Act 3 Scene 3 is, arguably, the most important scene in the entire play, for it is the point of no return. It is as if for the entire beginning of the play you were pushing a huge boulder up a steep mountain, and in this scene you reach the top, and push it down the other side, helpless to stop it. This is how I see the action in Othello. Iago spends the whole time plotting, and conspiring with the audience, and in this scene you can actually pinpoint the line where he finally pushes Othello over the edge. Iago manages this in several ways, through imagery, 'sewing the seed' in Othello's mind, and reverse psychology. However all of these ways boil down to one thing, Iago, throughout the play, plays on Othello's own insecurities about race, and Desdemona.

Iago's language throughout the scene is very rich and amazingly descriptive so much so that it actually acts as a projector, projecting vivid, clear pictures into the audience's, and more importantly, Othello's mind. This is more evident in the later part of the scene, and there is one particular speech I wish to isolate. Iago's speech, lines 407 to 423, is where the richest image is created i

However, all of these three methods are related to Iago's main, core target, Othello's own insecurities about his colour and his relationship of his skin. An obvious example of this is Iago's speech, lines 226 to 236. This speech is a response to Othello's previous line, "And yet, how nature erring from itself." What he means is that Desdemona's supposed adultery is very unnatural, and strange, and Iago appears to agree. However, what may seem Iago's attack on Desdemona, i.e. that she is strange and unnatural, is actually a backward attack on Othello and his colour. He calls their relationship "rank, / Foul disproportion, thoughts unnatural." We see the effects on Othello, of Iago's comments and speeches at the very end of the scene. All through the play there have been comments about Othello in relation to race, and here he is finally swept away by them. When he is told about the handkerchief he reacts in a dramatic, violent storm of words and promises. Phrases such as "Arise black vengeance, from hollow hell" (444) and references to the Black Sea later on suggest racial undertones, and also the pairings of black and white to evil and good are more prevalent now than before in the play, and they come from Othello.

Iago wields a lot of power over all the characters throughout the whole of the action, but in this scene, he is at his most powerful. He uses very clever methods of persuasion, but they all

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Approximate Word count = 952
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)