility A more important example of how this formula. can be used is when Iago says "As honest as I am". (Act II; i) This is one of many references made to Iago by himself and others as being "honest". he's not honest at all, which is why it makes sense to use the formula for his statement to say "As honest as I am not." Iago appears to be honest but is actually dishonest; this idea reflects the theme of opposition – in this case, the opposition of honesty and deception as well as appearance and reality. Other elements of the play also reflect these ideas, such as the reality of Desdemona's innocence and the distortion of reality, her infidelity, which Iago makes Othello believe is real. Iago makes Desdemona and Cassio seem dishonest, when in reality Desdemona is chaste and loyal and Cassio is honorable. All of these contradictions arise from Iago's trickery, and they also relate to Iago's statement "I am not what I am" - he is not what he is, and so he gives the impression that the others are not what they are. Opposing sides also manifest in the ideas of black versuswhite and evil versus good. Othello, a Moor, contrasts sharply with the rest of the characters, all white. His color creates conflict in certain areas, such as how others perceive him. Brabantio, for example, is Desdemona's father, and he becomes angry when she runs away with Othello, mainly because Othello is black. He speaks harshly to Othello and accuses him of witchcraft, asking why his daughter would "run away from his guard to the castle." Sooty breast of such a thing as you - to be afraid, not to rejoice! his ever-increasing suspicion, constantly fueled by Iago's ruse. The theme of black and white is centered at one point in Iago's witty speech about women: Others use it... If she be black, and have wit, she will find a white man who will strike her blackness... She has never yet been stupid that is right, for even her madness has helped her find an heir. (Act II, i) This clever rhyme seems to favor fairness rather than darkness, reflecting Iago's hatred of Othello. The theme of black versus white is a variation of the theme of evil versus good, of course, Iago is evil, and he. is in opposition to good, represented by Othello in particular, and by all the other characters. The irony of Iago versus Othello is that he creates a contradiction within a contradiction. The first contradiction is, once again, good versus evil. The second contradiction is that good is usually represented by white and evil by black, but in this case the colors are reversed. Not only does the theme of opposing camps exist in the form of good versus evil, but it presents itself in the form of God versus the Devil. As mentioned previously, Iago can be seen as a representation of Satan as he declares himself the opposite of God with his "I am not what I am." Another time Iago implies that he represents the devil is when he describes how he deceives others with his appearance: "When devils act out the blackest sins, / They first suggest with heavenly sights, As I do now.” (Act II; iii) Additionally, the role of destroyer that he assumes directly opposes the idea of ​​God as Creator, so Iago must represent God's opposite, the devil. So who is the god against whom Iago is at war? According to Harold Bloom in Shakespeare's The Invention of Man, Othello is Iago's god. Although this may not seem logical at first glance, the following ideas must be considered: Iago, being a representation of Satan, delights in his evil qualities and loves to wage war. In fact, war is his religion. Because Othello is a war general, Iago worships him as a god. When Othello gives up Iago and gives the lieutenancy to Cassio, Iago becomes nothing, hence “I am not what I am”. Because he is nothing, he must wage war against his god, Othello, who, like God in the Bible who is Everything, is everything to Iago because war is everything to Iago. Iago's love of war also reflects the theme of opposition in the play, as war is essentially a matter of opposing sides. Moreover, Iago declares at one point that, if Othello had not left him aside, Iago would never have become “nothing”. Iago conveys this idea to Roderigo in the words "As sure as you are Roderigo, if I were the Moor I would not be Iago". (Act I; i) Iago means that if he were as powerful as the Moor and had received the lieutenantship, he would not have become the nothing that Iago is, the “I am not” which constitutes his be. He would never have known the emptiness of his soul, which led to his lack of morality and then his malicious pursuit of evil. In fact, he would never have become this wonderfully evil character so esteemed in the."