Othello Act 1 Scene 1 Task

Act 1



1. How does Shakespeare present the world of Venice in the first act, and how does he construct the interactions of his central characters (Iago, Othello, and Desdemona) with that Venetian world and with each other. How are these interactions complicated by the fact that Othello is a Moor and that Desdemona is a young women?


2. What sort of person is Iago, as he appears in act 1? Are you satisfied by the reasons he gives for hating Othello? What is Iago's relationship with Roderigo?


3. What sort of language does Iago use? What sort of language does Othello use? What might be the significance of this difference?



1. Venice is depicted to be a relatively quiet and orderly place by Shakespeare. This is apparent in the first act as Barbantio is shocked at the idea of him being robbed; hence "What tellâst thou me of robbing? This is Venice; My house is not a grange." Shakespeare constructs the interactions of his central characters with the Venetian world as Roderigo's foolish behaviour would not be tolerated on the streets of Venice in the night; hence why Iago is quick to escape the scene before Barbantio and his guards appear outside. It would not be socially acceptable to awake (and insult) a powerful man without adequate reasoning in the Venetian world. The fact that Othello (moor) has now married Desdemona (young woman) causes complications as this would be frowned upon within society. Barbantio immediately tries to find an excuse for such a thing to occur by using the mention of 'witchcraft' to imply his daughter could not possibly be truly in love with a black man without being under some kind of spell.

2. In Act 1 Iago appears to be a false and cunning character. This is highlighted through the line 'I am not what I am' - Roderigo fails to recognise this as a warning. Iago himself even knows he has a dishonest soul as he states 'such a one do I profess myself'. We also learn here that he is very manipulative as causes chaos throughout the play, often by deceiving characters.
I don't believe Iago has satisfactory reasons for hating Othello, despite Othello promoting Cassio in his place when Iago wanted it and considered himself more superior than Cassio. Iago also believes Othello's relationship with his wife is illegal and he is not capable of being the spouse to such a beautiful and caring woman, predominantly because of his race. However, he should have overcome past indifferences with Othello and befriended him by now - Othello is undeserving of his fate.

Iago's relationship with Roderigo is merely bonded by their joint hate for Othello. Iago only uses Roderigo rather than aiming to be his companion - this is depicted by his soliloquy that summarises is attitude towards Roderigo 'thus do I ever make my fool my purse'. Roderigo is cleverly used by Iago as it is him who takes the blame for the shouting in the street, when in fact it is Iago who makes the most unpleasant and crude comments towards Barbantio.



3. Othello has such confidence in his skill with language at the beginning of the play, his pride becomes visible here as he is exceptionally proud of his achievements and his public stature. As well as this he is proud of his wife's affection for him, which he reiterates by saying how he would not give up their unique bond 'for the seas' worth'. Iago's duality is shown through his language as his tone changes between friendly and sour as soon as Othello moves away. Iago pretends to be supportive of Othello's marriage to Desdemona, but upon Cassio's arrival his uncomplimentary metaphor to describe the coupling suggests otherwise - 'he tonight hath boarded a land carack'. Iago's diction and metaphor choice here depict Othello as some kind of pirate whom is stealing Desdemona's love, while reducing Desdemona into a mere prize. The difference between the two characters language in this act may be a reflection of the difference in character traits shining through as Iago is cunning hence his duplicity, as opposed to Othello's confident and caring nature at first.