Character Studies - Drama (Week 1) (Othello)

"Not I, I must be found./ My parts, my title, and my perfect soul/ Shall manifest me rightly. Is it they?"

~ Othello, Othello I.ii.30-32

Well, since this is my first blog, let's start off easy - characters!

3. Identify the protagonists and antagonists. Are there any foil characters? What dramatic functions are served by the various minor characters? Do they shed light on the actions or motives of the major characters? Do they advance the plot by eliciting actions by others? Do they embody ideas or feelings that illuminate the major characters or the movement of the plot?

Holy crap! That was a little more involved than I anticipated. We'll only tackle the necessities.

PROTAGONIST: Othello. He's the strong, attractive, classic battle hero little girls dream about in their fairy tales. He's well-mannered, level-headed, and passionately in love with his wife, Desdemona - he's a textbook good-guy. However, as we leave Act 3, we already witness some potential tragic flaws. He's easily manipulated by that sneaky devil Iago (don't worry, we will analyze him next), so he is jealous and definitely can get a temper when provoked long enough.

ANTAGONIST: Iago. What a piece of work! There's no doubt that he is smart - he knows how to manipulate everybody to get whatever he wants when he wants it. DRAMATIC IRONY: While all the characters onstage are drooling over how honest and good Iago is, it turns out that he is a lying, scheming failure of a person, and I'm really questioning whether he even has a soul. He has that sickening quality of being ridiculously nice in public, but to those of us who have known bad people, we all sit back and gag while he makes some huge display of his affections toward the men he is willing to kill because they have supposedly "wronged" him in some way. Basically, he sucks.

FOIL CHARACTERS: Iago and Cassio. No need to describe Iago again. Cassio is completely the opposite. He is kind and loyal, and I think he likes Desdemona - which makes him an even better person because he always helped Othello court her and he stood by his friends when they had something he wanted. He doesn't let jealousy get the best of him (unlike Iago who is consumed by it), and he wants the best for other people.

As for the various minor characters, I'm not exactly sure at this point? The only one I truly remember is the Clown, who is only there for comic relief (he's punny.) in the midst of the web of deception and jealousy and bluh.