1
Q
When is iago’s first soliloquy and what is the purpose and key quotes from it?
A
- act 1 scene 3
- iago outlines his weak motives ‘i know not if’t be true’ thinks othello has slept with his wife
- we see iago conjuring up his plan right from the beginning of the play
- we see his cognitions turning
- this puts the audience in a priviliged position
- ‘but for my sport and profit’ shows his enjoyment from stage managing and controlling others
2
Q
What happens in act 1 scene 1
A
- starts with rod and iago
- rod has just found out des and oth are married
- rod has been paying iago and accuses him of knowing
- they agree to call on brabantio to tell him of othello and des’s marriage
3
Q
What happens in act 1 scene 2
A
- iago goes to warn othello of brabantio
- cassio arrives (they think is brab) and tells oth he is wanted by the duke of venice for a matter of cyprus
- brabantio arrives and accuses othello of witchcraft and they go to the duke together
4
Q
What happens in act 1 scene 3
A
- the turks change course to mislead the venetians
- the meeting with the duke is interrupted by brab
- des speaks up for othello telling everyone how he whoo’d her
- othello and des go to cyrprus
- iagos first soliloquy
5
Q
What happens in act 2 scene 1
A
- storm means turkish fleet died
- unsure wether oth has survived but everyone else arrives on cyprus
- iago reveals his sexist thoughts
- cassio kisses des hand in comfort + iago uses this to make rod jealous
- iago has another soliloquy in which shakespeare creates disagreements about iago’s motives so that rhe audience understand his evil has no justification
- “led to diet my revenge” “wife for wife” allusion and further explanation that he thinks oth has slept with emilia but seems dubious because he has just admitted that the moor is of a “constant loving noble nature”
- “into a jealousy so strong that judgement cannot cure” wants to make oth feel how he does
- “poor trash of venice” iago is using rod to his disposal
- “knaverys plain face is never seen till used”
- also reveals his plan is coming together and foreshadows othellos descent into “madness”
6
Q
What happens in act 2 scene 3
A
- oth plans evening celebrations
- very short scene
- serves as a direct contrast to upcoming events revealed by iago in previous scene
7
Q
What happens in act 2 scene 3
A
- iago persuades cassio to drink even tho hes on guard duty
- cassio and rod fight and cassio stabs montano
- oth fires cassio
- iago has 2 soliloquys each planning out his next act
- “divinity of hell”
- “pour this pestilence into his ear”
- “turn her virtue into pitch”
- “ out of her goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all”
- iago persuades cas to ask des to speak on his behalf
8
Q
What happens in act 3 scene 1
A
- cassio wakes oth with musicians
- emilia tells cas that des is speaking on his behalf
9
Q
What happens in act 3 scene 2
A
- oth attends to his duties as a general
- shakespeare makes this scene happen at the same time as scene 1, makes them contemporaneous to show iagos manipulations working simultaneously
10
Q
What happens in act 3 scene 3
A
- the gulling scene of othello
- iago puts doubts into oth head to which oth resists at first then is convinced by filling the gaps in on his own
- emilia takes the handkercheif to iago
- oth commands iago to kill cassio and promoted iago to lieutenant
- iago has another soliloquy where he says that no evidence is like evidence to those that are jealous - true
- and he acknowledges that oth is already changing due to his “poisen”
- oth has his first soliloquy where he responds to iago’s suggestion that they are an unnatural match and he talks philosophically about marriage claiming women have a sexual appetite that cannot be controlled
11
Q
What happens in act 3 scene 4
A
- emilia lies to des about the whereabouts of the handkercheif
- oth tells des of the origins of the handkerchief and accuses her of a “moist hand”
- emilia suggests oth is jealous (first person to see this) and des denies
- cass makes bianca copy the handkerchief he found in his room
12
Q
What happens in act 4 scene 1
A
- iago tells oth that cas and des slept together
- iago tricks oth into thinking cas is talking about des when he’s talking about bianca
- bianca enters w handkerchief (very lucky for iago)
- iago convinces oth to strangle des
- othello “strikes” des
- iago has a soliloquy where he reveals the next stage of his plan, shows foreshadowing - he has controlled the events of the stage so well he is able to predict future events
- shows cas is not entirely innocent as he treats bianca as a laughing stock “cannot restrain from the excess of laughter”
13
Q
What happens in act 4 scene 2
A
- oth questions emilia who defends des
- oth treats des like she is at a brothel with emilia guarding the door
- emilia says to iago + des that someone must have put this thought in oth’s head
- rod accuses iago of lying and taking the money - false promises - only one to see through iago’s deceit
- iago persuades rod to kill cas who is reluctant but goes along with it
14
Q
What happens in act 4 scene 3
A
- oth tells des to go to bed
- willow scene with des and emilia
- emilia speaks her feminist viewpoint “they are all but stomachs and we are all but food”
15
Q
What happens in act 5 scene 1
A
- rod stabs cassio who is protected due to his armour
- cas stabs rod and is then sneakily cut by iago
- oth thinks iago has stabbed cas
- iago pretends to help cas and blames rod who cusses him out in his dying words
- cas survives rod dies
- iago has a soliloquy where he says that “every way makes my gain” shows his selfishness
- and reveals he is insecure compared to cassio’s looks “he hath a daily beauty that makes me ugly”
- beginning of downfall of iago’s plan - he has been lucky up until now
16
Q
What happens in act 5 scene 2
A
- oth strangles des
- oth has a soliloquy before killing des where he says he feels he has a duty as a soldier, he doesn’t want to “put out the light” but he “must” “else she’ll betray more men”
- when he hears emilia his soliloquy continues and he immediately grieves her in immense distress - shakespeare does this so we feel pity for him, follows tragic trajectory
- more emphasis of the natural order of the world being turned
- emilia is distraught
- oth finds cas is alive
- emilia finds that iago is behind it all
- truth is revealed and oth weeps but clings to the false information
- iago stabs emilia and she dies by des singing the willow song
- oth stabs iago who survives and is kept prisoner
- letters in rod’s pocket reveal the truth
- oth stabs himself
- cas is appointed lord govener
Othello Quotes
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