Did Shakespeare Title His Play Correctly?

The play Othello is known as another classic tragedy written by Shakespeare, but did Shakespeare title it wrong? To many people's eyes, the main character of the play is Iago and not Othello. In many of Shakespeare's plays, the title to a play is the name of the main character, so why is this an exception?

First of all, let's see why Othello is seen as the main character. A main character, or protagonist, is the center of attention in a story. This primary personal figure comes into conflict with another major character or force known as the antagonist. If you look back at the play, the first person you meet is Iago and you learn his moral goal on Act 1, Scene 1, Line 60 when he says, "In following him, I follow but myself." What Iago's saying is that he will only serve Othello to get what he wants, which is a promotion. This proves he's the main character by definition because of this line. Othello is the major force stooping him from his goal so Iago should be seen as the main character, correct? However Othello is seen as the main character because Iago is the villain. In most stories villains are seen as the main force fighting against a hero, and heroes are seen as the main characters. Since Iago is picking on Othello specifically, Othello must be the hero of the story because Iago is picking on him. Iago gives off a villain vibe from the start when he says Line 67 in Act 1, Scene 1, "I am not what I am." It foreshadows his role in the play.

Since Iago is the villain why can't he be seen as the main force? By definition he cannot be the main force because he's not preventing anyone from a certain goal. Through out the play Iago is the only character with a goal to accomplish, everyone else is in his way. So why couldn't Shakespeare make the villain the main character? The main character in a story needs to be sympathetic to connect with the audience. If the villain was the main character, the audience could feel out of place. In other words would you really like to be compared to a villain? Most people would want to see themselves in heroes and noble characters, not in villainous characters that are secretly just like us. So to distract his audience, Shakespeare made Othello the main character, the audience should feel sympathy for him because he lost his love to jealousy in the end,which can be relatable. Iago's struggles are relatable as well but would the audience really enjoy knowing that his villainous acts can be relatable as well?

Iago should the the title of the play Othello but Shakespeare did have his reasons, although they go against the definitions.