1.1

Question 1

“iago, who hast had my purse as if the strings were thine” - roderigo

Answer 1

• iago had told roderigo that he would use his money to deliver gifts to desdemonda
• iago has been using the money for his own wants, and not buying the presents
• roderigo accuses iago of this showing he is not afraid to challenge him & iago is not a good friend to roderigo (he lies and deceives him)

Question 2

“if i ever did dream of such a matter, abhor me!” - iago

Answer 2

• iago dramatically denies ever doing something like this
• this shows iago’s cunning and deceptive nature and his willingness to lie to roderigo

Question 3

“i know my price, i am worth no worse a place” - iago

Answer 3

• iago begins to explain to roderigo that othello has chosen cassio for the role of lieutenant and not him
• roderigo says that he knows his worth, and he knows that he should be lieutenant
• this is part of the motive for iago’s role in the downfall of othello

Question 4

“but he, as loving his own pride and purposes” - iago

Answer 4

• this is our first reference to othello
• this shows othello as arrogant and selfish. it suggests that othello only chose cassio to spite iago

Question 5

“he is mere prattle without practice” - iago

Answer 5

• iago is suggesting that cassio is unsuitable for the role of lieutenant because he has not had the same experiences in warfare
• here, iago challenges othello’s decisions making

Question 6

“by heaven, i rather would have been his hangman” - roderigo

Answer 6

• after iago’s speech, roderigo has not only forgotten/ignored his initial accusations of iago, he has also turned to pitying and supporting him
• this shows the malleability of roderigo and iago’s ability to shape his opinion

Question 7

“i follow him to serve my turn upon him” - iago

Answer 7

• roderigo questions why iago is still following othello if he dislikes him
• iago admits that he is only following him for his own benefit
• roderigo is not perturbed by this despite iago explicitly telling him his plans

Question 8

“trimm’d in forms and visages of duty” - iago

Answer 8

• iago’s good acts are just that - acts
• underneath the way he acts, iago is not as good as he seems

Question 9

“i will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: i am not what i am” - iago

Answer 9

• iago believes that being honest is vulnerable and it allows people to critique you
• he openly tells roderigo that the way he acts is not really how he is

Question 10

“what a full fortune does the thick-lips owe” - roderigo

Answer 10

• without prompting, roderigo uses the first racial insult in the play. this shows the undertone of racism in the play, as what roderigo says is not questioned; it is the normal
• roderigo does not challenge what iago is saying, he is easily encouraged by iago’s motive

Question 11

“an old black ram is tupping your white ewe!” - iago (as roderigo)

Answer 11

• iago and roderigo wake brabantio to embarass him by shouting about desdemona running away with othello
• here, iago is posing as roderigo, this means that roderigo will take the blame for saying such things. however, roderigo does not care; he is a pawn in iago’s game
• this is also a racist comment, suggesting that othello is animalistic and brutish. furthermore, desdemona’s white purity is described as being tainted by othello’s blackness, which is impure and evil

Question 12

“i have charg’d thee not to haunt about my doors… my daughter is not for thee!” - brabantio

Answer 12

• roderigo is exposed as being obsesses with desdemona. despite never speaking to her, he is constantly at her house and believes that he is in ‘love’ with her
• brabantio also shows how desdemona is treat like an object, as he decides who desdemona is ‘for’

Question 13

“cover’d with a barbary horse” & “making the beast with two backs” - iago

Answer 13

• here iago uses explicit racism to describe othello and desdemona’s intimacy. he describes othello as an animal, specifically an african horse
• this is public, and is done to embarrass brabnatio as it is improper and private

Question 14

“extravagant and wheeling stranger” - roderigo

Answer 14

• this creates fear in brabantio. despite brabantio actually (as we discover in 1.3) knowing othello, here roderigo acts like he is a stranger
• othello’s race is used a tool to isolate him, making him seem strange to the rest of the characters

Question 15

“i must show out a flag and sign of love” - iago

Answer 15

• whilst brabantio goes to wake his servants, iago leaves to othello. he tells roderigo to take brabantio to ‘discover’ othello
• iago knows he must go and pretend to love othello

Question 16

“o would you had had her! & “on, good roderigo, i will deserve your pains.” - brabantio

Answer 16

• brabantio immediately changes his opinion of roderigo. he now sees roderigo has heroic as he is saving desdemona
• roderigo is now in a better position to be matched with desdemona. he is likely to see what iago has done as helpful for him
• the fact brabantio would prefer roderigo than othello for desdemona is telling, as he initially wanted roderigo to have nothing to do with desdemona