In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the central conflict which is pivotal to the plot is the question of trust between friends and enemies alike. A key example of this is in the opening scene when Iago begins to manipulate the emotions of several key characters by revealing the secret elopement of Desdemona and Othello: “Your daughter and the Moor are making the beast with two backs.” (Act 1, scene 1). This reveal enables the rest of the plot to unfold in which Iago orchestrates an imagined affair which ultimately causes Othello to murder his beloved Desdemona. Trust is a theme which is infused throughout the play: the characters all trust the slippery Iago; Othello’s trust in Desdemona is pushed to its limits and ultimately is pushed too far. The plot is consistently moved along by the audience’s participation in the plotting of Iago: they are kept in the loop whilst the other characters are not allowing the plot to happen tensely. The plot is also helped along by the incensed language spoken by the characters: Iago’s plotting is unveiled through various asides to the audience whilst Othello’s reaction is invariably emotive. This demonstrates the effect of the plot on the characters. These asides also help to contemplate for the lack of narrator – effectively, Iago ‘narrates’ the play as a grotesque puppet master who plots and then watches on as his plans come to fruition. Their interaction stems from these asides which ultimately lead to the characters’ reactions.
The most distinctive character is, of course, Othello – largely due to his being the title character, but also due to his colour and the constant references to such including the regular reference to him as ‘the Moor.’ There is an integral, although subtle, theme of racism threaded throughout the play; the most obvious example of which is Desdemona’s Father’s instant refusal to accept Othello as a son in law. In Act 1, scene 3, Iago compares Othello to a donkey: “The Moor is of a free and easy nature… as asses are.” (Act 1, scene 3). This is a demeaning comment which is designed to draw attention to Othello’s race.
Act 3, scene 3, is designed to be suspenseful through the use of stage directions, action, pace, dialogue and misdirection. Cassio and Desdemona share a platonic embrace which Iago leaps upon when saying: “Ha, I like not that!” (Act 3, scene 3) which causes Othello to question Cassio’s motives. This scene is essentially carried out with care to undertake the stage directions properly as without them, the scene would fail to be as tense: if Othello was already blundering in before the hug then his suspicion would be alleviated. This, along with several other examples, demonstrates the importance of the correct staging of such a play: Shakespeare understood this and used these tools masterfully.
