In this extract, Shakespeare presents the duplicity of Iago’s
character through the way in which he talks to Othello in comparison to how he
spoke about him in Act 1 Scene 1. In this extract he talks about Othello’s ‘honour’
whereas in the previous scene he said that he ‘hates the moor’. This shows the
audience that he is an untrustworthy character and therefore may play a key
role in the downfall of Othello’s character throughout the play. This line helps to lure Othello into the false pretense that Iago is a friend of Othello which helps him to later manipulate Othello into believing what he tells him. By giving Othello the idea that he is trustworthy, Iago makes Othello believe that he is able to go to him for advice and support which is important later in the play. This duplicity
is also presented later in the extract when Iago talks about ‘Janus’, a
two-faced God. This reflects Iago’s character as he behaves two-faced towards
Othello by pretending to look up to him when in reality he is plotting behind
his back. By using this reference, Shakespeare shows the audience that Iago will cause issues later in the play and throughout this extract they begin to learn of Iago's role in the play to bring down Othello as a tragic hero.
The stage direction of 'with torches' at the start of this extract shows the audience that this scene takes play outside in the dark. Darkness represents deception and later in the play another scene takes place in the dark in which I ago is deceitful and stabs Cassio. This therefore shows the connotation that darkness has and enhances the idea that darkness is a symbol of deciet. Therefore the setting of this scene forebodes the tragic ending of the play as it shows us that iagos character will be deceitful, thus resulting in the tragic end to the play.
