Othello post 1

In reading the first act of this play, I kept making comparisons to other Shakespearean works. The opening scene between Iago and Roderigo reminded me of the opening scene in Romeo and Juliet. The two men are jesting about someone (Othello) who they dislike, and they create a plan to irritate him. This is similar to the two Montague boys humorously starting the brawl with the Capulet boys in the beginning of Romeo and Juliet. The way Othello is referred to, and the amount of power he seems to have, reminded me of Macbeth.

However, the most obvious comparison I saw was between Iago and Caliban. Iago hates Othello, and wishes he could kill him, but understands that he must not, as he is bound to him. He states that even "though [he] hate[s] him as [he does] hell, [he] must show out a flag and sign of love- which is indeed but a sign" (I, 1, 17).

Iago later states that although he has had the opportunity to stab Othello many times, he knows that he is not capable of such murder, and must restrain himself. Iago contents himself by creating elaborate schemes against Othello, just like Caliban fantasizes about killing Prospero, and uses the shipwrecked sailors in an underhanded attempt to see his wishes through. By telling Desdemona's father that Othello took his daughter, he sets up an opportunity for Othello's arrest, but, since he left Roderigo to explain the full story to Brabantio, Iago cannot possibly be blamed by Othello for the betrayal. Iago is incredibly intelligent, but cowardly in that he will not take ownership of his actions, or his hate for Othello.