Othello: Acts I-III

Othello, the Moor of Venice
William Shakespeare

As the play begins, Iago displays his villainous character to the audience by speaking with Roderigo about his hate towards Othello. In the first scene, Iago advises Roderigo to tell Desdemona's father Brabantio about her relationship with Othello. The news upsets Brabantio greatly, and he calls for a search for his daughter and Othello. In the following scene, the audience sees Iago talking with Othello. "And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms/Against your honor/That, with the little godliness I have,/ I did full hard forbear him" (Shakespeare, Act I, ii, 7-10). In this quote, Iago is telling Othello that he defended Othello's honor from Brabantio's remarks after he found out about Othello's marriage. In this moment of "kindness" from Iago, the audience sees dramatic irony. The audience knows that Iago looks for revenge against Othello, but in this scene, Othello only sees the kind deed of Iago. This dramatic irony makes the reader feel sympathy for Othello because his trusting character will be abused by the villainous Iago. However, the audience may also hold reservations about giving Othello sympathy because he is naive enough to believe Iago, when the audience can plainly see that Iago is tricking Othello.