Extract - Act 5, Scene 1
Within the extract, in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play, the audience are immersed into a
chaotic, violent scene at night on the streets of Cyprus, where the Machiavellian villain
Iago’s plot to ‘serve his turn’ upon ‘the Moor’ escalates further, with deadly
consequences. Here, Shakespeare establishes how Iago is able to exploit the disorderly
nature of Cyprus to his ‘gain’, as he conceals his involvement in the brawl between
Cassio and Roderigo under the cover of darkness, leaving both tragic victims ‘slain’ and
‘maimed forever.’ Prior to this scene, Iago has successfully managed to convince
Othello that the pair will secure ‘black vengeance’ by murdering both Desdemona (by
‘strangling her in the bed she hath contaminated’) and Cassio, with Iago vowing to
personally kill Cassio as his ‘undertaker’, a duty he delegates to the ‘sick fool’ Roderigo,
who Iago has manipulated into ‘knocking out his [Cassio’s] brains.’ As the duplicitous
‘honest’ Iago has already become Othello’s most trusted confidant, with the two
symbolically ‘bound…forever’ in the perverse mock wedding scene, in the extract,
Shakespeare clearly emphasises Othello’s fatal flaw and tragic blindness to Iago’s true
nature, as the tragic hero exits the scene with a strengthened resolve to smother the
‘sweet soul’ Desdemona, in a twisted, misguided act of ‘justice.’ Thus, this scene is
significant to the progression of the tragic arc, as it serves to highlight Othello’s
denigration from a ‘noble’ and ‘valiant’ soldier to a psychologically disturbed man who is
completely at the mercy of Iago’s fabrication of reality, and demonstrates Iago’s
wide-cast ‘net’ constricting around the tragic victims, leading to not only Roderigo’s
death at the hands of Iago soon afterwards, but also the ‘tragic loading’ of the bed
scene later on in the play.
Shakespeare constructs Iago as the embodiment of fiendish and unbridled villainy,
whose terrifying ability to masterfully manipulate all the characters onstage whilst
obfuscating his own role in the unfolding tragedy drives the play’s tragic trajectory, as he
orchestrates the tragic hero and victims’ downfall with chilling precision. The initial
staging of the scene, with Iago ‘near’ at Roderigo’s ‘hand’ in a superficial gesture of
comfort and camaraderie, arguably emphasises Iago’s callous and cruel nature, as he
openly confesses to the audience that he is essentially sending the inexperienced
‘gentleman’ Roderigo on a suicide mission; his aside to the audience renders us
helplessly complicit in the tragic fall of Roderigo. Iago’s cold admission that is it
preferable for Cassio and Roderigo to ‘kill the other’ as ‘every way makes [his] gain’
emphasises the villain’s complete disregard for human life, and this is demonstrated
further by his casual dehumanisation of Roderigo with the metaphor of a ‘young quat.’
As such, Shakespeare reinforces Iago’s pessimistic and cynical worldview, which he
inflicts upon the characters around him; not only does his attitude towards Roderigo
underscore the transactional nature of Iago’s interactions with the world, but the
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
Within the extract, in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play, the audience are immersed into a
chaotic, violent scene at night on the streets of Cyprus, where the Machiavellian villain
Iago’s plot to ‘serve his turn’ upon ‘the Moor’ escalates further, with deadly
consequences. Here, Shakespeare establishes how Iago is able to exploit the disorderly
nature of Cyprus to his ‘gain’, as he conceals his involvement in the brawl between
Cassio and Roderigo under the cover of darkness, leaving both tragic victims ‘slain’ and
‘maimed forever.’ Prior to this scene, Iago has successfully managed to convince
Othello that the pair will secure ‘black vengeance’ by murdering both Desdemona (by
‘strangling her in the bed she hath contaminated’) and Cassio, with Iago vowing to
personally kill Cassio as his ‘undertaker’, a duty he delegates to the ‘sick fool’ Roderigo,
who Iago has manipulated into ‘knocking out his [Cassio’s] brains.’ As the duplicitous
‘honest’ Iago has already become Othello’s most trusted confidant, with the two
symbolically ‘bound…forever’ in the perverse mock wedding scene, in the extract,
Shakespeare clearly emphasises Othello’s fatal flaw and tragic blindness to Iago’s true
nature, as the tragic hero exits the scene with a strengthened resolve to smother the
‘sweet soul’ Desdemona, in a twisted, misguided act of ‘justice.’ Thus, this scene is
significant to the progression of the tragic arc, as it serves to highlight Othello’s
denigration from a ‘noble’ and ‘valiant’ soldier to a psychologically disturbed man who is
completely at the mercy of Iago’s fabrication of reality, and demonstrates Iago’s
wide-cast ‘net’ constricting around the tragic victims, leading to not only Roderigo’s
death at the hands of Iago soon afterwards, but also the ‘tragic loading’ of the bed
scene later on in the play.
Shakespeare constructs Iago as the embodiment of fiendish and unbridled villainy,
whose terrifying ability to masterfully manipulate all the characters onstage whilst
obfuscating his own role in the unfolding tragedy drives the play’s tragic trajectory, as he
orchestrates the tragic hero and victims’ downfall with chilling precision. The initial
staging of the scene, with Iago ‘near’ at Roderigo’s ‘hand’ in a superficial gesture of
comfort and camaraderie, arguably emphasises Iago’s callous and cruel nature, as he
openly confesses to the audience that he is essentially sending the inexperienced
‘gentleman’ Roderigo on a suicide mission; his aside to the audience renders us
helplessly complicit in the tragic fall of Roderigo. Iago’s cold admission that is it
preferable for Cassio and Roderigo to ‘kill the other’ as ‘every way makes [his] gain’
emphasises the villain’s complete disregard for human life, and this is demonstrated
further by his casual dehumanisation of Roderigo with the metaphor of a ‘young quat.’
As such, Shakespeare reinforces Iago’s pessimistic and cynical worldview, which he
inflicts upon the characters around him; not only does his attitude towards Roderigo
underscore the transactional nature of Iago’s interactions with the world, but the
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
