Here we touch on one of the subtlest of the
playwright's problems--the art of arousing anticipation in just the
right measure. But that is not the matter at present in hand.[3]
In the opening scene of _Othello_ it is true that some talk passes
between Iago and Roderigo before they raise the alarm and awaken
Brabantio; but it is carefully non-expository talk; it expounds nothing
but Iago's character. Far from being a real exception to the rule that
Shakespeare liked to open his tragedies with a very crisply dramatic
episode, _Othello_ may rather be called its most conspicuous example.
The rousing of Brabantio is immediately followed by the encounter
between his men and Othello's, which so finely brings out the lofty
character of the Moor; and only in the third scene, that of the Doge's
Council, do we pass from shouts and swords to quiet discussion and, in a
sense, exposition. Othello's great speech, while a vital portion of the
drama, is in so far an exposition that it refers to events which do not
come absolutely within the frame of the picture.
Pages:
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134