How does the setting of Act 1 allow the play 'Othello' to develop as a tragedy?

Shakespeare opens Othello in Venice, Italy, which is a key location as it enables the audience to foreshadow tragedy. During the 1600's, when Othello was written, Venice was seen as a place of culture, tradition, and to some extent a superior way of life. This alone is not enough to forebode tragedy from, however when this setting is juxtaposed to the later one of Cyprus the audience can acknowledge a turning point in the play and of the characters fortunes. This is likely to be because at the time Cypriots were viewed as lower class citizens possibly due to their religious differences, thus indicating that in Cyprus the characters will be seen through different perspectives too.

In addition to the setting of Venice, in Act one the characters gather in the court which is a representation of justice. As well as the court emphasising the hierarchy amongst the characters it also hints at a tragic outcome by suggesting that when the characters leave the court there will be a lack of authority and fairness. Although it could be argued that in regards to the court it is not the setting that allows Othello to develop as a tragedy but the characters as it is the duke who symbolises fairness and Shakespeare uses the duke as a device to allow Othello to speak in front of his superiors.