And a Reply

Mr. Bloomfield seems to be confusing two issues about Iago's character. First, whether he should enter into the sympathy of the audience or not I think he is entitled to for would one not be more affected by the villany of someone whom one had trusted, than by someone obviously to be suspected? The contrast here makes Iago not less, convincingly villainous. I think, but more so. The other question is the laughter which Roderigo's death scene provoked. This laughter seemed not to show amusement but rather a relief of tension, and I think a deliberate contrast is provided by this scene and the "Willow" scene and Desdemona's death, which strain the nerves of the audience to the utmost.

It is a debatable point whether Prince Hal's mimicry of his father in the tavern scene in "Henry IV" should be meant seriously or not or whether it permits a change in tone, but it seems to me that Terence Longdon's acting was at fault in making no attempt at mimicry and making his lines coldly serious rather than mocking and ironical.

P. Dronke.