Don't Lead me On

"Dost thou hear, Iago? I will be found most cunning in my patience, But-dost thou hear?-most bloody." IV.i.87-89

     Throughout the duration of "Othello," the reader is led on by the expectation that some sort of retaliation for the rumors and supposed acts of Iago and other characters will take place. Luckily for Shakespeare and readers captivated by the plot, the resolution and fulfillment of these expectations do not take place until the fifth act, when nearly everyone besides Iago and Cassio perish due to the conflict of the play. The interesting fact of the suspense created is that the information the characters possess is not far from what the audience knows. Othello is constantly told by Desdemona and Emilia that Desdemona is not sleeping with Cassio. However, there is still a substantial amount of dramatic irony that exists between what the characters know and what the audience expects. Much of this audience knowledge centers around Iago and his conspiracy against Cassio and Othello. Some of the situations seemed so ridiculous that I wondered when Iago would be found out. The irony revealed at the end of the play is that Emilia turns out to be a dynamic character who understands the entire plot of Iago. The suspense led me and, as I suspect, many readers on to speculate who would reveal Iago to Othello and how soon it would happen. Because of this suspense, the revelation of Emilia as an integral character to the resolution of the conflict carries much more weight than if an educated character would find Iago out.