Act 1 Scene 1 as an Effective Opening to Othello

Act 1 Scene 1 as an Effective Opening to Othello

The play begins in a dark street in Venice and the audience is thrown

into a heated debate between Iago, a soldier and Roderigo, a wealthy

Venetian. Roderigo is rejecting, 'Tush, Never tell me', what Iago has

just said and is angry as Iago has not informed him that Desdemona has

eloped with Othello, a black general hired by the city of Venice to

protect it from the Turks. Iago has been apparently helping Roderigo

win Desdemona's, daughter of the rich merchant Brabantio, heart, in

return for money 'Iago, who hast had my purse As if the strings were

thine'.

The audience is already taken by surprise as Othello, the protagonist

who they are expecting to see is not on stage. This dramatic device

used by Shakespeare shocks the audience, creating intrigue to see when

he will appear. Further tension is created, in just the first few

lines, by opening the scene with interrupted discourse. The audience

wants to know what has happened to cause such an argument and as it

seems to be a question of money and love; suspense increases.

Roderigo continues with 'Thou told'st me thou didst hold him in thy

hate', aggressiveness is represented in this line with the

onomatopoeic repetition of 'dst' which creates a spitting sound when

spoken. The first signs of Iago's deceiving character are shown here

as he has already stated he hates Othello and though there is no

apparent reason to not believe Iago's claims he knew nothing of the

love, secrecy (with no introduction of Othello yet) shadows the

situation. Iago's confident character is displayed when saying

'Despise me if I do not', not caring what Ro...

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...ting others fascinates

the audience. The contradictory views of Othello intrigues the

audience as he has been frequently insulted but they are also told

that the moor is a highly regarded soldier by the Venetian senate.

Othello's "oddness" is established through references to him as 'the

moor' or 'the thicklips' introduces the theme of deception as well as

Roderigo initially believing Iago had deceived him; Desdemona

deceiving her father by mrrying secretly; and Iago's intentions to

deceive Othello in form of revenge. Trust and jealousy interlace with

this key theme with Iago jealous of Cassio, Roderigo jealous of

Othello, Brabantio eventually trusting Roderigo, who trusts Iago etc…

Finally, references to a greater conflict, the invasion of Cyprus,

accompany the different opening and ending disputes of Act 1 Scene 1.