Few people have had the ability to capture the human essence such as Shakespeare has in any other their writings. The amazing thing about Shakespeare is that he doesn’t accomplish this in just one work, but is able to do this to all his stories. This is apparent in his play, "Othello". Unlike the title would suggest, though, the most intriguing character is the devious Iago. The uniqueness of Iago isn’t just his wicked ways, but the train of thought, words, and actions Shakespeare instills in him.

Apparently, like stated above, this book should have been entitled "Iago, the Fiend of Venice", or something of the like. This book relies on Iago in every facet, whether it is creating the story line or just the importance of his characteristics themselves. Shakespeare, obviously, grants Iago the gift of manipulation in which the Moor’s advisor takes full advantage of; whether it is with Brabantio, his wife Emilia, or Othello himself. This helps define Iago’s character, along with another event brought forth by Shakespeare: Iago’s willingness to murder his on wife and the quickness in which he does it. Though at the end of the tale, Iago shows his love for no one when he kills the person he was to hold most sacred. On a whim, after the "betrayal" (if telling the truth could be considered one) by his wife, the focus on Iago had become even clearer when he simply stabbed his wife with no remorse or regret.

Though all these incidents add to the character of Iago, the seemingly most significant thing Shakespeare portrays is Iago’s view towards life itself. Shakespeare spends his time detailing how Iago believes the role of life is personal gain (and in his opinion at all costs) and that those that believed in loyalty (underlings) were fools.

Another thing that really gives acid to Iago is his thoughts towards human experiences, particularly sexual relationships. Iago’s view on this matter is that it is just done to do, like animals, in which he makes many inferences to. Iago doesn’t believe in love that accompanies what some consider the most sacred and intimate events in a relationship between couples. This can be seen as soon as chapter one, scene one, lines 85-86 and 108-109 in which he states to Brabantio that "… an old black ram is tupping your white ewe." and "…you’ll have you daughter covered with a Barbary horse." stating the fact of Othello’s and Desdemona marriage. The relations that Iago makes between sex and "wildlife" can be seen through the play.

Yet, through all this effort, the title still remains "Othello". Why Othello? It could have easily been another character in that spot, maybe a character named Alfred, who was a butler, or Homer, a man who was formally a poet but is now in head of safety at a nuclear plant. Basically, I’m just stating my opinion that the role of Othello could have been played by almost any other type of character. Could Iago’s role have differed? And say you did change his role, would this story then have the same effect?