IV......not arm style.

This play just keeps getting better and better. Iago is a genius. He just continues to amaze me. My favorite aspect of this play is that he is managing to turn everyone against each other. He uses the weaknesses of everyone to his advantage. Emilia is very eager to please, so he uses her to get the things he needs and talk to Desdemona. Othello gets angry easily, so he toys with his mind to get him angry at Cassio and Desdemona. Cassio is very friendly to women, which makes him the perfect target to frame. Roderigo lusts for Desdemona, so he just uses him to get money and convinces him to get Cassio out of the way. I feel that the downfall of Iago's plan is going to come from Roderigo. He places a pretty big role with him, and Roderigo has shown signs of being very weak. I don't believe that he can handle the task of killing Cassio. I think the plan will fall apart due to Roderigo.

Stage directions ftw!

This act would not have the comedic aspects and effects that it does it the stage directions were not included. The most important stage directions occur during the scene when Othello is hiding from Cassio in an attempt to see him laughing at the fact that he cheated with Desdemona. Though Othello is hiding and cannot be seen by Cassio, he still has speaking roles. The fact that the reader of this play cannot see that Othello is hiding, he must read that he is hiding. If this hiding isn't conveyed, the reader would assume that Cassio could hear what Othello was saying. This would create for a very confusing scene, because Cassio does not respond to the challenges by Othello. The theatrical aspects of this scene are critical to its meaning. Though Othello thinks that Iago is setting up Cassio, it is really Othello who is being set up. This essential part of Iago's plan that develops Othello's anger would not function properly without the stage directions.

Foils!!

I like that Shakespeare puts the contrasting scene in the end of this act. Emilia speaks of how her and most women of that time are fine with cheating, making Desdemona look like a really nice girl. This causes the audience to grow in sympathy for her. When the audience sees Othello hitting her and Iago plotting against her, they become even more of enemies in the play. The sympathy that is caused will result in the audience rooting for Desdemona. Also, this foil with Emilia brings her out as a sort of enemy figure. All of the abuse she took originally made her look like a victim, but the fact that she cheats on Iago with no conscience makes her less sympathetic. Another effect of this foil is a sort of sympathy for Iago. He becomes a victim of the cheating wife. This makes his anger and actions more understandable. The fact that he is a victim brings out a vulnerability in him that wasn't present before. Iago is much more likeable due to the foil between Desdemona and Emilia.

My gears have been ground.

It really bugs me that these plays have such dramatic, big leaps. Yes, I know that they have to do that so they can fit it into a couple hours, but it still bugs me. Example: Cassio drinks a couple glasses of wine, and a few lines later, he is attacking a man with his sword. In real life, a couple of glasses of wine will not cause someone to take someone else's life because they said something about their momma. I understand that Shakespeare needed to keep the story moving, but I would appreciate a few more realistic events.
I will say, however, that I like the fact that Iago just tells the reader what his plan is. Because this is a play, there is not enough time to develop his plan in detail and have it revealed through action. The fact that Iago has these soliloquies where he laughs and reveals his evil plan. This allows the action to be more ambiguous (i.e. the random hankerchief) while still being understandable. Overall, I'd say that this is my favorite play by Bill, because I feel like the concepts talked about are more relateable. Perhaps even timeless?

He who does the protagging...

In this play, the true protagonist is Iago. Though the play is named after Othello, it focuses around Iago's plots to get the job he wants and get back at Othello for "sleeping with his wife." As the play progresses, the audience sees more about Iago than any other character. Iago's ability to convince Othello that Desdemona is cheating while still staying on good terms with him shows that he is a very persuasive man. The audience also sees, through his interactions with other characters, that he is a very jealous man. He speaks very lowly of his wife, even to her face, showing that he has no respect for women. So, though he is the protagonist, the audience may feel apathy towards him due to his hateful personality.

Placing a deceitful man as the protagonist allows many other characters to act as foils. Each of the other characters in the play show no major signs of lying. This further emphasizes the acts of Iago. It creates a protagonist who is hated, but can also be rooted for, because he is the protagonist. It allows the audience to choose which side they are on.

Tragedy.

This play is technically a tragedy, but it has some aspects of a comedy in it. The comedies usually had people who appeared one way but were truly a different type of person. This is true of Iago. He pretends to care about all of those around him, but he really only cares for himself. He hopes to get Cassio's job by turning Othello against him while pretending to like Othello when he really hates him. He does the same with using Roderigo to get his money while pretending to help him get Desdemona.
The fact that this is a tragedy tells the audience a lot about what will happen. A tragedy means that all of the main characters will die in the end. This makes everything that the characters, such as Othello and Roderigo, say about death seem kind of comical, because the audience knows that they very well could be the ones to die in the end. I also believe that this adds suspense to the play, because the audience in anticipating that they will die. They are looking for what will cause the deaths. I think that this particular play is enhanced by the fact that the audience knows the outcome, because it adds suspense.