In the very first scene of the play, Iago reveals himself in starkly satanic terms with his declaration that вЂњI am not what I am,вЂќ the antithesis of GodвЂ™s declaration of Himself in Scripture as вЂњI am that I am.вЂќ A couple of scenes later, Iago responds scornfully to Roderigo, dismissing the very notion of virtue and the grace that is necessary for its practice: вЂњVirtue? A fig! вЂ™tis in ourselves that we are thus and thus.вЂќ In this solitary line, Iago declares himself to be not only a non-Christian but an anti-Christian.

Shakespeare changed the name of Alfiero to Iago, a Spanish variant of the name вЂњJames,вЂќ thereby deliberately connecting his ruthless and cynical villain with EnglandвЂ™s new king. In the source from which Shakespeare drew inspiration for the play, CinthioвЂ™s Hecatommithi, Alfiero is the name of the Machiavellian character. There is, therefore, no coincidence in the connection between King James and the character of Iago, the Machiavellian monster at the dark and deadly heart of Othello. First performed on All Saints Day (November 1), 1604, Othello was written in the second year of the reign of James and shortly after the new anti-Catholic laws were put into force.ДЄs a Catholic himself, Shakespeare would have shared with his co-religionists an intense anger toward the king for his act of treachery and would have shared their deep sense of desolation and despondency at the renewal of the persecution, following as it did so soon after the initial exhilaration at the queenвЂ™s death and the kingвЂ™s accession. These laws were reintroduced by the new king, James I, in violation of his promise to grant religious liberty and tolerance upon his accession to the throne.

Taken together with Macbeth and King Lear, both of which were written shortly afterward, Othello exhibits the angst and anger felt by Catholics following the reintroduction of laws which made the practice of the Catholic faith illegal and which made being a priest or sheltering a priest punishable by death. Othello is the first of a triumvirate of tragedies written by Shakespeare during a particularly dark period of English history.

Hamlet cliff notes act s scene 4