Topic > The importance of Act 5, Scene 1 in Shakespeare's Othello

The first scene of the fifth act of Othello, unlike the previous ones, is dominated by physical violence, with Iago at the center who plays the "puppeteer ”. This scene reminds the viewer of the skills that Iago possesses in controlling the most malleable characters, namely Roderigo. Shakespeare also relies on the theme of proof with regards to his protagonist, who, satisfied with his "ocular proof", is now confronted with the auditory proof - Cassius' screams, which "allow him" to try to put an end to the life of Desdemona. It is widely believed that the beginning of this act shows Shakespeare moving away from the intellectual patterns and techniques common to pre-Renaissance theatre; here he turns to more medieval "action scenes", an intentional regression that gradually draws the audience towards the climax. This is a scene of rapid transition: Iago's words are no longer just empty threats, but are rapidly coming to fruition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the first dialogue between Iago and Roderigo, the audience sees a return to the initial, perhaps more "innocent" phases of the play. There, we now realize that Shakespeare's 'villain' planted the seeds of this moment in Roderigo's 'love-struck' mind. The conversation now has a more sinister connotation; take, for example, these dramatic words: “Yet he gave me satisfactory reasons:/'Only one man is gone. Come on, my sword: it dies. This statement, with its childish resonance, shows Shakespeare suggesting the true extent of both Roderigo's metaphorical blindness and Iago's keen eye for manipulation. The former is an archetype, à la Falstaff, an "honorable fool", but, unlike Falstaff, also a vehicle of emotion and, ultimately, an intentionally one-dimensional character, used to fulfill only one purpose: the murder of Cassius. However, instead of letting the above technique exist only in the audience's perception, Shakespeare has it bluntly announced to Iago during his 'mini-soliloquy': “I have rubbed this young quat almost to the sense / And he gets angry . Now, whether he kills Cassius/Or Cassius himself, or each kills one another,/Every way makes me gain.” A profound clarity of emotion now dominates Iago's speech: gone are the accoutrements of erudition, a simplistic vocabulary and a corresponding line of thought, now come to the fore. The audience is not surprised by Iago's contempt for human life here, only by the newfound expression of his jealousy, even his self-loathing: "If Cassio stays / He has a daily beauty in his life / That makes me ugly." This could be a reference to Cassio's relatively polite ways, or even a sign of Iago's jealousy towards Bianca, but Shakespeare leaves this in doubt. What it symbolizes, however, is the rapid "humanisation" of Iago, a process, though prevalent in the previous sections, which up to this point is barely noticeable: an Iago very dissimilar to the original of Giovanni Battista's "Un Capitano Moro" Giraldi Cinthio, who remains subhuman everywhere. Following Othello's assumption that Cassio's murder was successfully carried out, Shakespeare presents the audience with a sign that Iago's plans are having the desired effect through a small, but very reverent, outburst on the part of his protagonist : "'It is he. O brave Iago, honest and just, / who have such a noble sense of your friend's wrong! / You teach me. The irony of this statement, particularly of the last line, is not lost on me to the public. A total occurred position reversal: Iago is now seen as the “sword.