From Script to Screen - The Maddening World of Iago in Parker's 'Othello' (1995) Anonymous 11th Grade

From the first scene of Shakespeare's play Othello, readers are aware of Iago’s plans to destroy Othello by ruining his relationship with Desdemona, creating a situation of dramatic irony. Readers are therefore conscious of the purpose behind Iago’s every action, how truly narcissistic and cruel ‘honest’ Iago really is. Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony creates a feeling of responsibility within a reader, as we are aware of Iago’s motives but powerless to alter the events of the play. The fact the reader is in the know of Iago’s thoughts and feelings also serves to form a sort of bond between the reader and Iago, making Iago the most engaging character. Since the Oliver Parker film Othello is based upon the original play by William Shakespeare, there are not many variations in narrative. This similarity in narrative enables the film adaptation to incorporate the presence of dramatic irony in the play. Although Oliver Parker chose to reduce a considerable chunk of spoken text from the film, these areas were replaced by alternative visual representations, informing the audience of Iago’s plans without having to replicate all of Iago’s lengthy soliloquies. In this way, the director was able to incorporate elements of dramatic...