Othello- Question 4

"He takes her by the palm. Aye, well said, whisper. With as little as web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. Aye, smile upon her, do, I will gyve thee in thine own courtship." II.i.165-167


I think dramatic suspense is created through the fact that the characters are unaware of Iago's true motives. When Othello comes to see what happened between Montano and Cassio, it is suspenseful to see how Iago will handle the situation because he is manipulating all three characters. The audience knows a lot more information than the characters. Iago is only truthful with the audience so only the audience knows that Iago is really an evil character with immoral motives. I think the effect of the contrast is that the audience anticipates every move Iago will make. They witness Iago's schemes to get Othello to think that Cassio and Desdemona are sleeping together so they look forward to see exactly how Iago will convince Othello to believe this. The fact that the audience knows more than the characters makes the audience almost angry at the characters when they fall for Iago's tricks. I think it makes the audience more involved in the play because they are almost a part of it.