How does Shakespeare present Iago in Act 1, Scene 1 of Othello?

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1 How does Shakespeare present Iago in Act 1, Scene 1 of Othello? Iago is established as the antagonist of the play in Act 1 Scene 1 through his selfish attitude and blunt, controversial language, especially when he speaks about Othello, as he refers to him as a black ram at one point. The character can be played in many different ways on stage but the audience should always understand that he is the villain and therefore will be the reasoning behind the tragic hero, Othello s, downfall. In some aspects of his dialogue, he comes across as self-obsessed, however his interesting, diverse character means the audience may not fully understand his motives or personality as he keeps his plans very mysterious throughout the scene. There are also elements of hatred, jealousy and cunning in his first appearance and, as the first scene of the play, Shakespeare maintains Iago as the main focus of the scene to show, in depth, the reason why Iago turns on Othello. Additionally, Iago s biased opinions dominate the audience s first impressions of the main characters Othello, Cassio and Desdemona. Iago has many long speeches in scene 1 which may show his manipulative personality and his skill with words. In Iago s first monologue, Shakespeare uses the repetition of I to show that the character is very self-involved. The use of I know my price, adds to this selfishness, which could be performed in an angry tone to infer arrogance. However, it could alternatively be performed calmly to express Iago s more confident personality. Iago then describes Cassio as being prattle without practice expressing his annoyance because Cassio is less experienced than Iago in battle but was promoted above him. Iago explains how Cassio is a great arithmetician and the bookish theoric which infers to the audience that Cassio is clever and good with theories and numbers. Due to this, Iago s annoyance may come across as jealousy to some audiences as he might not be as intelligent and knows that that is the reason why he was not promoted. It could even be performed in fear that his own weaknesses might actually affect his status. In contrast to Iago s initial presentation, he then becomes sneakier and more cunning in the rest of the scene as he begins to plan and scheme in order to get revenge on Othello. I follow him to serve my turn upon him shows his initiative to get close to Othello, making him believe that he is a good friend, to make it easier to turn against him later on. Iago is a much cleverer character than the audience s first impression of him as he doesn t act on his hatred or anger but instead plots to betray Othello in a much more brutal way than if he had just acted there and then. Shakespeare continues to emphasise Iago s sense of self through I follow but myself indicating how he prioritises his own needs and desires above those he serves. Additionally, Shakespeare uses harsh, negative language to make Iago s dialogue uncomfortable for the audience. Phrases such as plague with flies, tupping, devil and beast with two backs makes it obvious for the audience that Iago is the antagonist of the play and begins to show his schieving, manipulative nature. Some people may say that Iago uses words as weapons in order to shock, scare and control people which leads to Othello s disintegration. The use of devil is also slightly ironic as Iago is using it to describe Othello when in actual fact he himself is the devilish, villainous character. Iago s language is especially dominant when he speaks to Brabantio as he uses the word Thieves to describe Othello s marriage to Desdemona, implying that something has been stolen from Brabantio and that Desdemona is a possession to be owned by a man. Iago takes the love that Desdemona has for Othello and turns it into a crime in

2 order to rouse Brabantio so that Iago has the power and control in the conversation. The repetition of now, now, very now, emphasises the image of Othello and Desdemona together which further shocks Brabantio into developing anger and hatred for Othello. Brabantio directly calls Iago Thou art a villain! to which Iago returns with You are a senator! and the use of the reciprocating exclamation mark gives Iago more power and authority in the situation as he has the nerve to answer back to someone who is, both physically and in status, higher up. This gives Iago more courage to his character as he is prepared to insult and accuse a powerful senator and also shows his determination to do this just to betray Othello. Contrastingly, near the end of the scene Iago leaves Roderigo ( I must leave you ) so that Othello doesn t associate him with Roderigo, and therefore of being untrustworthy or suspect him of being an enemy. This could be performed in a cowardly fashion which would make audiences believe that Iago is good with words and at manipulating through talking but is still scared and worried when it comes down to facing Brabantio. Although, Iago s quick exit could also be interpreted as his sneaky, intelligent personality as he thinks about details ahead of time in order to get what he wants. To conclude, Shakespeare uses this first scene to show the audience Iago s true personality which contrasts to the rest of the play when he is acting as a friend to manipulate the other characters, and, through Iago, this scene introduces the motifs of betrayal and mistrust. His hatred towards Othello is shown through his racist comments to present Othello as animalistic and lustful, such as the metaphor of a Barbary horse, and he uses clever methods to persuade Brabantio into believing that his daughter is in danger in order to aid his betrayal of Othello.

3 COURSEWORK: Compare and Contrast the Presentation of the Barriers to Love in Othello, The Great Gatsby and Atonement As written in Ian McEwan s Atonement that they were old friends who had shared a childhood was now a barrier, love can be halted and strained due to a number of aspects. Some of these barriers can be physical such as death and war however many literary texts choose to express the mental forms of barriers to love, such as jealousy, which begins within the mind and may turn characters into being the barrier of their own relationship. There can also be exterior barriers in the form of other characters who may seek revenge or are jealous themselves, which is shown through Iago in Shakespeares Othello and Briony in Atonement. Additionally, both Othello and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby are tragic heroes who, in their own minds, believe they are not good enough for their lovers and, in acknowledging this, limit the strength of their relationship. There are also social constraints including class and race that segregate people who are in love as shown in all three texts. In some ways, authors use these barriers to express the issues in the social or political backdrop of the text. For example, Gatsby s isolation from Daisy represents his distance from achieving the American Dream which was a prominent topic in the time F.Scott Fitzgerald was writing. Shakespeare tackles the idea of class being a barrier to the love between Othello and Desdemona through Othello being of lower class, and coming from a poorer background whereas Desdemona is shown to be privileged as she is the daughter of Brabantio, a respected senator of Venice. Shakespeare uses race to present Othello s class as he is black which, in the 1600 s, would have showed that he is lower in status and therefore likely to have grown up as a slave. Despite this obvious difference between Othello and Desdemona, they still get married to each other which may be due to the fact that Othello has earned status and reputation that overrides his racial background, shown through the Duke of Venice naming Othello as valiant which infers bravery and strength. The Duke further states how Othello is far more fair than black which implies that he has the power, courage and honour that white people have and deserves respect for that. The fact that these opinions are expressed by the Duke, the most powerful person in Venice, makes the views legitimate and Othello s status more believable to an audience. Alternatively, some audiences may feel that Othello and Desdemona s marriage, as it is carried out in secret, is seen by society as wrong and Brabantio verbalises this with to fall in love with what she fear d to look on! which expresses his definition of marriage as the joining of people from the same class or race. Furthermore, Brabantio implies that his daughter would never marry Othello because she is scared of black men which clearly shows the audience the problems with love that occurs between ethnicities and nationalities. Similarly, Fitzgerald presents his readers with the character of Gatsby who is wealthy due to new money which is an indicator that he was not born into the upper classes but comes from a poorer background like Othello. In contrast to Othello who has gained reputation and status, Gatsby never fully receives acceptance into Daisy and Tom s wealthy, privileged lifestyle. Gatsby resides in the less fashionable West Egg and his imitation of a hotel which he lives in contrasts to Tom and Daisy s white palaces. The white colour indicates purity and cleanliness which Gatsby can never truly replicate; his house is not pure and doesn t hold an air of perfection like Daisy s house does. This difference shows the divide between Gatsby and Daisy, and Fitzgerald uses this to represent the flawed American Dream and Gatsby s unrealistic belief in the self-made man. The love that Gatsby looses with Daisy can be interpreted to be completely due to his social status and the permanent form it comes in. This form is more fluid in Othello as power and reputation is given to Othello regardless of his class or background.

4 The characters of Othello and Gatsby are similar to Robbie in Atonement as all three characters come from a lower class but also have a taste of the higher classes; Gatbsy through his extensive parties, Othello through his reputation in warfare and Robbie through working for the wealthy Tallis family. McEwan uses chapter eight of the novel to focus in on Robbie s affection for, and almost obsession with, Cecilia Tallis, the daughter of the wealthy man he works for. Robbie seems to acknowledge that Cecilia may refer to him as the cleaning lady s son suggesting that she does feel superior to him, and not calling him by his name dehumanises Robbie as someone disposable or unimportant, showing how many people would have looked at the lower classes in the 1930 s. Despite these thoughts, Robbie still appears to have self-certainty and thinks of Cecilia as a sister showing disregard for the class divide. Additionally, as the novel progresses, Robbie and the reader discover that Cecilia does not judge or discriminate against Robbie due to this class or lack of power but shows care and love towards him regardless of his socio-economic background. This shows a romantic couple fighting the prominent social barrier that should separate them. McEwan uses the narrator of Briony to give hope to the reader that Robbie and Cecilia s struggle against the barrier has paid off as they are described by Briony as being back together and wanting to clear Robbie s name of an alleged rape assault. This narrator is revealed to be unreliable as the truth, which is that both characters die before they get a chance to meet again, is uncovered at the end of the novel. Some readers may argue that McEwan is trying to show that Robbie and Cecilia s struggle to fight against this obvious barrier is futile and social barriers such as class are inevitable and stronger than any feelings of love. The barrier of class being strong and unbreakable is also shown in The Great Gatsby as Gatsby s hope and dream of having Daisy and of being the self-made man is never reached and Gatsby is also killed. Although, in Atonement, McEwan shows how the social class and hierarchy is flawed for both the lower and upper classes as both Robbie and Cecilia suffer and eventually die, whereas in The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald presents the upper classes as being untouched by the class barrier. Even though Daisy shows some affection towards Gatsby, Nick refers to her as careless and describes how she smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into [her] money. Fitzgerald is making a social commentary on the idea that the upper classes are to blame for the class divide that was very prominent in 1920 s America. The use of the verb smashed indicates Fitzgerald s view of the wealthier classes as being selfish and materialistic, not caring about the flawed social hierarchy as it doesn t bring any consequences onto them. However, some critics have suggested that Nick is jealous of or maybe even attracted to Gatsby and the unreliability of his narration aids this mystery that Nick sees Daisy and Tom as arrogant and selfish because of his own personal feelings. Societal class and status can also affect self-perception in characters, creating mental barriers of the character s own making. In Othello, Shakespeare creates a two-sided personality to Othello in that he is sometimes presented as strong, prideful and confident, which is shown through his self-assurance that his reputation will out-tongue Brabantio s complaints. However, other moments, particularly near the end of the play when he is more disorientated and confused about his marriage, he comes across as insecure and nervous about his relationship. Othello even falls into an epilepsy because of this mental barrier he has placed between himself and Desdemona showing the destructive side of love. Shakespeare also cleverly uses short, blunt sentences such as I ll tear her all to pieces!, which contrasts to Othello s calm and collected language when he speaks to the senators of Venice at the beginning of the play, which is used to emphasise Othello s inevitable downfall as his speech continues to get more disorientating and incoherent. Furthermore, the repetition of O blood, blood, blood! implies a lack of control and slight madness in Othello, showing the massive impact on individuals when barriers to love are formed. Even Desdemona, who appears to feel more secure in

5 her marriage, is killed because of Othello s self-perceptive barrier which could imply that barriers to love are infectious and highly destructive. Iago plays on Othello s fears in Act 3 Scene 3as he states that Desdemona didn t marry someone of her own clime, complexion and degree, when her power and status could have easily allowed her to do so. Iago uses Othello s self-perception against him, making him feel more self-conscious and almost embarrassed of his own complexion. Othello is manipulated into believing that, due to his race, he is not good enough for Desdemona. Alternatively, Iago may have pointed this out to show Othello that Desdemona must be cheating on him as she would never choose to marry a black man, and this aids Othello s false belief that his wife is unfaithful or is regretting her decision to marry. Similarly, in Atonement Robbie also has doubts about his own love and whether he should act on it, and therefore is tentative about getting closer to Cecilia as he perceives her to be much more powerful and stronger than himself. After Robbie accidentally breaks the family vase, he imagines that Cecilia despises him when, in fact, Cecilia is revealed to have mutual, romantic and sexual feelings for Robbie. Robbie eventually learns to accept that Cecilia does love him and therefore disregards his flawed perception of himself being not good enough for her, whereas Othello seems to go through the reverse in that he begins confident that Desdemona is in love with him and then deteriorates throughout the play into someone completely worried and then angry that his wife might be cheating. In some ways, Othello uses his own insecurities as an excuse or to make sense of what Iago first suggests. Othello s feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy are mirrored in Fitzgerald s presentation of Gatsby who is initially a mysterious, enigma-like character. The omnipresent atmosphere he creates at his luxurious parties and his colossal mansion, as well as religious imagery such as son of God, depicts Gatsby as this unusual being that nobody really knows and, in doing this, the reader and Nick cannot be sure of the truth of the character s back story. Furthermore, this presents Gatsby as someone who is ashamed of his old life and is trying to forget about or conceal it and almost be reincarnated into a new, wealthier life. When the reader discovers Gatsby s true personality, Nick explains how Gatsby s overactive imagination had never really accepted his own parents, who were unsuccessful farm people which shows Gatsby s raw desire to be welcomed into the upper classes and to have no further links to his old life. His poor childhood isolates him from Daisy and he appears nervous and cautious when he meets her for the first time since they were separated by the war, in Chapter 5, shown through his dialogue executed with visible tension. Even when he appears to have made it and has power and money, his background haunts him and some readers may say that, deep down, he knows that he will never reach his goal, or dream, of getting Daisy because he is inheritably poorer and inferior. However, Gatsby does continue to reach for her, shown through when he stretche[s] out his arms towards the green light, which indicates the end of Tom and Daisy s dock, and the green colour symbolises hope and wealth, capturing the values of the American Dream. Similarly, Robbie also continues to obsess over Cecilia and enter sexual cinema fantas[ies] dreaming of a relationship with her, even though he clearly understands the barrier between them and the improbability of the dream materialising. In terms of exterior barriers in the form of other characters, Iago and Briony are very similar in that they utilize natural misunderstandings to manipulate the main characters into feeling jealous or, in Robbie s case, into being falsely accused of raping Lola, the Tallis cousin. Although the physical separation between Cecilia and Robbie is due to prison and then World War II, it can be interpreted that Briony s small actions sparked these consequences, Briony indirectly being the cause of the couple s deaths. Due to this view, Briony ultimately separates Cecilia and Robbie physically whereas Iago purely influences Othello into separating himself from Desdemona by murdering her.

6 Conversely, there are a number of differences to these two characters including how the forms of the texts present them. Atonement is a novel written in the view of Briony so the unreliable narration gives the reader flawed facts and, as the critic Neil King states, Briony simply fails to recognise the difference between the stories in fiction and the stories she constructs to help her make sense of the real world. At first, we relate to Briony as we are living the story through her, but it s not until the end of the novel that we realise that Briony not only corrupted and tampered with Robbie and Cecilia s relationship but also manipulated us into thinking that she was doing the right thing and knew the truth, which can also link to the bildungsroman aspect of the novel as Briony is forcing herself to grow up and understand mature, adult concepts, including sex and romance, and it also links to the main theme of the novel which is atonement. In contrast, Othello is a play and so is much more objective to all of the characters as the audience can see each personality on stage clearly and it is obvious Iago is the villain. Iago, as he is the antagonist, has clear villainous traits and is associated with hellish, devilish imagery such as if the Devil bid you whereas Briony, as she is a child for the majority of the novel, is presented as innocent and vulnerable therefore her actions are seen less as a crime but more of a mistake and the reader feels sympathy for Briony because of this. Conclusively, Iago purposeful sets out, in the opening scene of Othello, to turn upon him and destroy Othello s marriage and reputation whereas Briony can be interpreted as unwillingly dividing Cecilia and Robbie as she was genuinely mistaken, presenting the novel as a new draft, an atonement showing her complete regret. Alternatively, there are aspects in the novel hinting that Briony is jealous of her older sister and is attracted to Robbie and so purposefully lies to the police. As Neil King described it, Briony may not be able to tell the difference between the facts in front of her and her own personal feelings. A barrier that is very prominent in The Great Gatsby is marriage as Tom and Daisy s marriage inhibits Gatsby from getting even closer to Daisy, and is an obstacle to their love and Gatsby s dream. Ironically, Gatsby s existence and his love for Daisy could also be a barrier for Tom and Daisy s relationship as they are shown to be unhappy and distant with each other, both characters being unfaithful and having affairs. Tom appears to be very possessive of Daisy despite having an affair himself and speaks for her to reassure himself that she loved me when she married me and she still loves me now which could show insecurity and lack of affection or care. The cold relationship Daisy has with her daughter, show[ing her] off as a trophy daughter, represents this dissatisfaction with her marriage and maybe her materialistic lifestyle. Overall, Tom and Daisy are restricted by their marriage which may hinder them from truly loving Myrtle and Gatsby. Myrtle is also trapped by her marriage to George and, in so being, is also trapped in the lower class, poorer area of the valley of ashes. She strives to reach a better life and, when she is with Tom, uses his money and status to pretend she is not a part of the poorer community as she discusses the lower orders and is snobby and rude about the apartment workers rais[ing] her eyebrows in despair as if she was born into the wealthier classes, showing just how much she wants that dream. Both marriages in The Great Gatsby can be compared to Othello and Desdemona s marriage which is a barrier to Roderigo, a gulled gentleman of Venice, and his love for Desdemona. In Act 1, Roderigo appears distraught and suicidal when he hears that Desdemona married Othello truly our of love, expressing I will incontinently down myself which shows how barriers to love can cause impulsive behaviour which also suggests the strength and importance of love and, more significantly, mutual love as Roderigo wants Desdemona to love him back. Finally, the most permanent and extreme barrier to love which is shown in all three texts is death and, in addition to this, a recurring technique is showing death as something that causes more death. For example, Gatsby is murdered by George Wilson because of the death of his wife and Othello kills

7 himself because of his regret over killing Desdemona. Both Othello and Gatsby are tragic heroes and therefore the texts focus in on their deterioration and downfall, and both characters demise is caused by their overriding love for Desdemona and Daisy. On the other hand, Robbie and Cecilia are both killed by the effects of World War II, Robbie dying from septicaemia and Cecilia from a bomb, which contrastingly shows war as the barrier that causes death. War is also seen to be a barrier in The Great Gatsby as Gatsby is separated from Daisy, before the events of the novel, in order to fight in World War I. The consequence of Gatsby s time away from Daisy is that she gets married to Tom which means Gatsby and Daisy continue to be divided throughout the novel. In addition to this, there is also a war being fought in Cyprus in Othello and this causes the play to change setting in Act 2. The majority of the characters are forced to leave Venice and this should put strain on Othello and Desdemona s relationship, especially as they had just got married. However, Othello and Desdemona, as they didn t sail on the same boat together, appear even more in love and lustful of each other when they arrive in Cyprus with the two of them exclaiming O my fair warrior! and My dear Othello!, the use of exclamations to show their excitement and sincere affection towards each other. In conclusion, Othello, The Great Gatsby and Atonement all accurately present many barriers to love that range from mental, internal, social and physical but all texts relate to the time they were written and how concepts like love, marriage, adultery and women were seen by society at that time, but what are Shakespeare, Fitzgerald and McEwan trying to say about love? Their aim may be to warn readers and audiences to the negative, destructive side of love and the pain that it causes, including death and jealousy, or they may want to convey that, despite this pain and suffering that has to be endured to reach it, love is still always worth experiencing.