Iago: the Villanous Nature

Othello is a play full of deception, greed, jealousy, and racism. All of these are used by Iago, the antagonist, and show his true villainy as he stops at nothing to achieve his goal, no matter who gets in his way. A noticable trait of Iago is his ability to manipulate, which he uses for his own personal gain, and exploit weaknesses of characters such as Othello and Cassio. Iago is the catalyst for Othello's change, causing Othello's change of view and behaviour of his wife, Desdemona, which then results in the death of many important characters in the play. He manipulates many of the main characters of the play, changing their perceptions of each other dramatically.
A master of deception, Iago is able to percieve individuals weaknesses and exploit them for his own personal gain. Deception is shown in the characterisation of Iago, when he swears by Janus, the god of two faces, "by Janus!" (I, ii, 38). This is adds to his character and is ironic, as Iago is two faced, manipulating and deceiving others for his own personal gain. Throughout the play, characters reference Iago as "honest Iago", which is ironic as he says himself, "As I am an honest man" (II, iii,285), which in turn is   undone with his own admission of dishonesty in a soliloquy,
"Divinity of hell!
When devils will their blackest sins put on,
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,
As I do now"     (II, iii, 370-374).
Deception is shown here through the contrast of imagery between the darkness of hell and the purity of heaven. His interactions with characters throughout the play show his ability to change his appearance towards others in order for them to appeal towards him.
Through the twist of words within sentences, he's able to skewe the after effects in his favor, making others believe what he's saying is the truth, thus making him "honest Iago". He's able to notice the trust other have in him and uses it to his advantage, furthering him towards his goal. Words are his weapon of...