Act 1 - Scenes 1 & 2 Flashcards
Where does Othello begin?
Venice, Italy
Who do we see arguing at the beginning of the play and why?
Roderigo & Iago.
Roderigo has been paying Iago to help him win over and marry Desdemona. This has not worked.
Why does Iago hate Othello?
Othello promoted Cassio to the role of lieutenant and not him.
Iago speaks in vulgar terms to Brabanzio (D’s father), what does he tell him?
That Desdemona and Othello are “making the beast with two backs” (having sex)
Who comes to speak to Othello at the start of A1S2? Why?
Cassio and officers from the Venetian court - Othello is wanted by the duke of Venice about a matter concerning Cyprus (an area Venice controls.)
After Cassio & the officers speak to Othello, who arrives to confront him?
What do they attempt to do?
Brabanzio, Roderigo and Brabanzio’s men.
They attempt to attack, but Othello puts a stop to it and tells them to raise their swords.
Where does Brabanzio decide to take the marriage situation?
To the duke himself, as he had summoned Othello to the court.
Who isn’t referred to by name yet?
What are they referred to instead?
Othello, who is referred to as “he” or “him”, along with “thick-lips” and “the Moor”.
Iago works Othello up to be a barbarous and threatening Moor, why is this significant?
An audience knows nothing of Othello yet, so it’s expected an audience would believe him, but they do not. Iago has already painted himself as the villain, and is therefore untrustworthy.
Why is an audience less inclined to believe Othello is how he’s described by Iago?
1) Roderigo is clearly jealous, and Iago doesn’t like Othello. It makes sense for them to work together to separate them.
2) Roderigo is paying Iago to do this, however the promises are vague and unfulfilled.
3) Iago painted himself as a villain immediately: “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”
Why is the dramatic irony Iago establishes important in A1S1?
The audience is forced into a position of feeling intimately connected with Iago’s villainy.
