Othello Act III

"Therefore be merry, Cassio, for they solicitor shall rather die Than give thy cause away." - III. iii. 26-28

Personally, I find the suspense and irony in this play to be what make it easy and enjoyable to read. It is an interesting point of view to hear the story from the antagonist. In most stories have the hero explaining everything, the reader is compelled to "root for" the person telling the stories. However, here, it's a different story. The fact that Iago, the "bad guy," is telling the story doesn't make the audience cheer for him, but it shows the cunning, careful planning, and the alternate personalities of him, which I find really interesting. I love the suspense that is created due to the fact that we the readers know more than the other characters, and we can't wait to see how Iago's plans will unfold. Besides suspense, irony is absolutely everywhere in this drama. The biggest example I've noticed is that Iago has been called "an honest fellow" (III. iii. 5) on several occasions. I can just taste the irony that everyone thinks highly of Iago when, in actuality, he is plotting something despicable for nearly every character. The fact that he is a woman-hating, critical, jealous, and bitter person merely sweetens the deal. Lastly, I thought this quote was ironic in that it shows Desdemona practically pledging her loyalty to Cassio in a non-romantic manner, even to the death. This is probably foreshadowing of some drastic action Othello will take. He will suspect Cassio and his wife of doing the dirty, and kill her out of a false sense of betrayal. SCANDALOUS.

Othello Act II

"Two things are to be done: My wife mut move for Cassio to her mistress, I'll set her on, Myself the while to draw the Moor apart And bring him jump when he may Cassio find Soliciting is wife. Aye, that's the way. Dull not device by coldness and delay." - II. iii. 345-351

This post addresses #4 on pg. 1119, addressing how suspense is created. First off, sunspense is a very big portion of this play so far. Starting sort of in "the middle of things" in the lives of the characters, rather than before conflict occurs, the audience experiences the tension right off the bat. Next, suspense for me is created mostly in Iago's soliloquies. For example, in this quote, Iago has just told Roderigo that it will take a little time for him to win over Desdemona, but Iago's real intention is to anger Othello, discrediting Cassio, and getting revenge for not being promoted to lieutenant. Showing his alternate personalities, Iago's speeches show his true colors and create suspense by creating two scenarios: what the audience is honestly told about Iago's intentions, and who other characters perceive Iago to be. Suspense is also created in the discrepancy of the amount of information the characters know versus what the readers know. This creates the effect of on-edge eagerness to read ahead. Even though Iago spells out the entirety of his innermost thoughts, the reader feels an urge to continue because the reader does not know how or when those details will be revealed to the other characters or how his plains will unfold.

Othello- Act I

"And, in conclusion, Nonsuits my mediators, for, 'Certes,' says he, 'I have already chose my officer.' And what was he? Forsooth, a great arithmetician, One Michael Cassio, a Florentine," - I. i. 15-20

This response is for the first question in the book regarding the play's realistic conventions. I think this play is extremely realistic and easy to relate to. First of all, it is based on a scenario that happens in real life, not just to a certain age, race, or particular area. The issues of racial stereotyping, jealousy between once-friends, infidelity, and competition are omnipresent in every culture. One example of this is how Iago's jealousy of Cassio's job promotion causes him to plot against Othello, shown in the quote above. And the fact that the reader can see this happening in every-day life makes reading this piece easier to comprehend and more enjoyable. On the spectrum from literalistic imitation of reality to stylized or surrealistic representation, the play is situated closely towards reality. I'm not sure if there are breaks from the conventions established as a norm in the play. One could be that the marriage of a white and a moor (African) is not socially acceptable, but Othello and Desdemona stay together anyways. This creates the dramatic effect that what those characters are doing is scandalous and must be stopped, creating suspense that leaves the audience asking the question: how far will Iago will go to create chaos and separate them?