Iago: The Strategies of Evil

by Harold Bloom, Simon Vance (Narrator)

In all of literature, few antagonists have displayed the ruthless cunning and unscrupulous deceit of Iago, the antagonist to Othello. Often described as Machiavellian, Iago is a fascinating psychological at once a shrewd expert of the human mind and yet, himself a deeply troubled man. One of Shakespeare's most provocative and culturally relevant plays, Othello is widely studied for its complex and enduring themes of race and racism, love, trust, betrayal, and repentance. It remains widely performed across professional and community theater alike and has been the source for many film and literary adaptations. Now award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom investigates Iago's motives and unthinkable actions with razor-sharp insight, agility, and compassion. Why and how does Iago use fake news to destroy Othello and several other characters in his path? What can Othello tell us about racism? Bloom is mesmerizing in the classroom, treating Shakespeare's characters like people he has known all his life. He writes about his shifting understanding-over the course of his own lifetime-of this endlessly compelling figure, so that Iago also becomes an extraordinarily moving argument for literature as a path to and a measure of our humanity. This is a provocative study for our time.

Genres: Shakespeare, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Criticism, Education, Classics, Audiobook

Audio CD

Published March 19, 2019

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Darwin8u · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But we have reason to cool our raging motions, our carnal stings, our unbitted lusts, whereof I take this that you call love to be a sect or scion."
- Iago in Othello, Act I, Scene 3

This is the fourth of the five books Bloom wrote directly about Shakespeare's big personalities. He wrote five books in his series:

Falstaff: Give Me Life (1) ✔
Cleopatra: I Am Fire and Air (2)
Lear: The Great Image of Authority (3)
Iago: The Strategies of Evil (4) ✔
Macbeth: A Dagger of the Mind (5)

I like Bloom. He's for sure problematic, but interesting. That is why I flirt (on and off) with his sometimes far-out criticisms. I enjoyed (within reason) his take on Falstaff in his Shakespeare Personalities series. This one? Meh.

I'm not sure Bloom is adding much of value, or much of a novel take here. Maybe one thing: his take that Desdemona died a virgin. But, I'm not sure that bloodless token is enough to give this three stars. It wasn't even Iago: the Banality of Evil. That Arendt approach would have at least been interesting. Anyway, I'll sleep on it and if my wife hasn't removed nor choked my meh conception, I shall groan withal.

[Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love for Iago will never end.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected more from the late, great Harold Bloom. Part of what makes Othello so intriguing is the villain, Iago, and how his soliloquies make the audience his confidants and unwilling accomplices. We, of course, can see the tragedy coming long before Othello, Desdemona, and the rest, because Iago tells us exactly what he is plotting and what he is going to do. But why? He tosses out a few justifications for his hatred of the Moor, however, they're contradictory and unconvincing. Then, at the very end, there's that frustrating

What you know, you know.
From this time forth, never will I speak word.

We so want an explanation, a motivation, and the bastard gives us nothing. Bloom, being such an authority on so much of the canon of English literature, surely had some interesting insight into what makes this character tick. Or maybe some theories on what effects Shakespeare was trying to achieve in the story by having Iago tell us everything except why he's really doing it. But, most of this short book was simply large block quotes from the play, along with a summation of the storyline. I'm disappointed, Mr. Bloom. Disappointed.

[Daryl Mather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great companion to Othello

I discovered Harold Bloom just before he passed. His analysis here was very useful for me. He really digs very deeply into the characters, their motivations, and the consequences of these decisions.

In this case, he was razor-sharp in drawing out Iago's evil and duplicitous nature. Wherever possible his work has become my go-to companion literature for reading Shakespeare.

[Gabriel Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

not enough book in this book

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think today’s naturalist readings make Iago the play’s key character, so Bloom might be right to focus on him.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mediocre experience of _Iago_ is probably the victim of heightened expectations: I hadn't read any Bloom before, and I anticipated deep explication of a selection of Iago's text. Instead, the book presents huge excerpts from Othello (Bloom's edition of choice, I suppose, to clarify his analysis), with often just a sentence or two which, more often than not, restates explicitly what a character just, explicitly, stated. Occasionally Bloom clarifies unfamiliar words, expressions, and connotations, doing the work of a footnote.

If you've just read or seen Othello for the first time and aren't really clear what happened, this book is probably a pretty solid choice. If you're looking for depth, look elsewhere.

[Arin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow so disappointed If I had written this to turn back in my English major school days I would have gotten a terrible grade. You'd expect a little bit of original commentary. This book is basically just the entirety of Othello in quotes with a few insertion of commentary, but like a few sentences and often time instead of offering interesting insight it just kind summarize the lines of Othello we just read. No wonder its so short Bloom had barely anything to say literary criticism and analysis were non existent. Tsk.

[Claudia Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Bloom’s essay on Othello in “Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human”, I understood why Bloom would want to expand on Shakespeare’s this unforgettable personality.
You get the chance to read along with Bloom which is a rare treat.
Although this may not be the ideal book for the serious connoisseur of Othello, it is ideal for someone who remembers the play fondly and wishes to ease gently into the ideas expounded quickly on “The Invention of the Human”. I certainly enjoyed it.

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful exaination of one of litreatures greatest villains. Perfect accompaniment after reading Othello.

[Kimberly Przybysz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t bring myself to finish this. It’s like you said, Sean— Bloom provides an excerpt and then repeats it. I’ve studied Othello enough to not need this play-by-play. Darn it. Was hoping for more.

[African Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Despite the apocalyptic intensity of King Lear and Macbeth, I reread them with exuberant pleasure, since the sublime calls to our own answering sense of glory."

I am yet to have the pleasure of reading King Lear, but I can attest to the truth of Dr Bloom's statement on Macbeth. His ambition mirrors our own, though, I hope, we all gear ours to different ends.

"...nothing by Shakespeare makes me suffer as Othello does. Iago remains the most dangerous of all villains, because his infernal intelligence throws us into despair."

I have only read Othello once (or twice, if you include Bloom's reproduction of the text here). Thus, it is difficult for me to share Professor Bloom's uneasiness. Nevertheless, while not thrown into despair by Iago, I am thrown into discomfort. His deception is unjustifiable, and his lust for murder insatiable.

You, however, did not click onto this review to hear my thoughts about Shakespeare's play, but Dr Bloom's commentary. I am a Harold Bloom superfan, and readily confess an... insurmountable bias in his regard. Still, I maintain a measure of objectivity.

I have the same problem with this book that I did with his commentary on Macbeth: there simply isn't enough Bloom. Most of his additions are mere asides, or addendums. They lack substance. As such, the book is substantially flawed.

Nonetheless, the book was delightful. It was sublime. Or, as Dr Bloom would say, "superb."

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was incredibly disappointing. As a very amateur Shakespeare enthusiast but keen villainophile, I was hoping to get some expert insight into one of the greatest villains in literature, perhaps a detailed character analysis or explanations of how he compares to other characters written in this time. Instead, Bloom reprints large sections of the play and then simply reiterated what happened in each one--and not even in the way that teaching versions of Shakespeare explain antiquated language, but just the most basic plot points that are easily grasped by any reader. What little analysis he includes is not supported with textual references and often is a bizarre sexual conjecture, which seems to be a symptom of Oldwhitemanitis. His sharpest points are noting the revelatory nature of Emilia's character, but I have no idea why her creation was radical. Bloom doesn't even comment on her repeated "my husband?" moment--which seems like the key moment in which the characters in the play realize the true nature of the subject of this analysis. A bit of an oversight, no?

[BarricadeBoiz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Im really disappointed. Iago is my favorite character in the play and I saw this book when I was straightening shelves at work. I was really excited and intrigued by what seemed to be the subject matter of the book. BUT IT WAS A LIE A MALICIOUS LIE. There was no essay or any in depth analysis of anything. Bloom just copy pasted almost the whole play in and then explained the most basic parts of it. When he did say something interesting or a little confusing he would just move on. It was as if he assumed we all understood his mind and didn't need him to explain it. I would have been happy if the last chapter had been an essay taking all the text analysis he did and organizing it into a coherent argument. Maybe im just stupid but I dont think i really got anything out of this book :/ it just made me mad that this man made money off of this minimum effort "book". again maybe i dont understand academic books and their structure and maybe this book isnt as bad as im making it out to be BUT IM PETTY SO ONE STAR.

[Matt McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve finished Bloom’s four book presentation of Shakespeare’s personalities and find the last one of the best. Maybe it’s because I knew so little of Othello but more likely it was the power of Iago. So much like a modern day psychological thriller I am reminded of Dr Lecter more than Milton’s Satan.
As with my other reviews in the series I recommend each book for the insight it gives and the passion Bloom brings to the effort.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really have no basis to be disappointed with this analysis. Bloom stated it would be a character sketch, and my want for primary sources on Early Modern ideas of evil, manipulation, or vice be damned. Bloom did what he said he would, a deep dive into his interpretation of what makes that character of Iago the perfect embodiment of Shakespearean evil. I could have done without the reference to the character of Othello as a Moor by Bloom, but otherwise it was a thorough analysis.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always a treat to hear Prof. Bloom singing Shakespeares praises from cover to cover; never was there a more ardent Bardolator; be sure to read Bloom’s excellent ‘the invention of the human’; a guide to all Shakespeare’s plays; and in the same vein; Marjorie Garber’s ‘Shakespeare after all’; one of the best general public guides on the histories, comedies and tragedies.

[Hotspur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Harold Bloom has written many excellent books that I've enjoyed, and is almost 90. I also enjoy that he doesnt cherry pick the texts and works he analyzes to make his point. However, I have some major criticisms (if one is allowed to criticize Harold Bloom):

1) I would be surprised if there is even 5,000 words of Mr. Bloom's writing in this work. It could be lower.
2) This appears to be a sort of cliff-notes style of book, as it roughly follows the play's plot. However, the author has not organized this from Act to scene for us to follow or to utilize.
3) While I somewhat enjoy the long passages, at a certain point, I almost felt as if I was reading the entire play (which is not long for Shakespeare), and wondered why I was reading this book.
4) Even more frustrating, is that Mr. Bloom sometimes didnt even make a point despite quoting verbatim passages in the play that were two pages or more long.
5) Mr. Blooms points or analysis, didnt shine much light on the play or the motivation of the main characters. Instead, he let the reader know his opinions on the quality of the scene, another famous writers opinion (which he will tell you whether he agreed with or not), or how it tied to the one performance of Iago he liked (again, without too much deeper understanding of why he liked it, and of course comments of a few performances he didnt like). etc. Yet, a deeper analysis of really any part of this play, never materialized.
6) I am not sure if I gleaned anything original on Iago's strategies of evil, that I could not have gleaned from a rereading of the play on my own. Isnt that the point of writing said book? About the only comment that made me think, was his tying Iago to Milton's Satan. And that was reduced to a few sentences.

That being said, I would be happy to write said book at 88 or 90 years old.

[David Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a few quick insights into one of Shakespeare’s most popular villains, Harold Bloom’s got your back in his short book Iago: The Strategies of Evil. However, if you’re looking for more than just those insights sprinkled throughout some otherwise random and messy thoughts–some of which you could just as easily find on SparkNotes–then you may have to look elsewhere.

The ratio between chunks of text from Othello and analysis is not good, as there are just too many needlessly long passages from the play. And Bloom likes tossing out theories without much evidence. Does Iago’s frank sexual talk hint at his impotence? Is it true that Othello and Desdemona never consummate the marriage? Is it really shocking rather than stilted that Desdemona briefly comes back to life after being strangled? Bloom would answer yes with little follow up.

Nevertheless, there are worthwhile moments. Bloom does a good job unpacking Iago’s demonic status, showing the ways he acts as the latest incarnation of Satan and inverting lines from the Bible. He also makes some clever comments on the gender reversals present in the play. Not only does Iago behave the same way he accuses women of behaving–sinful in private, faultless in public–but Othello serves as the Eve of the story, giving into weakness and temptation and being the one who destroys his partner and the larger world beyond.

[Justin Byrne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book contains more of the play itself instead of the character study of Iago. Bloom's own ideas are assumingly a fourth of the content in this book, with the remain three quarters being long excerpts from the play. If you have read the original play, then I recommend either reading purely the ideas presented by Bloom or skipping it altogether. It is less of an analytical look at the character of Iago and more akin to someone retelling the story with occasional comments to add clarity. I would honestly recommend the book if you haven't read the play in years or are just starting to explore analytical works on Shakespeare.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy these books - they're eminently consumable, and contain some great treats and tidbits of analysis along with excerpts from the text without being dry, academic, and burdensome. Of the 140 odd pages at least 50% of it is excerpts from the play, so just know what you're getting yourself into.

This would make an excellent 101 style lecture, and it'd last about as long as an average lecture+seminar session. Whilst this one is about Iago, invariably he touches much on Othello, as well as a variety of the other cast members.

[Lars · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be a Philistine, despite being an English professor, but I did not find this book more satisfying than watching the play, or indeed very different from the basic insights that emerge from watching the play. Bloom has an effective introduction about Iago and his significance, but the remaining chapters are a walk-through of Othello with a substantial amount of it being just a text from the play.

There may be something I'm not getting.

[Marius Emanuelsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

...wherein Bloom finally jumps the shark and merely reprints most of Othello while narrating the rest, drizzled with a bit of commentary inbetween. He has written much better about this play before, and even most of the other books in this series contain valuable insights. This one isn’t so much bad as it is dull. I guess even Bloom nods.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn’t really a book of criticism. It’s a plot summary of Othello that focuses on Iago. Shakespeare wrote at least half of the text here. That’s fine – and there are some interesting asides – but this isn’t going to do much for your understanding of Iago. If you’ve never read Shakespearean Tragedy by AC Bradley, get that instead.

[Ronald Tirino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something is so Intriguing about the Character Iago .On the surface he is honest Iago ,and most trusted yet he is so devious and truly evil .He ranks high among the evil characters in literary history .Harold Bloom 's book is a small book It is a good introduction to the character Iago .It is an easy read .It might have gone into the psychology of Iago and issue of evil .

[Joshua Quiñones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dismally disappointing; I was hoping for some new insights into Iago’s psyche, motivations, and stratagem to share with my students as I teach Othello and didn’t find any insightful analysis in the text, even in the few moments where explication did take place.

[Colin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, whatever. Short ready but nothing much included here that Bloom didn’t also include in his chapter on Othello in “Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human.”

[Horatio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Harold Bloom but this had too many quotes and too little analysis, I was expecting more of a deep-dive

[Sarah Snee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It should be illegal to characterize this short book as 'literary criticism.'

As others have noted, Bloom nearly cites every single line in the entire play. If you take out Shakespeare's text in this, I think Bloom's commentary would equal maybe 15 pages if that. And his commentary had little to no depth. Not much analysis going on or anything equating that of criticism.

The reason I give this 2 stars is because it works semi-well as a summary of the play. I didn't have time to reread the entire play two weeks ago when it was assigned so I read this instead. I suppose it was helpful to reorient myself with the play, but I was really hoping to read some level of analysis. Honestly Bloom just has a hard-on for Iago. He's a good and interesting character, sure, but the obsession with a raging manipulative racist can become a bit...much.

Massively disappointed with this. I knew that Bloom had some kind of negative reputation, so I can definitely see why here. I guess once you're a Harvard professor you can just churn out empty books for your career.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The weakest of Bloom's personalities series, this book consists mostly of large chunks of text from the play followed by some paraphrasing by Bloom, often quite unnecessarily. There are few insights and few interesting observations, though one is Bloom's statement that he has never seen Othello well played except, perhaps, by Orson Welles and another about how Olivier in the role of the Moor was acted off the stage by the rest of the cast including Bloom's favourite Iago, Frank Finlay. Perhaps the flaw in the book is related to Bloom's admission that 'nothing by Shakespeare makes me suffer as Othello does' but I don't think that's it. Quite simply, the book reads like the work of a tired, old man. Perhaps it was completed shortly before his death.