Othello, Act I

"But words are words.  I never yet did hear That the bruised heart was pierced through the ear." (p. 1377, lines 217-218)

I thought this line was a perfect summary of Act I of Othello - there is a lot of accusing, claiming, and talking, but no action takes place to really back it up. 

At this point of the story, I believe that Othello is the protagonist of the story.  The entire act speculates Othello's actions such as the marrying of Desdemona and his hiring of Cassio over Iago as officer.  Since Iago and Roderigo are constantly complaining and brown nosing, they are probably the antagonists.  For example, Iago basically spends Scene 1 complaining about Othello and his marriage, but in the opening of Scene 2, he states: "Nay, but he prated And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms Against your honor..."  Seems to me Iago is a little bit of a hypocrite.  Ironically, Cassio and Iago may be foil characters.  On one hand, Iago is dedicated to military life, and he loves to drama.  Cassio is an arithmetician who seems very low-key.  Minor characters such as Brabantio shed light on the marriage of Othello and the motives of Iago and Roderigo.  Because Iago and Roderigo try to twist the story of Othello's marriage to Brabantio, Brabantio assumes that Othello is a dirty man.  This points to Iago's drama-oriented nature.  At the end of the act, Brabantio learns that his daughter does love Othello.  Brabantio also advances the plot by fleeing to the Duke after talking to Iago about the marriage.  The Duke advances the plot by settling conflicts between characters.  The Duke embodies a feeling of wisdom that is lacking by major characters in the play.  Without this voice of reason, all other characters are lost.  This allows characters to move forward with their lives.