Othello #4

"To counsel Cassio to this parallel course/ Directly to his good? Divinity of hell!/ When devils will the blackest sins put on,/ They do suggest at first with heavenly shows,/ As I do now" (II.iii.370-373). In this soliloquy, Iago is being rather villainous and has horrible intentions. Iago is relating himself to the devil, and consistently calls upon hell to aid him in his plan. He is now using analogies in which he himself is the devil. The parallel between Iago and the devil is sort of a religious allegory, for all of the other characters in Othello are represented by Christian faith. However, Iago recognizes his evil, and he is okay with it. Iago also discusses Desdemona. He says, "So I will turn her virtue into pitch,/ And out of her own goodness make the net/ That shall enmesh them all" (II.iii.380-383). Here, Iago says that he wants to use Desdemona's goodness to bring down others, and that he wants to use Desdemona's own virtue against her.