Iago's Silence

" 'Demand me nothing. What you know, you know./ From this time forth I never will speak word.' "
V. ii. v 302-303.

Up to this point, I had assumed that Iago is the protagonist in this play. And he is. Therefore, I assumed that when the climax and corresponding bloodbath began, he would be all over it. I expected boasting, bragging, gloating, and a slue of mocking taunts to the characters that had been his puppets for the past four acts. But as quoted in the line above, he merely leaves his victims to their own mistakes without exposition that he has been so fond of up until this point. I found this strange and very uncharacteristic.

The product of this strange silence on Iago's part is an intriguing way to end the story. It creates and unsatisfied, neglected feeling with the audience that is not completely unpleasant. It leaves the audience wanting a little more. This may not be what Shakespeare intended when he wrote the play. I'm not sure whether he was aware that Iago's silence produced this effect, but it was certainly effective in making me ponder whether Iago found any pleasure in his success and what his silence could possibly mean.