In this scene, Iago and Cassio socialise together, while Othello has his wedding night. Iago is at his most cunning and evil, but also shows us how convincing he can be in pretending to be all nice and good as he gets Cassio drunk. Shakespeare shows us that Cassio is without a doubt a `nice guy' with morals and good intentions. Cassio and Iago carry two important themes - that of the power of hatred and revenge and the ability of people to be not what they seem.

This scene is very important in the development of the plot, as it is the beginning of the major complication of the play. The events in this scene are an important foundation for the course of the rest of the play. Iago begins to implement his grand and intricate plan for revenge, getting Cassio drunk and setting him up for...