| Shakespeare tried to target theme of what? | infidelity and fidelity both in marriage, culture, and friendship |
| “Mere prattle without practice is all his soldiership” (Act I) | Iago about Cassio |
| I follow him to serve my turn upon him (Act I) | Iago speaking to himself about Othello (so Iago about Iago) |
| I must be found. My parts, my title, and my perfect soul, shall manifest me rightly (Act I) | Othello about Othello saying he is ‘good’ himself |
| Look to her Moor, if thou hast eyes to see… she has deceived her father, and may thee (Act I) | Brabantio about Desdemona being potentially deceitful |
| The Moor is of a free and open nature that thinks men honest but seem to be so (Act I) | Iago about Othello saying that the Moor is naive and trusts too much of the surface |
| I will a round unvarnished tale deliver (Act I) | Othello, about giving a true and complete accountWhen Brabantio, a Venetian senator, discovers that his daughter Desdemona has eloped with the Moor Othello, he is stunned. The only way he can comprehend the event is to imagine Othello’s employing all sorts of drugs and black magic on his normally timid daughter. In front of the Duke of Venice and the Senate, Othello steps forward to defend himself with “a round unvarnish’d tale.” Here “round” means “straightforward” and “plain”; when an Elizabethan said that he would be “round with you,” he meant that he would speak frankly. Othello disavows rhetorical tricks: his tale will be “unvarnish’d,” eschewing any beguiling adornments or misleading artifice. |
| To vouch this is no proof, without more wider and more overt test (Act I) | Duke about accusations. He said this when Brabantio said that Othello used black magic on Des |
| Virtue! a fig! Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners (Act I) | Iago, about virtue and self-governance (he said this to Roderigo when he wanted to suicide)Iago says that nothing is good in us. He says that we reap what we sow. Mind tells your body what to do and your body does what your mind tells you. Learning a virtue takes time. You can tell yourself then you are good, then you are good.. Don’t’ care of what others think.If you don’t take care of your own garden, you’re going to have random crap growing in it and you’ll be vulnerable. |
| It is merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will | Iago, about love (Iago doesn’t believe in love, it’s just a mental decision) |
| What does Iago announce at end of Act I? | He thinks Othello is sleeping with his wife Emilia so he wants a payback. Iago “hates the Moor” he doesn’t have proof though, it’s just a rumour |
| Act I begins with what 3 conflicts? | 1) Moors2) Iago’s problem3) Othello’s problem |
| A real life lesson for Act I | Iago talks about Cassio (before we even meet him)– in real life, we always hear about others before actually meeting them |
| What Iago says about Cassio (5) | 1) Iago says that he doesn’t necessarily hate Cassio but that he is just underqualified. Cassio is an arithmetician, very theoretical and book smart but not experienced in the field.2) Cassio is a Florentine (not from Venice), at that time, Florentine is its own nation (geographical bias)”Mere prattle without practice”- Cassio just talks about knowledge but not practice it3)”A fellow almost damned in a fair wife”- He’s sleeping with a woman who he is not married to– as if he was damned or chained to her.4) If we hire a man who is almost married, he won’t be a good lieutenant as he is focused on his wife, or won’t want to go to war because he would want to go home to his wife.This is ironic because Iago is married himself. |
| A fellow almost damned in a fair wife | Iago on Cassio- He’s sleeping with a woman who he is not married to |
| Cassio is from where? | Florentine, not Venice |
| How did Iago try to get hired from Othello? | He paid advertisers to get Othello to hire him but failed |
| Positions (2) | Iago- Moorship’s Ancient (ensign)- carry colors or flag of the nation (Venice) he served. Back then, first one carrying the flag usually gets shot first. Stands near the front.Cassio- Lieutenant (2nd in charge) |
| Othello asks ____ to take care of Des as he goes to war in Cybrus | Iago |
| Themes in Act 1 scene 3 (4) | 1) fidelity2) jealousy (Des putting her husband Othello first instead of Brabantio3) Pride4) Appearance can be deceiving |
| Where was the first conflict resolved? | Act 1, scene 3 where Othello was going to leave at 9am for the battle. Othello (at 8am saturday morning) says to Des that they must not waste anytime, they only have an hr left |
| Problem of Othello’s marriage | Moor married Venetian |
| What did Duke say to Brabantio? | That he is allowed to charge/kill whoever it is (Othello) that abused his daughter– thus permitting B to interpret law onto his favor, however, Duke changed his permission when he found out it was Othello |
| Trail of Othello Act IPlaintiff:Defendant:Charge:Witness:Judge/Jury:Verdict: | BrabantioOthelloTheft, AbuseDesDuke/othersInnocent, freed |
| What did Iago say at end of Act I? | Iago says that he’s got it together and encourages Roderigo to do the same. Iago’s new plan: he announces to Roderigo that Iago is going to make it seem that Desdemona is having an affair because she is young. |
| Who do we meet in Act II (one week later at Cyprus)? (2) | Emilia, Cassio |
| What happens a week later at Cyprus? | Cassio greets people intimately (i.e. taking Desdemona’s hand). Cassio was only trying to calm Desdemona down, he wasn’t trying to go any further)Party night: everybody is allowed to order what they want and ‘merry’ and celebrate for 6 hrs till 11pm at night |
| How much blame does Cassio bear for his action sin Act 2, scene 3? (Do you hold him responsible?) | Firing of Cassio (50%-75%) because he got drunk. Iago is also part of the problem. Roderigo hits Cassio from behind and runs away. Cassio gets really angry and chases after Roderigo and gets into sword fight. Montano tries to stop them.Iago was cultivating Montano a bit. Iago tells Montano that Cassio has drinking problem. Montano is concerned of Why Othello hired someone who has a drinking problem. |
| Trial of Cassio Act II Scene 3 | Plaintiff: Othello & MontanoDefendant: CassioCharge: Dereliction of DutyWitness: Iago & MontanoJudge/Jury: OthelloVerdict: Guilty, fired from jobIago gives a testimony of facts of what happens, but NOT ALL facts that happened |
| 3 parts of human according to Iago | 1) reason (intellect, rationality, will)2) instinctual (feeling, minimal thinking, beastiel)3) Emotions (humanity, where moral and ethics are– how we act on things) |
| I’m not a guy who just gets jealous easily. Moon changing | Othello about his own strengths |
| I will need proof before I change my mind on my wife Des | Othello |
| Act III reveals what 4 things about Othello? | strengths, weaknesses, transformation, devolution |
| What does Des want in Act III? | wants Othello to rehire Cassio in 3 days |
| Ha? I like not that… Cassio my lord? No, sure, I cannot think of it, that he would steal away so guilty-like, seeing you coming | Act III, Iago is offering reasons to be suspicious and doubts to Othello. Iago uses suggestive language |
| Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash… but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed | Iago, Act III Scene IIICuckhold: last to know that his wife is cheating on himIago saying Othello’s reputation is on the line because of cuckhold |
| Iago’s 2 stances on reputation (irony) | 1) Iago replies to Cassio “reputation, I have lost my reputation!” by saying that reputation is only ephemeral (temporary, comes and goes)– all that matters is what you think of yourself.2) Iago tells Othello that the only thing you have in life is reputation (this is in his quote mentioned above “Good name in man and woman….” |
| Mention of poison in Act III Scene III | Shakespeare’s way of showing how humans can easily change |
| I would have it copied | Cassio Act III sc IV on Des’s hankerchief |
| Act III, Scene 4 (Des’s hankerchief) (3) | It’s “power”?Who has it now?”I would have it copied”- Cassio III.iv.185 |
| Work on, my medicine, work! Thus credulous fools are caught, and many worthy and chaste dames even thus, all guiltless, meet reproach | Iago– when Othello’s Epilepsy happened |
| The Moor already changes with my poison. Dangerous conceits are in their natures poisons, which at the first are scarce found to distaste, but with a little act upon the blood burn like the mines of sulfur” | Iago Act II sc. III |
| Interactions between id, ego, superego | Id: I want it nowEgo: rational sideSuperego: mediator between id and ego |
| Iago is the ___ | Ego “I need to do a bit of planning to get it” |
| Emilia’s “wisdom” to Des on men and women | Men cheat on wives all the time, why can’t wives do it? We should do it so they can reflect on their unjust actions. Emilia said she would cheat on her husband for the right reasons |
| Who promotes Cassio to general in Cyprus? | Lodovico promotes Cassio to general in Cyprus. Casiso also gets to decide how to punish Iago |
| Minor characters make major impacts (2) | EmiliaRoderigo |
| It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul. It is the cause. Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men (Act V, sc. ii) | OthelloShows diminish in his superegoOthello said he has to kill Des for the safety of ‘man’ in general. This shows a very broken mindset in his superego |
| Who was first to find out that Des is dead? | Emilia, and Othello actually confesses to Emilia that he murdered her. |
| Trail of Othello in Act VPlaintiffDefendantChargeWitnessJudge/JuryVerdictSentence | Plaintiff (one that says “you’re in trouble”): Lodovico, Othello, AllDefendant: OthelloCharge: MurderWitness: OthelloJudge/Jury: All, OthelloVerdict: GuiltySentence: Death |
| “I have done the state some service… speak of one that loved not wisely but too well… one not easily jealous but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme… [one who] threw a pearl away richer than all his tribe… I took by the th’throat… and smote him, thus” (V.ii. 349-366) | Othello’s speech of defenseOthello was saying that he committed the crime because he loved too well, but not wisely. He is trying to say that he was also a good soldier.”Perplexed in the extreme” When I’m jealous, I goto the extreme and can’t stop. |
Othello
August 26, 2019