In looking at famous lines from Othello, I was surprised to find that almost all of the most famous lines are spoken by the villain Iago. Like Edmund from King Lear, he has a lot of great soliloquies that touch on important themes of the play. In Act I he speaks a lot about his hate for Othello and his desire to bring him down while pretending to be loyal. In one famous soliloquy he says:
"Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am."
This touches on the common themes of identity and loyalty throughout the play. This quote also touches on the idea of divine justice, although in this case it seems to be an excuse for Iago to do whatever he wants and just accept the punishment later. His motivations are very interesting because he doesn't seem to care much about what God or men think about him so long as he gets what he wants. He knows that what he's doing is wrong, but that will never stop him from doing it. As the play goes on, other characters are faced with moral dilemmas but don't respond as unfeelingly as Iago does. Cassio, Othello's lieutenant that Iago frames in his plot against Othello, pleads to God a few times for forgiveness. Unlike Iago, he cares a lot about what both God and men think of him, which interestingly allows Iago to manipulate him. Iago's own messed-up morality and two-faced nature
remain interesting throughout the play, especially in comparison with the moral dilemmas of other characters.