Othello Act I

pg 1119 Question 3 "Identify the protagonist and antagonist."

"It is engendered. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light."
Act I, Scene iii, lines 383-384

The protagonist so far in Othello appears to be Othello, the Moor. He is the hero for his services done for the signiory (I, i, 18) or the state of Venice. He also has the characteristics of a protagonist; he is a brave soldier, calm in times of trouble, and he is also loyal to his work. He is respected by those in Venice as well. On the other hand, the antagonist seems to be Iago. Iago is a conniving, sneaky, manipulative character. This is seen through his manipulation of Roderigo, to "put money in thy purse" (I, iii, 330) which means he wants Roderigo to pay him money because they have a promise to one another. Iago has promised Roderigo that he will separate Desdemona from Othello if Roderigo will pay him. Though beneath this promise, Iago's motives are shown through his soliloquies. As Act I draws to a close Iago reveals his hatred of Othello for promoting Cassio to a position which Iago believed he deserved. He made a deal with Roderigo because he realized that he could basically kill two birds with one stone: he would be able to get money from Roderigo while at the same time watch Othello go down for what he did to him, thus allowing Roderigo to have his end of the deal too.

It's evident that Iago is a sly character by his different ways of speaking. On one hand, he speaks poetry in front of authorities. Meanwhile in front of Roderigo and the audience, he speaks in prose. This difference in speaking reveals the two-faced Iago. The poetry manner of speaking hides his true thoughts, feelings, and motivations for his actions. When he speaks in prose we see that he is plotting against the noble moor and Cassio and that he plans to betray them. So far, Iago is an intelligent thinker and he knows how to deceive people so that he can get what he wants.