Many people who have praised William Shakespeare’s deep knowledge of the criminal mind. But the most interesting assessment which I have seen is  by a man who definitely knows what he is talking about.

As one of the pioneers of psychological profiling at the FBI, Special Agent John Douglas is something of a legend in law enforvement. To the general public, Douglas is best known as the model for Agent Jack Crawford in the book and movie “The Silence of the Lambs.” One of Douglas’ most fascinating investigations, however, took place after his retirement and is described in his book, “The Anatomy of Motive.”

In the Fall of 1997, British actor Patrick Stewart arrived in Washington, DC, inorder to play Othello at the Shakespeare Theatre. Desiring an FBI profiler’s assessment, Stewart contacted Agent Douglas’ close friend and frequent co-author Mark Olshaker and asked him to arrange a meeting.

By his own admission, Agent Douglas had never shared Mark Olshaker’s love for classical theater. As a result, he had no knowledge of the plot of “Othello” and was reluctant to meet with Stewart. But Mark Olshaker persuaded him that his unfamiliarity was actually an asset. It meant that he could ask and answer questions about Desdemona’s murder as if he were consulting on a real homicide case. Douglas agreed and was filled in on the basics of the play by Olshaker.

When Agent Douglas met Patrick Stewart over lunch at Olshaker’s house, the profiler began by asking about Iago’s motive. Agent Douglas first instinct was that Iago must have wanted Desdemona for himself.

Stewart responded, “He’s brimming with rage that Othello has given to Cassio the promotion he thinks he deserves and so he sets out to destroy Othello by carrying out this plot to make him think his wife is being unfaithful.”

Later, as they discussed the stages that Othello would have to go through to convince himself that murdering the woman he loves was his only option, Stewartasked what Agent Douglas calls, “the key behavioral question.”

“John,” he asked, “how would Othello feel hearing these things about his wife? Would he believe them? Would he try to defend her honor?”

Douglas responded that, based on what he now knew about Othello’s character, he would not try to defend her honor for a simple reason. Othello’s self-doubt and belief in his own unworthiness would immediately come into play. “Of course his wife would be unfaithful to him, because deep down he worries that he’s not good enough for her. Her father was passionately against the marriage and maybe he was right. Othello has compensated for being a foreigner and a racial minority and someone not considered a part of the Ventian elite by being this great warrior who everyone has to admire because they’re depending on him to defend them. But Iago, like many predatory personalities, is a pretty good profiler himself and understands how to get to his boss.”

When Stewart asked about Othello’s mindset as he prepares to murder Desdemona, Douglas responded that he would be mentally preparing himself, growing comfortable with the idea, and ultimately reaching the classic rationalization that, “If I can’t have her, nobody will.”

When Stewart described the actual crime, Douglas responded that manual strangulation, “sounded reasonable.” Desdemona’s murder is what profilers call, “a domestic personal cause homicide,” and this M.O. would tell an investigator that the victim and perpetrator knew each other well. Douglas stated that, in order to murder Desdemona, Othello would have to dehumanize her. As a result, Douglas suggested that Othello close his eyes and look away, which profilers call, “a soft kill.”

Douglas further explained that, having convinced himself of the rightness and justice of his actions, Othello would try to cover up his crime and get away with it. Due to his belief that he “had to” kill Desdemona, Othello might even pass a lie detector test.

Douglas next asked Stewart, “Is he found out?” Stewart and Olshaker then explained how Emilia, Desdemona’s maid and Iago’s wife, arrives at the scene and screams about her mistress’ murder. Then, Iago and a group of Venetian officials arrive. At this moment, Iago’s lies are exposed to everyone.

Douglas writes, “I warned them that this would be a very precarious place for Othello to be. Perhaps Othello’s strongest bond is with his troops, and now he will have lost face, lost moral authority with Cassio and the others. His whole life has been the military and now, through his subordinate Iago, he’s been betrayed by what he believes in most.”

Douglas said, “You’d have a real suicide threat here.”

Patrick Stewart brightened and said, “That’s exactly what happens!” He explained that, once he is disarmed, Othello goes for another dagger which he has kept hidden in the room and stabs himself. According to Douglas, “Someone like Othello must stay in control, even in death.”

Several weeks later, John Douglas sat in the audience with his family and watched a Shakespeare play for the first time in his life. “And it was particularly fadcinating,” he writes, “to see how brilliantly Patrick Stewart translated criminal investigative analysis intp actionand made theory come alive.”About their original discussion of the play at Mark Olshaker’s house,

Douglas writes, “I came away from that afternoon with a profound respect for Shakespeare’s ability as a profiler. Everything that I’d seen real, contemporary offenders do, the playwright had anticipated by more than four hundred years.”