Othello Act I

                William Shakespeare employs a great deal of direct and indirect characterization of the central characters in Act I of Othello so as to immediately provide the reader with an understanding of the personalities and underlying motives of the characters. For example, Othello is immediately characterized as a confident, calm, and righteous man who conducts himself with integrity. His integrity and pure intention can be seen in the fact that he married Desdemona because he was in love with her mind rather than her body. His marriage is that of genuine love, and he has no ulterior motives in marrying Desdemona other than to love her with his whole heart and soul. Furthermore, Othello’s capability to maintain composure can be seen in the cool and collected manner in which he defended himself against Brabantio and those who accused him of drugging Desdemona in order to trick her into marrying him. Although Othello’s physical differences from the rest of his companions due to his Moroccan nationality often lead to racist comments, most all characters aside from Iago greatly respect Othello for his work and personality. For example, the Duke highly admires Othello and even defends him to Brabantio, who was appalled by Othello’s sudden marriage to his daughter. In advising Brabantio to accept his daughter’s marriage to Othello, he remarks, “If virtue no delighted beauty lack, your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (Shakespeare, Act I,iii, 286-287). Being aware of Othello’s good-natured demeanor will be critical to understanding his responses and actions later in the play, so Shakespeare’s characterization of him in Act I was ultimately essential.

                Shakespeare’s characterization of Iago in the first act of Othello is perhaps even more critical for the reader’s understanding of the plot. Because the play has such a strong foundation in dramatic irony, the reader must understand that, while Iago is a truly vile and evil character, all the other characters in the novel are completely ignorant of his wickedness and believe him to be honest and loyal. This trust of the other characters in Iago, particularly Othello, can be seen in the fact that Iago is often addressed or described as “honest Iago.” However, Shakespeare intentionally utilizes frequent soliloquies of Iago to explain to the audience his true personality and true intentions, which are nothing short of loathsome. For example, characters such as Roderigo believe Iago to be genuinely concerned with their welfare and emotionally invested in their friendship, yet when Iago delivers a soliloquy, his actual motives are revealed: “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse, for I mine own gained knowledge should profane. If I would time expend with such a snipe for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor….” (Shakespeare, Act I,iii,363-366). Without such revealing soliloquies being presented within the first act, the reader may be just as ignorant as the characters in the play of Iago’s evil nature. In reality, the fact that the story is told from the perspective of the villain is what distinguishes this play from the rest of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Therefore, Shakespeare’s use of soliloquy and other forms of indirect characterization are essential to laying a foundation of the character’s personalities and motives which will be essential as the play progresses.