Iago: The Strategies of Evil

There are few readers more astute than Bloom (Cleopatra: I Am Fire and Air), as is proven once more in this perceptive study of Othello. The fourth entry in a series devoted to “Shakespeare’s personalities” finds Bloom wrestling with Iago, “a pyromaniac who wishes to set fire to everything and everyone.” Consisting of lengthy quotations from the play interspersed with Bloom’s reactions, the book evokes the experience of reading Shakespeare’s text along with Bloom. He pays close attention to the rhythms of Shakespeare’s language, occasionally takes issue with other critics (“W.H. Auden considered Iago to be the apotheosis of the practical joker. I do not find that helpful”), and augments his reading with recollections of past performances of the play (especially a 1964 version staged in London, with Laurence Olivier as Othello and Frank Finlay as Iago, who, Bloom recalls, acted Olivier “quite off the stage”). The true value of Bloom’s sensitive reading lies in his ability to articulate his emotional response to the play. He leaves readers with a memorable new perspective on Othello, concluding with the observation that none of Shakespeare’s other plays is as disturbing, not even the “apocalyptic” King Lear and Macbeth, thanks to the “infernal intelligence” manifested in the character of Iago. (May)