Sir Alfred Hitchcock once said, “The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture”.  Shakespeare seems to have taken similar heart in writing his famous Tragedy of Othello.  A convincing villain must have some manner of motivation.  The preponderance of Villains covet money, power or goods.  In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago seems strangely without single, distinct motive. However, upon close examination, we can see that he is motivated by many different desires.  These combined desires compel him to do the evil deeds he does.  Iago’s deeds are motivated by his need for control, his desire for entertainment and his overpowering jealousy.  Iago is a smart character, and Shakespeare wastes no time.  By the end of the first act, he already begun swaying the power of over half the characters, especially Roderigo.

Iago has a gift of manipulation; as well as a need to see things go the way he wants them to go.  He realizes that he can manipulate his contemporaries, and finds great pleasure anonymously weaving a story of deceit, lies and ultimately, death.  In fact, Iago himself describes his plans as webs: “With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly / as Cassio.” (II.i.168).  Iago has such a need for control that he cannot resist new opportunities for evil, such as when he acquires Desdemona’s handkerchief, “this may do something. / The Moor already changes with my poison:” (III.iii.329-330).  Instead of relying on his original plan, he embraces the opportunity.  This shows that he yearns for control; it is not just a means to achieve his end.  When he is exposed as the evil that he is in act V, we see that Iago looses part of his control; Iago is not comfortable, but he does try to regain control of the situation.  He accepts the fact that he seen as a traitor, and gladly watches his handiwork completed in the suicide of Othello. Iago craves command, and in steering people where he wants them to go and subtly provoking them to do what he wants them to do, he also obtains his vital dose of entertainment.  

Iago takes pleasure directing other people’s lives.  For instance, Roderigo is a great victim of Iago’s spiel, and Iago really enjoys fooling Roderigo.  This is evident when he states, “If I would time expend with such a snipe. / But for my sport and profit.” (I.iii.383-384).  However, leading Roderigo around on a rope could be interpreted as a “prank” and “mean”.  Iago’s true, evil nature is revealed when he gets a hold on Desdemona’s handkerchief.  He ponders what he might do with it, saying “this may do something. / The Moor already changes with my poison:” (III.iii.329-330).  Such enjoyment is possible because Iago feels he has been wronged and is seeking revenge.  The feeling of being wronged stems from his enormous jealousy.