Blog Post 10 - Othello

“O, sir, content you;
I follow him to serve my turn upon him” (Act 1, Scene 1)"

This quote is taken from a conversation between Iago and Rodrigo, it highlights Iago's character and how he is out to get Othello from the very beginning of the play. He states to Rodrigo, that his only purpose in pretending to obey the orders of Othello is to ultimately betray him. This sets Iago and Othello up as adversaries for the entire play, the question appears to be then, how soon Othello will realize Iago's lack of true loyalty, and how this conflict will unfold. It is clear from their conversation that Rodrigo desires Othello's wife, Desdemoda, and Iago will help him court her, this too is another conflict which will be interesting to see play out. The inclusion of both of these conflicts in the very first scene of the play is completely deliberate and will serve to captivate viewers, as this work was originally written to be performed.