| How does Shakespeare begin the play such that the audience is immediately involved? | -There isn’t a prologue or introduction.-We find two characters in the middle of a conversation-He forces audience to try and figure out what is happening. |
| How does Iago gain Roderigo’s trust ? | He makes Othello the common enemy. If they humiliate Othello, Roderigo will get Desdemona. |
| “An old black ram is tupping your white ewe” | This is an example of the animal imagery used to insult Othello. He wants to anger Brabantio. |
| “Awake, Thieves, Thieves!” | Iago uses this to indicate the inferiority of women; they are referred to as property and something that can be stolen |
| “Oh Heaven. How she got out?” | Brabantio indicates with this the inferiority of women as they are referred to like animals. |
| “Not I. I must be found. My parts, my title, and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly.” | Othello has nothing to hide because he knows he did nothing wrong. He is characterized as reasonable honest and calm. He refrains from fighting, but rather wants to speak to Brabantio. |
| What impression does Cassio make in I.2? | He is loyal, and does not get involved in the intrigue of the marriage. It is ironic because he trusts Iago. He is responsible, and does his job. |
| What is so ironic about Iago’s return to Othello at the start of I.2? | Iago appears to help Othello, but he is the one who told Brabantio about their marriage. He’s the one who brought on this problem. Iago looks as if he will fight Roderigo when the latter appears with Brabantio, but Iago used him to do his dirty work. |
| “She loved me for the dangers I had passed and I loved her that she did pity them” | With these words, Othello explains that the two they actually love each other; nothing was forced, and neither has bad intentions. Witchcraft was not involved. She loved him for who he became after what he went through, and he loved her for appreciating that. |
| “My noble father. I do perceive here a divided duty…” | Desdemona shows herself to be smart, strong, and confident. She knows what is going on right away, and knows what to say. She surprises the audience because she has been presented to this point as weak. |
| “Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee.” | Brabantio plants seeds of doubt in Othello’s mind. This is an example of foreshadowing. |
| How is Othello a tragic hero/ what is his fatal flaw? | He is too trusting and too loving in Desdemona and Iago. He is a general, and respected by the Senate of Venice, which means he has a lot to lose. |
| “I will incontinently drown myself.” | Roderigo threatens this because he is childish, pathetic, and dramatic. He sells his land to garner Iago’s assistance, contemplates suicide, is easily manipulated, and gullible. |
| “Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.” | Iago uses this metaphor to indicate that we get to choose who we are; we can help who we are. We have control over how we feel in our mind. |
| “I hate the Moor.” | In Iago’s soliloquy, he reveals that he heard a rumor that Othello slept with his wife, but this is not true. |
| Why is Montano introduced in the beginning of act 2? | So the audience is not confused when he appears in the end. |
| What is Cassio’s behavior toward women? | He kisses their hand. He is a gentlemen and respectful. |
| “You rise to play and go to bed to work” | Iago thinks that women are only good for sex. He makes us hate him for he is a nasty human being. |
| How does II.1 further support the inferiority of women? | Women do not stand up for themselves when faced with Iago’s dirty jokes -not even Desdemona. |
| “O, you are well tuned now, But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music, As honest as I am” | Iago uses this metaphor pegs to indicate that he is controlling the relationship. |
| “Do thou meet me presently at the harbour. Come hither” | Iago instructs Roderigo to make Cassio angry, no matter what and do his dirty work |
| What is the purpose of act 2 scene 2? | It serves as foreshadowing that something will happen at the party (Herald). |
| “Let’s teach ourselves that honorable stop not to outsport discretion.” | Othello advises the guard not to party too hard. This serves as foreshadowing — Cassio will know when he has had enough, but cannot stop. |
| Steps for how Iago brings about Cassio’s dismissal | 1) tells Roderigo to get him mad.2) gets Cassio drunk3) tells Montano he is worried about his drunkness4) Roderigo makes Cassio mad and they fight5) Iago tells Othello the “truth” — that he saw Cassio fighting but he had a good reason. |
| “Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial” | Cassio refers to how to lost Othello’s trust. People will now think poorly of him. People only remember the bad, as in his one mistake. |
| “O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! | Cassio means to say that people know reasonably it is a bad idea, but some emotion drives us to drink alcohol. It is a matter of passion vs. reason. |
| “Confess yourself freely to her. Importune her help to put you in your place again. She is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested” | Iago manipulates Cassio by convincing him to turn to Desdemona in order to try and get his job back. |
| “I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear” | Iago manipulates illusion vs Reality. He turns Desdemona’s goodness into bad when he tries to get Othello to believe Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair. |
| “How poor are they that they have not patience!” | Iago speaks about Roderigo who spent all his money and fought. Iago manipulates him by telling him to be patient. He needs him around to do the dirty work. |
Othello acts 1-3
September 30, 2019