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Othello > act 1 > Flashcards

act 1 Flashcards

1
Q

“o sir, content you… I am not what I am” (I, i, 41)

A
  • Iago. foreshadowing. Iago will cause destruction of everyone
  • “nothing is as it seems.” Iago seemed to be a loyal friend to roderigo but he’s just serving himself. every man is out for himself.
  • “heaven is my judge” = juxtaposition because Iago is straight from hell :)
  • “I am not what I am” allusion because real quote is “I am what I am” by god. he is the opposite of god
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2
Q

“even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (I, i, 89)

A
  • Iago
  • he uses this scary animal metaphor for dramatic effect, to really rile up brabantio. shows what a mastermind Iago is at manipulation and people are blinded by biases
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3
Q

“zounds sir… and jennets for germans” (I, i, 109)

A
  • iago
  • again, theme that human judgment is flawed because nothing is as it seems. also ironic because Iago convinces brabantio to trust him and roderigo over Othello, when brabantio should’ve stuck to his o.g. judgment of trusting Othello over them
  • uses animal metaphor again to dehumanize Othello, showing that Iago is a genius
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4
Q

“I am one, sir… the beast with two backs” (I, i, 116)

A
  • Iago
  • scary beast metaphor! describes sex between des and oth as making the beast with two backs… ew! that has to disturb Des’s father. again, smart move by Iago
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5
Q

“though I do hate him as I do hell’s pains… which is indeed but sign” (I, i, 154)

A
  • Iago
  • simile involving hell, which reminds the audience that hell is where iago belongs
  • ironic because iago says that he’s showing a sign of love to othello when he’s also showing a sign of love to roderigo
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6
Q

“tis better as it is” (I, ii, 6)

A
  • othello
  • theme of “people are blinded by their own biases and desires.” Othello is clearly a good man yet he does not get any credit for being so because he is a black man in power
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7
Q

“that, with the little godliness I have” (I, ii, 9)

A
  • Iago
  • again we got some juxtaposition. any time Iago uses biblical reference in his speech it stands out as a stark contrast in the audience’s mind
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8
Q

“not I; I must be found” (I, ii, 30)

A
  • Othello
  • wow Othello is so honourable! theme that people will be blinded by their own biases because look at what a good guy he is
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9
Q

“faith, he tonight hath boarded… he’s made for ever” (I, ii, 50)

A
  • Iago
  • analogy to show Iago’s view of women, which contrasts that of Othello’s. iago views love as a treasure ship; the pirate can take all he wants from it. Othello views love as something that goes both ways; you give and you take
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10
Q

“run from her guardage… not to delight” (I, ii, 70)

A
  • brabantio

- imagery of “sooty bossom” to show how people are blinded by their prejudices

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11
Q

“bondslaves and pagans shall our statesmen be” (I, ii, 99)

A
  • brabantio
  • people are blinded by their prejudices. Brabantio cannot see Othello any of Othello’s good qualities because of his race and especially because iago dehumanized him
  • irony because pagans are people with no belief, yet brabantio is the one that doesn’t believe in his own daughter. and who he does put faith in is the real pagan (iago)
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12
Q

“tis a pageant to keep us in false gaze” (I, iii, 18)

A
  • first senator
  • allegory. the deception of the turks mirrors the deception of iago and actually shows us that the two issues at hand (the war and Iago’s shenanigans) are quite similar, except for the domestic threat of iago is even more dangerous than the turks
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13
Q

“valiant Othello… we lack’d your counsel and help tonight” (I, iii, 48)

A
  • duke
  • Shakespeare puts Othello on a pedestal by putting him above brabantio. characteristic of a tragic hero’s tale; the higher the height, the greater the fall
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14
Q

“for my particular grief is of so flood-gate and o’erbearing nature” (I, iii, 55)

A
  • brabantio
  • uses this dramatic imagery/hyperbole to get the counsel on his side. theme of every man is out for himself. brabantio will exaggerate the story a lot to get his way
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15
Q

“whoever he be that… stood in your action” (I, iii, 65)

A
  • duke
  • cacophony helps convey that justice isn’t fair because the duke clearly is not a proper judge of character either. he would believe that someone put witchcraft on Desdemona without any evidence
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16
Q

“to vouch this is no proof… do prefer against him” (I, iii, 106)

A
  • duke
  • justice is fickle. now that he realizes that Othello, who is very important to the army, is the offender, the duke backtracks. theme that every man is for himself. duke doesn’t care about justice, he just wants to win the war
17
Q

“her father lov’d me… let her witness it” (I, iii, 127)

A
  • Othello
  • beautiful imagery to describe a love that may seem great but actually isn’t; Othello only loves Desdemona because she pities him and Desdemona only loves Othello because of the challenges he overcame.
  • also, nothing is as it seems. brabantio clearly didn’t know his daughter because she was an initiator in the relationship, not just some meek girl
18
Q

“my noble father… due to the moor my lord” (I, iii, 180)

A
  • desdemona

- again, nothing is as it seems. she violently threw away her old life instead of obeying her father.

19
Q

“so please… to be sent after me” (I, iii, 280)

A
  • othello
  • dramatic irony: nothing is as it seems. we all see iago for who he is but can do nothing about the fact that nobody else does
20
Q

“let it be so… far more fair than black” (I, iii, 280)

A
  • duke

- metaphor that is racially loaded. people’s opinions are clouded by their biases

21
Q

“my life upon her faith!” (I, iii, 291)

A
  • Othello

- foreshadowing because Othello will eventually take his own life due to his lack of faith in his wife

22
Q

“virtue? a fig… to be a sect or scion” (I, iii, 315)

A
  • iago
  • uses imagery of gardens to show that we can make ourselves whatever we want to be, very true to iago. also uses imagery to say that we can restrain ourselves with reason, like iago does with Desdemona (it’s revealed in act 2 that he wants to be with her but restrains himself)
23
Q

“it is merely… and go without her” (I, iii, 330)

A
  • iago
  • “the food… as the coloquintida.” imagery to convince roderigo by using bias. people are blinded by their biases.
  • iago uses such strong rhetoric to convince roderigo to do what he needs him to do, again iago is a mastermind
24
Q

“thus do I ever make… to the world’s light” (I, iii, 374)

A
  • iago. synecdoche on “my fool my purse”; purse refers to all profits
  • “it is engender’d.” iago uses imagery of birth which puts image of some ugly, rotten, dark baby in our minds
  • “hell and night… to the world’s light.” dark allusion to hell so we associate iago with it. adds to the dramatic irony; both the audience and iago know himself that he is evil but he doesn’t care,
  • “twixt my sheets” is synecdoche for slept with
25
Q

“good brabantio… than their bare hands” (I, iii, 172)

A
  • duke
  • alliteration for flow of it all
  • ironic because he’s telling brabantio to make the best of a bad situation since men often fight against what they can’t fix instead of looking for alternatives, and he’s really just trying to use Othello as his broken weapon
26
Q

“but I pray… as double as the duke’s” (I, ii, 10)

A
  • iago
  • DOUBLE voice = irony because iago also has a double voice hehe. iago is planting seeds of doubt in Othello’s mind by asking if he’s really in a committed relationship w/Des
27
Q

“O treason… by what you see them act” (I, i, 169)

A
  • brabantio
  • foreshadowing because he is warning people to not trust their own opinions of people, only go off of how the person actually acts. conveys theme that people’s biases cloud the truth
28
Q

“I saw Othello’s visage… and fortunes consecrate” (I, iii, 252)

A
  • Desdemona
  • foreshadowing because she is saying that their soulds/faiths are the same, which is true; both are now distrusted (des by her father and othello by iago/roderigo/brabantio) and both will die in this story
29
Q

“yet, by your gracious patience… of my whole course of love” (I, iii, 89)

A
  • othello
  • juxtaposition. he says that he will tell an unvarnished tale, so no exaggeration. this contrasts iago who essentially only speaks in half-truths and exaggerations
30
Q

“what profane wretch art thou?”

A
  • brabantio (I, i, 115)
  • dramatic irony because brabantio doesn’t know it yet but iago, who he’s speaking to, is the most profane wretch out there
31
Q

“come Desdemona, I have but an hour of love, of worldly matters and directions to spend with thee”

A
  • othello (I, i)
  • INTERESTING: 1 hour isn’t enough time for sex back then. they haven’t had time to consummate their marriage, so it’s natural that when there’s rumours that another man took Des’s virginity, othello gets upset because that’s supposed to be his privilege

Othello (2 decks)

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