I like watching the play be performed because you realize mannerisms and understand things better while seeing it actually performed. These plays were meant to be seen not read. A scene that really sticks out to me was when Othello slaps Desdemona. While reading the play you don’t really see the mannerisms of Iago, Desdemona, Othello. I find it so sad that when Othello speaks about crocodile tears the reader is set to believe that they are indeed fake tears but while viewing the play you are able to see that they are not fake. “if that earth could teem with woman’s tears, each drop would prove a crocodile. Out of my sight!”(page 159, lines 273-276) Othello does not believe his wifes tears and this causes him to strike her. Desdemona literally has no idea what has gotten into her husband because she has never seen him act like this. He is behaving like a monster and she has no idea what the reasoning is behind it. It was very interesting to see how Iago was positioned in that scene. He was standing right by the couple while they were arguing and he is standing there with a blank look on his face like he does not know what is going on. In reality, He is the sole reason that Othello is slapping his wife. He knows exactly what is going on and his plan is developing right in front of his eyes.

It is hard to tell while reading but watching the performance you really are able to see how innocent Desdemona due to her unawareness of Iago devious plan. Iago’s plan is being executed perfectly and most important he is there to view every part of it without anyone catching on. These tears are real from Desdemona and she is heart broken by the way her husband is acting. Othello was easily manipulated and instead of jumping to conclusions on circumstantial evidence he should have acted like an adult and spoke to both Cassio and Desdemona about this situation. This behavior is what leads to the overall outcome of the play and that is DEATH!

Visual element-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOG_Cc-DKZI

Skip to 1 hour and 3 minutes in and you will see this scene where Othello strikes her and speaks about her crocodile tears.