Othello Act I

Othello
William Shakespeare

A major theme prevalent in the first scene is racism and stereotyping.  From the first conversations, we see the manner in which Othello is portrayed by his friend, Iago.  He refers to him as simply "the Moor" and often "black" because he is from Morocco.  When Iago talks to Barbantio, he claims that "an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe," (Shakespeare, I.i. 88-89).  While this made us all laugh because of the sexual implication, it further demonstrates Iago's negative view of Othello and foreshadows something--most likely his death later in the play.  Barbantio goes right along with Iago's claims about Othello because he does not want his daughter to marry someone without his consent.  He does change his mind, however, when Des says she really does love Othello.  I really enjoyed this scene because it was a nice little love story, which hasn't ended in tragedy yet.
      And I don't really understand why some people say Iago is the greatest villain of all time because he really hasn't done anything terrible yet.  Normal villains kill many people and perform terrible deeds, yet he has just betrayed and manipulated others who thought him to be so "honest."  While I know this play is a tragedy and many people are likely to die by the end, I wonder what Iago will actually do next...