Act 2 Scene 1

Act 2 Scene 1:

Summary:

       On the island of Cyprus, Montano, the governor to be replaced by Othello, he was anxious because a terrific storm has started and Othello did not arrive. However, the good news is the attacking Turkish fleet is destroyed, and the ship which carrying Desdemona, Iago, Emilia and Roderigo, and another bearing Cassio have arrived without accident. Then Cassio tells Montano of Othello's marriage, and Desdemona awaits the arrival of her husband anxiously. Iago and Emilia talk some harsh words, and Desdemona defends it before chatting with Cassio. When Othello's ship arrives, Othello and Desdemona express their great happiness at their reunion. Iago, alone with Roderigo, he tells Roderigo that Desdemona already loved with Cassio, to prove that, Iago uses Desdemona and Cassio's conversation as evidence. He also convinces Roderigo to help remove Cassio, so that Cassio would be annoyed and Roderigo will be attacked. Then Iago will get Cassio's statutes and remove Cassio and Roderigo as obstacles.

Personal reaction:
      Love and loyalty are the parts of themes in Act 2 scene 1.Desdemona's loyalty and love are demonstrated by her actions. She awaits her husband anxiously shows she very loves Othello. In addition, When she hears that Cassio and Othello's ships lost contact during the storm she worries, Desdemona again demonstrates her loyalty and love toward her husband. And when Desdemona reunites with Othello, Desdemona's beatific actions and exciting speaking represent her loyalty and love.

Prediction:

   What will happen on Cassio?

    If a fighting happened, Cassio may lose his position, Othello may be enraged and dismiss Cassio because Cassio will interrupt his "pleasure" night. 

15-line-translation:

   I think Cassio really does love Desdemona, and she also loves him too. And I have to admit that he's a reliable, loving and good natured man. I think he will be a good husband of Desdemona. I do love Desdemona too, not only simply out of lust, but also to finish my revenge. I feel someone slept with my wife, that thought keeps gnawing my mind, eating me inside. I can not get the rest until I get even with him, wife for wife. If I failed, at least I put the Moor so jealous that he can not think straight. If that poor trash of Venice, Roderigo, if he can do what I need to carry out my plan, I will be more powerful than Cassio. Then I would say something bad about him to Othello. I also feel Cassio seduces my wife. I will let Othello thanks me, love me, and reward me. For making him egregiously an ass and practicing upon his peace and quiet. I have got a great plan, though I didn't go to the detail yet. You can not predict the end of this evil plan until you see it.

Comparing Iago's soliloquy at the end of 2.1 to his soliloquy in 1.3

  In 1.3, Iago's soliloquy describes the reason why he hates Othello, he suspects Othello has had sex with his wife, Emilia. Then he plans to cheat Roderigo's money, hints to Othello that Cassion is too friendly with Desdemona. If his plan does work, his revenge will be succeeded and he will get the lieutenant. This is Iago's first soliloquy in the whole story, his soliloquy represents his general plan to audiences, it is a foreshadowing of the story, the soliloquy depicts the plot of the following story. Furthermore, this soliloquy advances the plot, Iago's plan, and his action becomes a force to push the story forward. In addition, throughout the soliloquy, Iago's identity has cleared, a villain in this section; deputy of jealousy and conspiracy. 

   In 2.1, Iago's soliloquy talks about his feeling of the plan and the hypothesis of what will happen (See 15-line-translation). Contrasting with the soliloquy in 1.3, Iago reveals a lot of his individual emotion and thinking in his second soliloquy, he does not represent his plan generally, as he says" 'Tis here, but yet confused. Knavery’s plain face is never seen till used." That means though he does not get the detail of the plan, the end of the plan will be very unbelievable. The second soliloquy shows more Iago's personality, not only jealous but also blinkered and nearsighted. What's more, Iago trusts a rumor represents he does not believe his wife, the theme of disloyalty is shown by his second soliloquy. In addition, there are some similar points in these two soliloquy, they both give some hints to audiences, such as the detail of the plan and how Iago seizes Cassio's position (Lieutenant), these information pushes the plot forward and reveals the foreshadowing in the story and establish atmosphere. The difference is that the first soliloquy (1.3) talks more about the plan, it pays more attention to advanced the plot; the second soliloquy (2.1) talks more about Iago's characterization and personality, it focuses more on the development of characters and defining the relationship between characters. 

   In conclusion, Iago seems the main character to move the plot forward, his soliloquy not only guides audiences go deep into the story but also depicts the atmosphere of the story. Though Iago plays a villain in Act 1 and Act 2, there is no doubt that he is the main character to trigger events, which helps the plot moving on.