#4 How is dramatic suspense created? Contrast the amount of information possessed by the audience as the play proceeds with the knowledge that various individual characters have: what is the effect of such a contrast?
"Touch me not so near. / I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth / Than it should do offense to Michael Cassio. / Yet I persuade myself to speak the truth / Shall nothing wrong him. Thus it is, General." II.i.199-203
Shakespeare does a good job of creating dramatic suspense in Othello by plotting the characters against each other. Iago's actions create the most suspense because he manipulates everyone else. In the Act II, Iago manipulates Montano, Cassio, and Othello all at the same time. Iago gets Cassio drunk so he will be easy to provoke. Then, Iago makes Montano believe that Cassio is a drunk and convinces Othello that he is loyal to both Cassio and Othello, even though he is not. The audience knows Iago's plan, but the other characters each have different ideas about Iago. Each character thinks Iago is being truthful and honest to them, while he is in fact deceiving each one of them. The audience, on the other hand, knows the truth about Iago.
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