Iago and His Motives under Modern Eyes

Shakespeare's plays depict the turn from the pre-modern era with its traditional values and mores into the modern approach towards life and individuals. These plays deal with specific questions that were significant in Shakespeare's time and his cultural contexts, such as the mores and meanings of Christian values in the society, the rise of humanism, monarchy and questions related to the economy. Nonetheless, Shakespeare´s questions on religious values and the modern individual seem to be relevant today, in particular, with the recent post-modern discussions on the limits of secular rational modernity and a return to a new condition of believing in contemporary societies. Taking the character of Iago as my reference point, I shall attempt to reread Iago´s actions and psyche in light of a critique of the narcissist character along with the modern individual´s rational attitude towards life.