Act 2 Flashcards
Through the device of the storm, which destroys the Turkish fleet, the external threat of the Turks is replaced by…
…The internal threat of Iago.
The marriage of Othello and Desdemona is destroyed in Cyprus. Who was famously born here?
Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love. Because she was thought to have risen from the sea on the west coast of the island, Cyrpus has long been celebrated as the island of Venus.
Because of such associations, Cyrpus is a fitting - and ironic - setting for a tragedy about love.
Act 2 scene 1: “constant, loving, noble nature”
Othello’s speeches are generous, rational, and joyful, while Iago’s are full of hatred and contempt for this very “nature”.
Act 2 scene 1: “O, behold,/ The riches of the ship is come on shore”
Cassio’s gallantry is in contrast with Iago’s misogyny - “You are pictures out of doors…“. Iago clearly only views women as false and inferior.
Act 2 scene 1: “you may relish him more in the soldier than in the scholar”
Cassio excuses Iago’s misogyny through calling him a “soldier”. A diplomatic response. ?
Act 2 scene 1: Othello as a lover
“If it were now to die,/ ‘Twere now to be most happy”
Othello’s love here has not yet been polluted by Iago’s machinations.
Act 2 scene 1: Iago spinning a “web” to “ensnare as great a fly as Cassio”
Act 2 scene 1: Iago’s asides and soliloquies
- crude asides undermine the couple’s happy reunion
- soliloquy reinforces Iago’s misogynistic views… Desdemona and Cassio don’t seem to take Iago’s comments about women very seriously, but the audience know better. Is Iago so clever and in control that he can get away with pretending to pretend?
Act 2 scene 1: Desdemona is Othello’s ‘soul’s joy’
Act 2 scene 1: “I fear/ My soul hath her content so absolute/ That not another comfort like to this/ Succeeds in unknown fate”
Othello thinks that he is at the height of happiness, but also mentions an “unknown fate” - hinting unknowingly at the tragedy that awaits him. Iambic?
Act 2 scene 2: “there is full liberty of feasting… till the bell have told eleven” -The Herald
Stresses Othello’s generosity which Iago will take advantage of to start his own campaign of destruction.
Othello’s celebration of his marriage is combined with the celebration of winning war. Celebrating these two dichotomous ideas at once - love and war - is ironic and forbodes the domestic conflict to come.
Act 2 scene 3: where do we see reputation in this scene?
- Cassio and Montano lose control and diminish their reputations
- Othello undermines his repuation as a cool-headed commander by losing his temper
- Conversely, Iago enhances his reputation as an honest, conscientious soldier and helpful friend through his masterful control.
Act 2 scene 3: “fresh and delicate” versus “full of game”
Through Iago and Cassio’s conflicting descriptions of Desdemona, Shakespeare presents two different versions of her that foreshadows the choice Othello will have to make.
Act 2 scene 3: interrupting the consumation
The consumation of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is interrupted by brawling. This lead to a couple of different interpretations:
- Othello and Desdemona’s love is doomed to fail
- Iago is obsessed with Othello and Desdemona having sex and must break it up before it can happen. his obsession with their sex is echoed through his speech: “Well, happiness to their sheets!”
