Othello

Act 1 of 'Othello' is all based around one evening's events in Venice. It is very fast paced, where many things happen in a short time span. The opening of the Act is an argument with Iago and Roderigo, in which the audience first see Iago's character emerging.

In the opening scene, Iago displays his crude characteristics and language. Perhaps his most revealing declaration at this point is his proud boast 'I am not what I am'. Though Roderigo is evidently meant to take this as reassurance that Iago only feigns allegiance to Othello for his own ends, the deeper implications of Iago's words are soon to become apparent to the audience, for Iago uses Roderego's lust for Desdemona, and money, to his own advantages throughout the play.

As Iago's behaviour changes, so does his language. When alone on stage he uses powerful, complex sentences, yet crude, animalistic language that demonstrate his complex hatred and powerful mind. In contrast, when speaking to Othello face-to-face he changes his speech to a more formal, professional tone so Othello continues to trust and rely on him.

At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare uses language that conveys such confidence and skill, yet Othello when defending his love for Desdemona claims that he is "rude" in speech, (Revealing his insecurities) knowing that no one will possibly believe him, then effortlessly uses words such as "hair-breadth" and "Anthropophagi" . But in the moments when the pressure applied by Iago is particularly extreme, Othello's language deteriorates into fragmented, hesitant, and incoherent speech. Throughout Act III, scene iii, where Iago and Othello glimpse a conversation between Cassio and Desdemona,