Villain

Motiveless Malignant

Practical Joker

A villain feels like he has been wronged by society and wants revenge for this. Iago feels like he was given an unfair deal when he was passed up for the lieutenancy and seeks revenge against all who have wronged him.

A villain has a general grudge against society and Iago shows his hatred for all around him.

" The adjective motiveless means, firstly, that the tangible gains, if any, are not the principal motive, and secondly, that the motive is not the desire for personal revenge upon another for a personal motive" and a malignant is one who is evil so this refers to one who is evil for no reason.

Iago searches for reasons to hate Othello when he says that maybe Othello had an affair with his wife and he will pretend that he did.

He has no real reason to hate Cassio or Emilia but seeks revenge on both of them.

He uses Roderigo and kills him for no reason.

The practical joker despises and hates his victims. Iago envies those who are in a higher class than him.

"The success of a practical joker depends on his accurate estimate of the weaknesses of others, their ignorances, their social reflexes, their unquestioned presuppositions, their obsessive desires, and even the most harmless practical joke is an expression of the joker's contempt for those he deceives." Iago finds the weaknesses in the other characters.

The practical joker needs to play these "jokes" in order to feel that he is alive...without his deception, he is a nobody. Iago feels like a nobody after he was passed up for the lieutenancy and needs to feel like somebody again.