In Act 1 of Othello, the play is set in Venice and this allows Shakespeare to convey to us from the start, that the play is going to be a tragedy due to the fact that Venice, is the city we associate with the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Furthermore, in act 1, Shakespeare closes scene 1 at 'grave' Brabantio's 'doors'. By doing this, Shakespeare is able to use Iago not only as a device to create 'malicious knavery' between Othello and Brabantio, but also as a device to set tragedy in motion because in response to Iago's 'vexation', Branbantio leaves his home with 'servants and torches' hence introducing conflict and chaos from the beginning of the play and reiterating the notion that Othello is going to be a tragedy.
In scene 2 and 3 of act 1, the play is first set in Othello's home then in a courtroom.It is important that the play is first set in Othello's home before the courtroom because it allows Shakespeare to depict a 'round and unvarnished' perspective of Othello's character. A depiction of his character which is neither tainted by the biased and 'bombast ' view we receive from the duplicitous Iago at the start nor by the 'bitter' view we receive from the 'noble father' Branbantio in the courtroom . Shakespeare's structure of setting in scene 2 and 3 , also emphasises the magnitude of Iago's duplicitous nature, which in turn foreshadows his 'monstrous' plans to sabotage Othello's marriage at the end of act 1 and overall hints at the tragedy that is Othello. Shakespeare's choice of setting, also means that by the time we are in the courtroom, we have an idea who the tragic events in othello will be aimed at as well as knowing that the play will indeed be a tragedy.
Jessica, v.good work here. You have identified the key settingsin Act 1, you have explained how they contribute to the escalating tragedy nad you have backed up your points with appropriate evidence. Well done.
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