Key Events

• Iago’s Treachery

  Act One Scene Two establishes Othello as a commanding, composed character, while reinforcing Iago’s treachery.
• Events

  • Act One Scene Two opens with our first presentation of Othello as Iago deceives him into believing he is his faithful and loyal supporter.
  • Cassio tells Othello the state needs him, as war is imminent with the Turks in Cyprus, while Brabantio alleges Othello of seducing Desdemona with magic and drugs and calls for his arrest.
  • Othello remains calm and believes his service for the state will stand him in good favour.
• Iago’s treachery

  • Iago seamlessly switches from inciting Brabantio and Roderigo’s hatred to instead appearing supportive and loyal to Othello, claiming he wished to violently attack Roderigo ‘under the ribs’ as he was so angered by his reaction to news of the marriage.
  • Othello calmly replies ‘Tis better as it is’, establishing him as a commanding, composed character.
• Cassio’s call

  • Michael Cassio’s first appearance comes with news from Cyprus as Othello has been ‘hotly called for’ by the Duke to assist ‘on the instant’ with the imminent Turkish invasion.
  • Here, we see how vital Othello’s services are to the state, and how well respected he is by the most authoritative of figures – the Duke – in Venice.
• Brabantio and Othello’s Reaction

  Brabantio’s response to Othello upon meeting him is coarse and direct and is heavy with racist prejudices that may have been common of the time.
• Brabantio’s response

  • Brabantio’s response to Othello upon meeting him is coarse and direct: he bemoans Othello as a ‘foul thief’ who has ‘stowed’, ‘enchanted’ and ‘abused’ his ‘delicate’ daughter.
  • He accuses Othello of deceiving and forcing Desdemona’s hand in marriage using ‘drugs or minerals that weakens motion’.
• Foreignness

  • Brabantio constantly refers to Othello’s 'otherness' - an idea with runs throughout Othello - both in racial and social terms as he laments that Desdemona has ‘shunned the wealthy curled darlings of our nation’ for Othello’s ‘sooty bosom’.
• ‘Arts inhibited and out of warrant’

  • His references to ‘arts inhibited and out of warrant’ imply Brabantio believes Othello has used voodoo or black magic to seduce Desdemona.
  • He seems to make assumptions about Othello based on common prejudices rather than any knowledge he has of Othello.
• Predictions

  • At the end of the scene, he suggests that allowance of the marriage may even lead to wider societal corruptive consequences – he warns that ‘if such actions may have passage free / Bondslaves and pagans shall our statesmen be’.