Reflection on "Othello, The Moor of Venice" by William Shakespeare Acts I-II

I consider "Othello, The Moor of Venice" a very dramatic play. It involves a series of characters which rotate in an abstract circle around conflict. I think it has a lot to do with revenge, because it is what started the whole conflict that ended up in a tragedy. It also reflects the amazing work of Shakespeare, and thus has been popular for it's form of language and situation of control.

It all starts with Iago, who is angry at Othello for choosing Cassio as his lieutenant, and not him; which leads to the beginning of the revenge against both of them. Iago turns Roderigo against Cassio, and Othello against Cassio and Desdemona (Othello's wife), making him a traitor and the one who caused all the tragedy.

Shakespeare starts the play with Iago because he wants the audience to know his intentions and his evil character. Iago is a selfish and cynic man who will do anything to achieve his goal.

The author reveals how betrayal and jealousy line up together to develop tension in the play. He based "Othello, The Moor of Venice" on a story from a tale "Of the Unfaithfulness of Husbands and Wives", by Giraldi Cinthio, showing his interest of allowing the audience to know about an actual incident that happened in Venice in his time.

Acts I-II are based on the introduction of Iago's intentions and the cause of them. Iago and Roderigo talk about getting Desdemona for Roderigo, since he wants to marry her, and having revenge against Cassio for getting the position of Othello's lieutenant. It is when they plan to kill Cassio and when Iago tells Othello that Desdemona is being unfaithful to him with Cassio; the conflict begins.

I think that in these first two acts Shakespeare wanted to introduce us the character of Iago and he wanted us to know how evil he was and his objective. All the trouble is caused because of Iago's jealousy.