Act 5 Scene 1
By Miller, Mohannad, Rafsan, Masih, Andy
Summary of Scene
What Happened?
-Iago tells Roderigo to kill Cassio.
-Cassio is wounded; Iago kills Roderigo.
-Iago sends Emilia to Othello when Othello kills Desdemona.
Development of Plot
- Iago does not kill Cassio like Othello orders
- Roderigo isn’t a threat to Iago
- Othello believes Iago is on his side
Characters
-Othello
-Roderigo
-Emilia
-Bianca
-Lodovico and Gragantio
-Iago
-Cassio
Important Characters
-Iago orchestrates the entire scene
-Cassio and Roderigo gets into a fight (initiates the scene)
-Roderigo can destroy Iago. However, he is killed
-Emilia who poses a threat to Iago was sent to witness
Othello killing Desdemona
Other Characters
- Othello appears to confirm Cassio’s death. Confuses
Roderigo for Cassio.
- Lodovico and Gragantio witness incident
- Bianca is framed by Iago. He uses her dirty nature to his
advantage.
- Cassio is wounded by Iago
- Every characters are involved and connected
Themes
- Dishonesty
-Betrayal of trust and lies
-Recurring theme in play
-Roderigo trusted Iago to have his back
-Cassio trusted Iago as a friend
-Convinces people that Bianca was the culprit
Themes
-Deception
-Characters are fooled by something that is not so
-Iago pretends to not be involved in the incident
-Othello thinks Cassio has died when he hears Roderigo
Inconsistencies
-Othello is a character who is justice as a soldier
-His judgement got blurred
-Othello was sure his wife was cheating on him
-Othello goes to kill Desdemona
-His proper judgement was blinded by jealousy which was
reinforced by Iago
Setting
- Occurs at night near brothel
- Alleys offer good place for Iago to maneuver
- Ideal location to start killing off characters who might
interrupt his plan
Plotholes
- How did Emilia arrive on the scene so quickly?
- How did Roderigo fail his assassination attempt?
- How did cassio not bleed out
Mood
- Intense
- Characters are being killed off
- Iago mentions his plan may or may not turn out well
(line 127)
- Approaching the denouement
- Shakespeare uses the image of brothel (dark, mysterious)
Strengths of the scene
-Perfect setting for Iago’s plan
-The order of events in perfect timing of incident
-Perfect entry timing of characters
-Happened in a specific sequential manner
-Characters in this scene exacerbated the tension, thrill
Weakness of the scene
-Strength of the scene can also be the weakness
-Too many incidents occurring at once
-Disrupts reader’s attention and rather become chaotic
-Many characters entered in this can later cause a backfire
of Iago’s plan
How Scene Fits into Timeline
Up until now...
-Iago plans to remove Cassio and Othello
-Iago commences his plan
-Everyone is fooled by Iago
-Othello plans to kill Desdemona
-Roderigo threatens to spill the beans on Iago
In this Scene...
-Iago kills Roderigo, loose ends being tied up.
-Cassio is wounded, however not killed
-Iago sends Emilia to inform Othello, setting scene for
ending
Dramatic Techniques Used
Foreshadowing
Aside
Tragedy
Nemesis
Rhetorical Devices
- Aside
- Repetition
- Colloquialism
Symbolism and Motifs
Darkness:
-Iago carries out his plans in the dark
-Represents Anonymity
-Other characters trust Iago based on what they see him do in
the light and not the dark.