Revenge is another theme. Iago is determined to get revenge on Othello for not having promoted him, ‘I follow him to serve my turn upon him’ (l.42). His first action is to inform Brabantio in a very crude way that Othello is involved with his daughter, Desdemona. Later in the play Iago manipulates Othello, and causes him to take revenge on his wife and this brings about his downfall.
The play uses a lot of racism. It is uncertain, whether Othello was a Negro or an Arab, but in either case this is important for his position in Venetian society, where he was an outsider because of his background. The belittling comments made about Othello by Roderigo & Iago in this scene, because of his involvement with Desdemona, and the reaction of Brabantio when he hears the news, show how disturbing they find this situation of the ‘black’ man seeing a ‘white’ women. Roderigo refers to him as ‘the thick-lips’ (l.67), and there is a crude reference by Iago to Brabantio about the ‘old black ram is tupping your white ewe’ (l.89-90). Other crude reference are that his daughter is being ‘covered with a Barbary horse’ (l.111-112), and ‘your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs’ (l.115-116). The marriage of Othello & Desdemona is later going to cause problems that finally result in their deaths.
Dishonesty and deception are mainly shown in the character of Iago who is treacherous and deceitful. The skilful way that he manages to hide his real feelings and convince everyone of his lies and at the same time appearing to be ‘honest’, means he is able to manipulate people to make them do what he wants. This is shown by the way he treats Roderigo during this scene. Iago admits to Roderigo that he is untrustworthy and only pretends to be loyal to Othello, ‘In following him, I follow but myself’ (l.59). He hides his true character, so that nobody will suspect him, ‘I am not what I am’ (l.66). Desdemona has deceived her father by marrying without his consent which was important in the society of the time. The way Iago appears to others makes them trust him, but their failure to understand his real nature brings about the tragedy.
Iago creates the impression that he does not think very highly of women which he emphasises by his actions later in the play. The comments he makes about their relationship are put in terms of animal sexuality, with no reference to the loving feelings they later show they have for each other. His crudeness reinforces the lustful impression he wants to create of their behaviour, that they are ’making the beast with two backs’ (l.115).
Iago is determined to destroy Brabantio’s peace of mind by waking him and telling him how his daughter has disobeyed him. His crude & aggressive approach gets Brabantio’s attention and makes him see the situation between Desdemona & Othello the way Iago wants, so that Brabantio will be forced to take action.
Iagos language is also revealing of his dark character; he uses the cliché "I will wear my heart upon my sleeve" to convey how his heart is false, and his shows of emotion are also falsified
Brabantio’s comment to Iago about his attitude: ‘Thou art a villain’ is ironic, because at the time he does not realises Iago’s real intentions, nor how far he will later be prepared to go to destroy Desdemona and Othello.
Roderigo speaks politely to Brabantio, who is a person of higher class, and begins by calling him ‘Most reverend signior’ (l.94). Then Rodrigo tries to get his attention ‘Sir, sir, sir.’ but his comments about the elopement and his racist reference to Othello, ‘a lascivious Moor’ (l.125), show that he has been influenced by Iago.
Iago is crude and racist in his references to Othello as an animal, ‘an old black ram’ (l.89), ‘a Barbary horse’ (l.111). Iago shows his lack of respect for Brabantio, and his attitude is later emphasised by the way he uses prose.
One of the first things we learn about Iago is his hatred for Othello, which he makes clear in his reply to Roderigo, ‘Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate’ and ‘Despise me if I do not’ ((l.7-8). He doesn’t show him much respect, referring to him as ‘the Moor’, although he explains to Roderigo that he will pretend to be loyal to him and serve him well. He thinks Othello has shown poor judgement in promoting Cassio over his head, a decision that results in his desire for revenge. There is another powerful expression of his hatred just before he goes out, ‘Though I
do hate him as I do hell’s pains’ (l.153). Bitter about Cassio’s promotion, he speaks of his own skill and experience, ‘I know my price’ (l.11). Iago is manipulative. Iago makes Roderigo forget his anger and persuades him to wake Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, and tell him about her marriage and particularly the way he keeps ordering him to do and say things. Iago is bitter, about his failure to gain promotion and he decides to be avenged. Iago is untrustworthy, he tells Roderigo that he only follows Othello to ‘serve my turn upon him’ (l.42). Iago is hypocritical, he admits ‘…I am not what I am’ (l.66). Iago is also very self-centred, he speaks highly of men who take advantage of their masters while pretending to be honest and trustworthy. He enjoys causing trouble, persuading Roderigo to wake Brabantio and making crude comments about Othello & Desdemona, which will anger him and destroy his peace of mind. He seems unable to understand love shown by his crude comments in this scene about Othello and Desdemona and his later actions that destroy them.
He skilfully gets himself out of trouble at the end of the scene, he goes back into the shadows because he does not want Brabantio to know who he is, since this could affect his relationship with Othello.
In addition to the introduction of the major themes and the character of Iago, we also learn that Othello is an outsider, his race and his background make him different from the aristocrats he serves.
The problems caused by the marriage of Desdemona and Othello are shown at the end of the scene by the negative reactions of Iago, Roderigo and Brabantio to the situation and particularly to the fact that he is black and she is white.
The first scene is very important because it sets the scene the whole play. It gives us an idea of where it is being taken place, the canals, in Venice. At the start of the play we see two men whispering to one another, this adds dramatic tension. It also introduces some of the characters and suggests that the play will have a tragic ending and hints at the themes of the play. Iago is manipulating people and using them as his puppets to achieve his revenge, he admits ‘I am not what I am’, this gives us some idea that the play will turn out to be a tragic.