How does Shakespeare create a sense of fear and confusion in Act 5 scene 1?

How does Shakespeare create a sense of fear and confusion in Act 5 scene 1? Consider:

Setting – Shakespeare sets the scene at ‘Night’ on ‘A Street’ in a faraway land away from home, creating an initial sense of fear and confusion for both the audience and characters on stage. It is a similar setting to A1S1, suggesting that the play must soon reach its climax and there is no turning back on the path of destruction that duplicitous Iago has released.

Language - Language spoken by the pawns in Iago’s plan creates confusion within the characters as Cassio is unaware that Roderigo and Iago plan to kill him. Fear is built when Iago instructs Roderigo to ‘wear thy good rapier bare’ and as the instruction implies striking Cassio, the audience fears for Cassio’s safety. Cassio states ‘that thrust had been mine enemy indeed’ which indicates that the attacker has no identity as far as Cassio is aware. After Othello’s entrance, Rodrigo admits to his crime ‘O, villain that I am’ however Othello thinks that the person confessing to being villainous is Cassio which could spark a sense of confusion within the audience if the actors have similar sounding voices and/or are unfamiliar with the play.

Structure of lines - Iago’s lines tends to be a centre of confusion in this scene especially when he strings Bianca into his plan. With Bianca being a woman, Iago’s word will be taken over hers due to her status being much lower than Iago’s and the 17^th century being a suppressive time for women. Iago states ‘I do suspect this trash to be a party in this injury’ and ends up arresting her for ‘provoking’ the fight between Roderigo and Cassio ‘I charge you’. Bianca, showing her confusion of being blamed and fear of her punishment, defends herself ‘I am no strumpet but of a life as honest as you’ however even the truth coming from her doesn’t account for the power Iago has manipulated for himself.

Use of characters – The use of Iago’s manipulative schemes have leaded him to be portrayed as the devil; even more so in this scene. The fact that “I’ll be at thy elbow” can suggest him saying ‘talk to the devil and he will be at your elbow’ and similarly the more modern saying ‘speak of the devil’. Audiences in the 1600s would be afraid of the devil causing Shakespeare to evoke fear in the audience through the use of Iago’s villainous schemes being related to the devil himself. Due to the fact he is the antagonist; many audiences would associate him with the devil without the direct comparison from Shakespeare and therefore would be aware that death would shortly follow.

Lodovico and Gratiano’s presence in the scene bring about fear because these men trust Iago ‘a very valiant fellow’ (52) and through dramatic irony, the audience know that Iago is not to be trusted. Also, as Iago has instructed to kill Cassio, he is a fearful character because he is putting his so called friend’s life on the line. Iago has gone from doing small and petty actions to get his way such as intentionally allowing Othello and Roderigo to misconstrued what he says, however now is willing to have someone die for what he wants; the audience should be fearful as to what other lengths he will go to for his plan to follow through.

Other dramatic methods - Confusion may be caused by the props used in Act 5, Scene 1. The darkness of the stage invites fearinto the audience as well as the confusion when Cassio and Roderigo are involved in combat using swords. Although the audience are aware of Iago’s plan, they cannot predict the outcome of  the attack. It is clear that Othello is morally blind through “It is even so” as he believes it is Iago killing Cassio and therefore Shakespeare has created confusion for Othello when he later discovers Cassio’s life remains. The audience would be fearful for Cassio and Desdemona as they are aware of their innocence through dramatic irony which can also be implied when “O brave Iago, honest and just” is stated by Othello as they are all the things the antagonist is not and has only pretended to be. It is clear that peripeteia has occurred and Othello is too convinced by Iago’s lie to accept anything else. This could portray Othello’s hubris as he overlooks the truth through believing Iago and the circumstantial evidence rather than seeking real proof. It could suggest that Othello believes that he is far too respected by his fellow soldiers for any of them to lie and scheme against him who portrays his character as naïve making the audience fear his tragic mistake.