Act 3 Summary

Question 1

Scene 2

Answer 1

• Establishes Othello’s trust in Iago
• Iago controls information

Question 2

Scene 3

Answer 2

• Desdemona assures Cassio of his rank
• ‘Suitor’: romantic interest, or someone needing something
• Iago piles on the inferences: Desdemona deceived her father, her spec
• Iago demands for Desdemona’s handkerchief from Emilia
• Iago suggests that Cassio had sex with Desdemona and Cassio is with her handkerchief
• Iago indirectly suggests possibility with innuendo
• Handkerchief = “Occular proof”

Question 3

Scene 4

Answer 3

• Bianca
• Desdemona is confronted abt the handkerchief
• Othello talks about the handkerchief’s origins
• Othello succumbs to the idea that the handkerchief has power which contrasts with Act 1 Scene 3 when Brabantio claims he used charms to win Desdemona
• Erosion of Othello’s self assurance
• Solidifies Act 3 Scene 3
• Iago’s power is derived from the negative aspects of love