Act 5, Scene 1

How does Shakespeare create a sense of fear and confusion in Act 5 scene 1? 

Act 5 scene 1 begins with Iago and Roderigo plotting about how they plan to kill Cassio this builds up an immediate fear, as the audience begin to worry that perhaps the villains in this story will win and an innocent man will die unjustly and as the fight between Cassio and Roderigo unfold. That tension only builds.

The confusion in this scene in this scene comes mainly from Cassio, perhaps the most clueless character in the whole play bringing with him a sence of trepidation just by him being on stage. He has no knowledge of what Iago is intending for him and the fact that the audience are aware of the plans of Iago and Roderigo to kill Cassio only increases our fear as we have been made to care about Cassio safety throughout the play as he is seen as one of the few innocent parties, and although we know he has faired well in the army we have also seen him in a fight before which did not end well for him and as the play seems only to be increasing in intensity and severity the audience may fear that the same will be true of this fight for Cassio and that he must die.

 At this point in the play fear must be building as it is one of the key things needed for the cathartic ending to make this play a tragedy as laid out by Aristotle in his work the poetics. Another way Shakespeare builds fear is by again rehashing the belief that Iagos plan may succeed, up to this point in the play we have seen Iago make only smart choices and expertly execute his manipulation of those around him, even at the beginning of this act when he manipulates roderigo, the mere presence of Iago on stage brings a direct contrast to the feeling brought about by Cassio as it is one of deep fear and anger however the culmination of these two characters could be seen as the best way to create the mood of fear and confusion because it could be argued that that is what these characters represent to the audience.

A way confusion is built is in the way Shakespeare does not does not even allow Cassio to know who it is that is trying to kill him a clever way this is done is through setting. The setting of the scene at night is in keeping again with Aristotles unity of time and place while the nighttime setting also brings with it a  ominous feeling and builds a sense of confusion with the added aspect of impaired vision and an ability to lurk in shadows.


The repetition of Aggressive and punctual words like 'kill' 'malice' 'enemy' all build the audience up for the aggression and violence this final act will hold and begin to prepare us for the climax of the tragedy to unfold by embedding what They are about to witness into their minds.

Act 5, Scene 2

1. What reasons does Othello give for having to kill Desdemona? The reasons othello gives for killing Desdemona are so she cannot betray more men 'yet she must die, else she'll betray more men.' Because that is the honourable thing for him to do
2. What evidence is there to suggest that Shakespeare adhered to racial stereotypes in this scene? The overarching theme in this act of Othello is him not being able to control his emotions, mainly rage this plays into the belief at the time the play was written that black peoples could not keep their emotions under control and were quick to violence. Shakespeare also brings back the idea of Othello having fits 'when your eyes roll so' adding to the idea of him being in some way mystical and definitely other from the rest of the characters in this play. Also Emilias insults for Othello negatively reference his skin colour 'blacker devil' 'filthy bargain' the racially driven insults highlight the fact that he's different from the characters in the play, and that is a problem for them and almost as though him killing Desdemona was less to do with his jealousy and more a simple result of him being black and therefore seemingly violent and destructive.
3. Othello tells Desdemona that Cassio has confessed to sleeping with her (line 68). What was this 'confession'? 
4. Emilia says "Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" [5.2.192-193] what does this indicate about Emilia and society? Consider the circumstances the characters are in.The standing view of women in the socity in which this poem is set is that they are to be firmly faithful and loyal to their husbands, but should have a high level of respect for all men, this would have been especially important for a woman like Emilia as she was of a lower class than the men she was addressing and being a woman who works in service to these people even in times of emmence distress like this, the character still addresses the men in her company with respect. She understands what is expected of her as a wife and knows that the way she plans to behave isn't 'proper' her act of defiance would have been seen as a huge betrayal of her role and improper of her as a woman at the time.
5. How is Emilia presented in lines 125-233. Consider the language she uses, how she behaves and what she says to Othello and Iago. In these lines Emilias character shifts not only from how we have been used to seeing her act like for the near entiaraty of the play, but also what the audience would be used to seeing women act like in their society. Emilia suddenly becomes very public and outspoken in the company of important men, especially her mistresses husband calling him names that would have been unacceptable even from a man 'she was too fond of her most filthy bargain'. When Emilia decides to disclose all she knows to the other men in the room we see a huge power shift between Emilia and Iago with her now as the dominant one. He calls to her to 'get you home' a strong symbol of pulling her back to the domestic sphere but in an act of ultimate defiance against not only Iago but also her role she refuses 'I will ne'er go home'. So although the audience would have been shocked at her boldness and defiance they would also be glad that she finally unmasked iago and allowed the other characters to know the truth.
6. List all of the names Emilia calls Othello when she realises what he has done. How does this contrast with how Othello was portrayed at the start of the play? Emilia addresses othello as 'Blacker devil', 'Most filthy bargain', 'Ignorant as dirt', 'Moor' and 'Villain' this contrasts strongly when the word used repeatedly at the beginning of the play to describe Othello was valiant, but the word moor is a descriptor used for othello throughout the play.

1 According to Adrian Lester Othello has been fighting since he was seven.

2 Adrian Lester says Othello not being born into a sence of nobility makes him more cautious about maintaining the positive image he has crafted for himself, as his appearance is very important to him.

3 Othello marrying a woman like Desdemona who's family has status increases Othellos own status.

4 Rory Kinnear says Iago is disgruntled with Othello because Othello chose Cassio to be his lieutenant, someone who Iago deems to be less qualified for the role than he is. He also feels cheated by the person he feels closest to.

5 According to Rory Kinnear Othello and Iago both started at the bottom however Othello was able to rise much higher than Iago.

6 the ways Rory Kinnear says Iago aims to bring down Othello and Cassio are subterfuge, insinuation and through getting people on side.

Casting Cassio

Jude law is my pick for Cassio.  He's often cast in roles as the charmer of heartthrob and as appose to many young actors now fitting that same role Jude Law is more age appropriate for Othello. Jude Law has already acted as Henry V in the west end production of Henry V as well as also performing in the title role of Hamlet. Him clearly demonstrating his comfort and confidence in acting in Shakespeare's play by staring in so many lead roles coupled with the way he has been so often type cast as the love interest, as well as him being an aged and experienced actor indicates that he would be a perfect for the role of Cassio.