act 1 scene 1 quotes Flashcards
“W H H M P A I T S W T”
“Who hast had my purse as if the strings were thine”
- Iago has been in possession of Roderigo’s money
- Roderigo feels aggrieved
- Iago already financially manipulating someone
“S”
“‘Sblood”
- Iago’s first word in the play is a curse
- reflective of his vulgar and crude personality
- antagonistic sense
“I K M P I A W N W A P”
“I know my price I am worth no worse a place”
- entitled to promotion
- pride
- suggests social order is hard to come by, Iago is at the bottom of the social hierarchy and is frustrated by not being able to climb up
“P A P”
“pride and purposes”
- plosives reflect Iago’s anger through his speech
- Iago referring to Othello and calling him arrogant
“A F”
” a Florentine”
- Iago referring to Cassio, treats others as outsiders that don’t come from Venice
“A F A D I A F W”
“A fellow almost damned in a fair wife”
- misogynistic language and casual sexism
- fits in with views of women at the time, men can be ‘damned’ by women
- play on words
“M P W P”
“Mere prattle without practice”
- plosive verbs reflect the aggressive way in which he is speaking
- aggression embedded into the way he speaks
“H M A”
“His Moorship’s ancient”
- sarcastic and mocking tone reflects his lack of respect for Othello despite his superiority
- ancient/ensign- lowly and almost offensive position
“I W N F H T”
“I would not follow him then”
- said by Roderigo
- reflects Rodgerigo’s lack of understanding of military and soldiers
- also why he is so easy to manipulate
“I F H T S M T U H”
“I follow him to serve my turn upon him”
- ‘turn’ gives a competitive sense, as if this is a game to Iago, his objective to get revenge
“I A N W I A”
“I am not what I am”
- Iago clearly stating he’s only following Othello for his own purposes
- self-aware and unashamed of his duplicitous nature
- irony created, he confesses to Roderigo of deceitful person yet Rodgerigo still decides to make a deal with him
“T L”
“Thick lips”
-how Roderigo refers to Othello
-defining Othello by racial characteristics
“Z S Y R”
“Zounds, sir you’re robbed’
- “Zounds” being another curse
- Iago referring to Othello and Desdemona’s marriage
- “robbed”- Desdemona is a possession
- context at the time of women belonging to their fathers then to their husbands
” W T T M O R? T I V”
“What tell’st thou me of robbing? This is Venice”
- Brabantio
- context: Venice as a place of law and order governed by the senate and duke
“N N’
“C F C”
“J F G”
‘nephews neigh’
‘coursers for cousins’
- racehorses for cousins
‘jennets for germans’
- horses for relatives
- all said by Iago
- frequent reference to horses, interracial marriage will mar the bloodline
- context: interracial marriage viewed as nature erring against itself
