What Happens to Iago at the End of “Othello”?
Iago’s fate based on the final dialogue of William Shakespeare’s “Othello” was torture and execution, which were to be enforced by Montano. After Othello commits suicide and falls on the bed beside his dead wife, Desdemona, Lodovico tells Iago to look upon the consequences of his evil acts. He then makes Gratiano the heir to the estate of Othello before telling Montano what to do with Iago.
Iago is deemed by many as one of the most villainous character in Shakespearean plays. His motives for his actions were unclear, although it may have stemmed from his anger at Othello for passing him over as lieutenant or his suspicion that his wife may have committed adultery with Othello. Despite these, however, his seething hate for Othello somewhat remains unexplained and the absence of a motivating factor in his actions makes his character even more evil.
The evil plans of Iago began to unravel in Act 5. Cassio was able to kill Roderigo, which is opposite of what Iago had planned and Iago himself failed to kill Cassio. Although Othello killed his wife Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia was able to reveal much of her husband’s evil plot before Iago was able to stab her. Despite being caught red-handed, Iago’s says in his last line in the play that he will never reveal the reason behind his actions.
