Shakespeare's Othello: The Influence Of Evil

"Othello" is basically the story of how one influence corrupts an unsuspecting group into believing lies. It sounds awfully similar to the one creation story in the Bible in which the serpent convinces Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge, even after God tells them not to eat from it. The serpent is not meant to be thought of as a literal serpent, but rather to symbolize evil.
Just as the Serpent, Iago can easily be seen as the evil force in the story. It is possible that Iago too is not meant to be taken literally, but to show the influence of evil in the characters. The characters who act on the influence of evil received their punishment: Roderigo, who loves Desdemona, goes on to die because of that; Cassio, who drinks too