Othello 4.1

Othello is sick with grief and jealousy abut Iago only makes it worse by taunting him. To start this act, Iago is making Othello imagine all the things that Cassio did with Desdemona. Iago describes the acts in detail and it causes Othello to pass out. Cassio enters while Othello is passed out and Iago promises to have a talk with Cassio which is part of his plan to make Othello even more jealous and sure of Desdemona's cheating. After Othello hides, Iago questions Cassio about his love and affairs with Bianca, to which Cassio ridicules. Cassio appears to be an unloving man as he dismisses Iago's questions of marrying Bianca because he believes that Bianca is clingy and too attached to him. Bianca then enters and calls Cassio a cheating man for giving her a handkerchief that belongs to another woman. Cassio leaves to chase after the enraged Bianca and Othello comes out from hiding with the intent to brutally kill both Cassio and Desdemona. Not long after, Lodovico, from Venice, come with news for Othello. Desdemona tells Lodovico about the split between Othello and Cassio but speaks some words that could be misinterpreted and Othello slaps her out of anger. The news also happened to be that Cassio is going to replace Othello's spot in Cyprus. 

Othello's personality had changed a lot from what it had been at the beginning of the play. He was cool and collected as shown when he was questioned by Brabantio, but now he is angered by event the smallest phrase. Also, instead of the elegant type of speech he was capable of in the beginning of the play, he is becoming mad and speaking with pauses and goes off topic many times (L. 284-296). The noble and honorable Moor that is the general of Venice is now reduced to someone who slaps his own wife in front of a crowd.

How has Lodovico's visit ruined Othello's character even more?

Lodovico is the bearer of bad news. He brings orders from the Senate in Venice that Othello is to return and have his place taken by none other than Cassio. Desdemona also relied on Lodovico to mend the relationship between Cassio and Othello but that is only misinterpreted by Othello as Desdemona favoring Cassio. Finally, as an outsider to the drama, Lodovico is ignorant of the events that have happened and only manages to enrage the drama more by telling Othello to apologize to his wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHVnLyP9ZVE

Even thought this Othello movie is old, it stays accurate to the script. We are shown the drama of the slap as well as the significance through the actors' facial expressions and actions. Othello is especially portrayed well as he occasionally looks at the camera with intimidating eyes which give off the impression that he is holding back his anger at Desdemona.

The Welles version of the film displays the madness of Othello as mentioned before. Othello is seeming to be two-faced as he is rebuking Desdemona and having a conversation with Lodovico at the same time. It clearly shows how mad Othello had become after Iago's manipulation.