Scene summary
On a dark street in Cyprus, Iago posts Roderigo behind a stall to kill Cassio and, in an aside, admits that the death of either of them suits him: if Roderigo lives, he will demand the gold and jewels Iago took from him; if Cassio lives, his good looks make Iago seem uglier, and Othello can expose Iago. Roderigo attacks, but Cassio, in a sturdy coat, wounds him. Iago, from behind, cuts Cassio's leg and flees. Othello, hearing Cassio's voice from afar, takes the cries as a sign that Iago has kept his word, praises his honesty and goes to kill Desdemona.
Lodovico and Gratiano arrive and hesitate to help. Iago returns with a light, as if coming to assist, and, when Cassio names Roderigo as one of the attackers, stabs him in front of them. He recognizes Gratiano, ties up Cassio's leg and has him carried away. Bianca arrives, distressed, and Iago accuses her of being involved in the crime, telling the gentlemen that guilt shows on her face. Emilia arrives, and Iago tells her that Cassio was attacked by Roderigo and others, sends her to find out where Cassio dined, and then to take the news to the citadel.
Analysis
Iago puts Roderigo before Cassio because any outcome serves him: "I win in both cases". Roderigo has already become dangerous, for he would demand the gold and jewels Iago took from him, and Iago has pressed him until he is irritated. Roderigo, for his part, acts without conviction ("I have no great devotion to this action") and relies on reasons that Iago gave him. Iago stays behind the stall and only intervenes afterward, to wound Cassio from behind.
In lines 122-3, it is not certain that Bianca is a prostitute: Iago, Emilia and Cassio call her that, but her own name, linked to purity, and her love for Cassio complicate the reading.
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