Dramatic suspense is created in this play with all of the soliloquies and asides from various important characters. Many of these important speeches come from Iago, Emilia, and Othello. Iago's speeches while he is alone and speaking to the audience clue us in on his plans and create dramatic situations. These situations in which the audience knows more than the characters in the play cause the audience to feel suspense and question what will ultimately occur. Emilia's asides and important, because she ends up being a dynamic character in the end. She follows her husband's orders and wishes in the beginning, but she stands up for herself and for Desdemona in the end. She defies her husband, and she lays down her life for her friend. Othello's asides are extremely important to the plot of the play because they show the audience his thoughts and opinions. They show that he believes Iago's lies and plans revenge on Desdemona and Cassio. The plans of revenge create suspense because the audience is not sure about how things will work out. Asides and soliloques give the audience all of the information in a play, while the other characters have to put the pieces together themselves. From our position, things may seem extremely obvious. However, I could understand how some characters would be fooled and not follow what was going on until the very end.
Iago's aside example: V.i.11-22
"I’ve rubbed this young pimple until he’s ready to pop, and now he’s angry. Whether he kills Cassio, or Cassio kills him, or they kill each other, it all works in my favor. If Roderigo survives, though, he’ll ask me for all the gold and jewelry that I stole from him and said I gave to Desdemona. I can’t let that happen. If Cassio survives,he’s so handsome and well-spoken that he makes me look ugly. And besides, the Moor might tell him about my lies about him.—That would be very dangerous for me. No, he’s got to die. Let it be so. I hear him coming."
He calls Roderigo a pimple....eww.
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