"Blest fig's-end! The wine she drinks is made of grapes. If she had been blest, she would never have loved the Moor."
~ Iago, Othello II.i.238-239
He can't even tell his best friend the truth.
4. How is dramatic suspense created? Contrast the amount of information possessed by the audience as the play proceeds with the knowledge that various individual characters have: what is the effect of such a contrast?
So basically, all the suspense in Othello is created by knowledge of information: who has it and when they will get it. Iago's scheming and true motives/nature are always known by him and the audience. Suspense is created on a level when the audience first knows of Iago's plan, then it drastically builds as we start to see parts of the plan unraveling and the undone deeds getting more and more complex and imminent. He gradually reveals information about what he will do next (usually at the end of an act or scene), which keeps us at the edge of our seats. The second part to the suspense is the other characters onstage. At this point, no one but Iago knows the extent of his plot (Roderigo knows a little, but not a sufficient amount). The audience then wonders who will find out first, when, and if the protagonists will find out before they react poorly to the lies Iago has planted.
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