Othello is definitely the protagonist in the play named after him. He is the hero type who has everything going for him-- the woman, the job, the fancy lifestyle. Unfortunately he has the fatal flaw of jealousy and he begins to distrust people because of word of mouth. On the other hand, Iago is the antagonist who is trying to bring down Othello and his wife because he believes Othello once slept with his wife Emilia and he is upset because Othello chose Cassio as his lieutenant instead of Iago who has more experience (I.i.35-37). Iago is the bad guy, the person that no one likes because he goes to great lengths to make life terrible and screwed up for Othello even though there is no proof that he ever slept with Emilia. Iago also suffers from the same jealousy problem as Othello. When it comes to foil characters, Iago and Cassio foil one another. Iago's planning and deceit show how terrible of a man he is and that he would do anything to get his way. Cassio on the other hand is simple a victim in this story. He is pressured to drink by Iago even though he claims he is not a drinker and then he ends up getting in a fight with Roderigo (II.iii.129-134). Then Iago tells Montano that "drink rocks his cradle" and he gets like this every night in order to get to sleep even thought this is a complete lie (II.iii.110-113). Finally, the minor characters move this story along because they are the messengers or accomplices of Iago even if they do not realize it. They do his will and his bidding because they believe him to be an honest man, but he is actually so deceiving that they do not notice his treachery.
January 22, 2011 at 3:22 PM
also look at the the contrast between Iago and Cassio's treatment of women.