Othello

Different people have different opinions of the motives of Iago, in the play "Othello," by one William Shakespeare. Colerige famously said that Iago acted with a "motiveless malignity," or a pure hate of Othello and everything that he did. Others have disagreed with the author of perhaps the most famous critical analysis of Othello. They have suggested that he acted out of pure sexual jealousy, out of a envy of Othello's rank and class, or out of pure racism.

Perhaps the most arguable case against Colerige is the idea that Iago was a blatant racist. Right from the get-go Iago cries to Brabantio that Othello is "an old black ram" "tupping" his "white ewe." (1.1.89) We have not even learned the name of this black ram yet, and someone unfamiliar with the story would be purposely led to believe that Othello was somewhat of a predator, or that he could even be raping Desdemona. Basically the first half of Act 1 Scene 1 comprises