iago literary critics

• 'The character of Iago is so conducted that he is, from the first scene to the last, hated and despised' - S. Johnson
• Iago shows 'motiveless maliginity' - S. Coleridge
• Iago is 'next to the devil' - S. Coleridge
• Iago is 'the very voice of jealousy itself' - D.R. Godfrey
• Cynicism is the key to his mind and actions - G. Wilson Kinight
• His frequent use of soliloquies and asides mean the audience become 'complicit in Iago's intention' and are involved in his 'vengeful plotting'. - Sean McEvoy
• Iago's brilliance is not what he puts in Othello's mind but what he drains out - Fintan O'toole
• Othello is a play obsessed with social class and hierarchy and this is reflected in Iago's motivations - Trevor Roff