Iago's second soliloquy is very revealing. It shows him shaping a plan out of the confusion of his emotionally charged thoughts. Iago examines his own thoughts, especially his hatred for Othello: "The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not" (269) and finds a common thread in the "poisonous mineral" of jealousy that still swirls around the rumor that Othello has enjoyed Emilia. Iago could get his revenge by seducing Desdemona: "Now I do love her too . . . / But partly led to diet my revenge, / For that I do suspect the lusty Moor / Hath leaped into my seat, the thought whereof / Doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw my inwards" (272–278). Iago uses the word "love" here in a very cynical way, making it a combination of lust and power seeking. At first he sees his seduction of Desdemona as his revenge: "Till I am evened with him, wife for wife" (280). Then Iago realizes that the unsubstantiated jealousy that torments him is the very weapon he can use against Othello, who will be even more susceptible. Iago will lead Othello, via jealousy, to madness: "Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me, / For making him egregiously an ass, / And practicing upon his peace and quiet / Even to madness" (289–293).
