Analysis of Act One of Othello by William Shakespeare

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Analysis of Act One of Othello by William Shakespeare Act 1 is an exceptionally indicative passage of writing in which

Shakespeare attempts to divulge the coarse essence of Iago's nature to

the audience. Indeed, by the conclusion of line 66 the audience not

only understands - in broad terms - Iago's motives and grievances, but

also something of the manner in which he intends to consummate

vengeance against his ostensible antagonists. Iago's interactions with

Roderigo also serve to adumbrate, or perhaps anticipate, his adroit

manipulation of those under his sphere of influence throughout the

text.

It is a credit to Shakespeare's astuteness that he is able to present

the crucial circumstances of the play well before the end of the first

act. During the formative stages of Act 1, Iago's argument with

Roderigo provides a context for both men's grievances. Initially

Roderigo accuses Iago of cheating him, of using his money 'as if the

strings [of his purse] were [his]' (I i 3), and only later is

Roderigo's obsession with Desdemona (and subsequent dislike of

Othello) revealed. Iago uses unambiguous language to describe his

grievances, essentially asserting that he was entitled to gain the

promotion gifted to Cassio - 'the bookish theoric' - through an act of

cronyism whereby Iago had been unjustly overlooked by the corrupt

system of promotion whereby 'Preferment goes by letter and affection'

(I i 36). Iago later goes on in scene 3 to refer to the possibility

that Othello has been intimate with his wife, Emilia, and though he

himself is the first to admit ...

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...t fact to his advantage to cause Othello's downfall. So Iago

proves his own case for the virtues of insincerity and the dangers of

honesty, and thereby concludes with the line 'I am not what I am.'

This declaration epitomises the character of Iago, being a statement

that describes not only his present state, but serves to describe his

way of being. Everything Iago does is false, directed toward achieving

his own ends. Even during his declaration his interlocutor, Roderigo,

is being subjected to Iago's falsity, scorn and utter disdain. While

he explicates his detestation of abject servitude, he holds the same

silent contempt for Roderigo himself, whom he sees as an idiotic and

subservient human being. It is, then, ironic that the only person with

whom he shares his contempt for the grovelling servant, is one of his

own.

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