Mephistophilis & Iago

The most perverse, ingenious, and still astonishing

novelty of Marlowe was to show the Renaissance scholar

as a spectator of the old morality play in which the

medieval warlock, torn between good and evil angels,

is tempted by the devils on his road to the grave.

What a challenge for the directors; this alienated

hell in the parody and reenactment of the medieval

mystery play by the devil. (Kott, p.8)

Much of what is recognized as good and evil is painted here in black and white, and there is little room for ambiguity.

Shakespeare, however, is all about ambiguity. Much of what can be painted in the whites of angelic good and the blacks of devilish evil is often presented in shades of gray. Instead of a catechismal morality play, Shakespeare's tragedies provide deeper drama in which audiences are offered less in simple answers of right or wrong and more in complex questions of ethics and motivation. And the ethics of villainy, as has been pointed out, has always been popular:

Iago at once captures the attention of the spectator.

He is the personification of the villain that

. . .
ion to the procurement of the Doctor's soul. He must execute Faustus' commands without objection. Iago, a true servant to none other than his own devious machinations, must appear Othello's honest and obedient lieutenant. As Philip Burton has explained: As Iago began to scheme against Othello, his success gave him a sense of power in the manipulation of men's lives; his appetite for power grew and his plans grew more and more complicated as opportunity for destruction offered itself; he became an obsessed improviser. He began to feel the power of God and the pleasure of the Devil. Men were clay to be molded because they trusted him. He was every man's best friend so that he could be his worst enemy. (The Sole Voice, 316) The evil of deceit in both characters is worthy of examination: Mephostophilis insures a negative end through a positive attitude, in contract to Faustus' continual bouts of negativity. Where Faustus argues the damnation of his soul, Mephostophilis counters with illustrations of all the positive things the Doctor is receiving or will receive in return -- all the while knowing, in his heart, the eternal suffering that will befall Faustus. It is only when Faustus makes one last,
. . .

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Approximate Word count = 1532
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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