| It’s sad to say but in 2015 Iago would make a great politician; At least in the Washington D.C. from Netflix’s House Of Cards starring Kevin Spacey. In House of Cards, Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is the house majority whip. Both Iago and Frank plot, scheme, and lie to get their way. |
IagoIn both cases, the two characters were passed up for a promotion by their bosses. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago is passed up for a promotion by Othello in favor of Cassio. This sparks Iago’s sentiment that he “hates the moor” (1.3.369) and starts his scheme. Iago lies and manipulates to get his way; He lies to his wife, his best friend, and countless others to get back at Othello. Iago is ruthless in his manipulation of the people closest to him. This is evident in his conversations with his wife. When Emilia brings him the handkerchief he first calls her “a foolish wife” (3.3.305). But after she serves him a person he quickly changes his tone acknowledging her as “A good wench” (3.3.312). He completely controls Emilia throughout the play until the last act. She blindly follows him in whatever he does. He controls Emilia and many others like Othello; He tells Othello to not only murder Desdemona but to “strangle her in her bed” (4.1.209). Eventually, Iago’s schemes caught up with him in act 5 of Othello and leads to his stabbing. | Frank UnderwoodSince Othello was written scholars have inquired on what Iago’s motives were. Unlike Iago, Frank Underwood’s motives are quite clear: power. Power is the fuel that drives Frank to scheme and plot. Just like Iago, Congressman Underwood was passed up for a promotion. In this case, he was passed up for the Secretary of State position by the President. This – like Iago – started his schemes and set the plot in motion. Frank is also very manipulative in his approach. For example, he takes an alcoholic congressman who was caught with a prostitute and uses him for his own political agenda. Much in the same way Iago used Emilia, Frank used congressman Russo. In both cases this leads to the pawns death. By the end of season 1, frank has manipulated everyone around him so he could grab the vice presidency. He gets rid of the necessary people and manipulates the president to give him the job. By the end of season 2, Frank uses the media and deceit to claim the presidency for himself. His plans lifted him from the house majority whip to President without a single vote being cast. |
In both cases of literature, Iago and Frank Underwood received little to no punishment. Usually – especially in contemporary works – the bad guy is supposed to lose. But in Othello and House of Cards the good guy lost. Iago says he “bleed, sir; but not kill’d” (5.2.288) and Frank ends up the president. Both these characters – which could be characterized as anti-heroes – use deceit and manipulation to achieve their dark goals. The surprising finish is they are actually successful.