Act 5

Question 1

Othello as an automaton

Answer 1

from notes

Question 2

Othello’s suicide Act5Sc2

Answer 2

• both retribution and rehabilitation; Othello is destroying the villain he has proved himself to be while simultaneously trying to resurrect his reputation
• uses the language of justice/ the law to justify killing Desdemona (‘it is the cause’), and demands that she ‘deny each article’ of his accusations before he smothers her. upon realising his mistake, Othello takes justice into his own hands and he commits suicide
• this is poetic justice
• it is also pleasantly ironic that one of the women that Iago treated so poorly causes his downfall

Question 3

Religious imagery associated with Desdemona’s death Act5Sc2

Answer 3

• the tragedy of Desdemona’s death is heightened by the references to light and religion
• Othello makes such references to justify his killing of her
• even before she is dead, Othello sees her as a funeral ornament: when Desdemona wakes, he urges her to pray because he does not want to ‘kill thy unprepared spirit… I would not kill thy soul’
• when he realises his crime, he turns such imagery toward himself: ‘Whip me, ye devils,/ From the possession of this heavenly sight!’

Question 4

Love and self love

Answer 4

• the constancy of the women’s love for each other (‘sweet mistress’) heightens the tragedy of this scene; we likely feel great pathos for them
• in contrast, the [egotistical? excessive?] self-love of both Iago and Othello in this scene is infuriating
• Iago’s final words are gloating, and are perhaps more than anything an attempt to protect his own dignity
• Othello’s murder of Desdemona and himself may be seen as a selfish plight for justice; perhaps still obsessed with his masculine reputation, Othello wants to be ‘an honourable murderer’
• Othello clearly still loves Desdemona but his own self love will not allow her to live
• however, unlike Iago, Othello atones for this with his suicide.

Question 5

Act5Sc2 Montano and Gratiano’s treatment of Othello

Answer 5

the men treat Othello as if he were a common criminal: “let him not pass, / But kill him rather”

Question 6

The disarming of Othello

Answer 6

• this is symbolic
• he is reduced to a nonentity: he is no longer a husband, and now the Venetians have taken his weapons, he is no longer a soldier.

Question 7

Othello’s dramatic listing of ways in which he believes he should die

Answer 7

• juxtaposes Iago’s silence - his refusal to explain and account for his actions where he entirely avoids taking responsibility.
• “Whip me, ye devils… Blow me about in winds, roast me in sulphur / Wash me down in steep-gulfs of liquid fire!”

Question 8

locating Act5Sc2 in the bedroom

Answer 8

creates a sense of claustrophobia and isolation.

Question 9

dramatic functions of Othello’s speech before his final speech

Answer 9

• prepares audiences for his final speech where he can explain himself and his remorse, perhaps intentionally so that we view him as a tragic hero when he dies.
• the differences between Iago and Othello must be reasserted where the two seemed to have become blurred before; when Othello begins to speak in verse with some of his former nobility it is a relief.
• The ‘cruel’ Othello whom Emilia describes has died with Desdemona