Act 4

Question 1

“Confess! _________! _ ______!”-Othello Act 4.1

Answer 1

handkerchief

O devil

Question 2

“Work on,/

My ________, work!”-Iago Act 4.1

Answer 2

medicine

Question 3

What is the effect of
“Work on,/
My medicine, work!”-Iago Act 4.1?

Answer 3

It gives the effect of a verbal chant, as if he were casting a spell or summoning evil

Question 4

“My lord ___ ______ ___ __ ______“-Iago to Cassio 4.1

Answer 4

has fallen into an epilepsy

Question 5

“cannot refrain/
From the excess of laughter”-Iago Act 4.1
-Who is this about

Answer 5

Cassio and how he feels towards Bianca

Question 6

“How ____ _ _____ ___, Iago?”-Othello Act 4.1

Answer 6

shall I murder him

Question 7

What is the importance of Othello asking

“How shall I murder him, Iago?” Act 4.1

Answer 7

Iago is now his master, he asks him what to do and is now under his control
-although in practise Othello has the power, in terms of societal order Iago has all the power as a white man

Question 8

“I would have him ___ _____ _-______“-Othello to Iago Act 4.1

Answer 8

nine years a-killing

Question 9

“___ __ ___and perish”-Othello to Iago about Desdemona Act 4.1

Answer 9

let her rot

Question 10

“my _____ is turned to stone”-Othello Act 4.1

Answer 10

heart

Question 11

“not a sweeter creature”- Othello, how does this reflect Othello’s battle between good and evil? Act 4.1

Answer 11

he has previously called her “sweet Desdemon”, this contrasts with creature which relates her to that of a demonic figure reflective of how Othello doesn’t know whether to follow love or jealousy

Question 12

“Iago-O____“-Othello Act 4.1

Answer 12

Iago

Question 13

What is
“Iago-O Iago”-Othello
a direct parallel to?

Answer 13

“My reputation, Iago”-Cassio Act 2.3

Question 14

What is iniquity?

“If you are so fond of her iniquity”-Iago to Othello Act 4.1

Answer 14

immoral or grossly behaviour

Question 15

“I will ____ ___ ___ messes! ______ me!”-Othello Act 4.1

Answer 15

chop her into

Cuckold

Question 16

what is the significance of Iago commanding Othello

“Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed”

Answer 16

Iago is even able to control how Othello murders Desdemona.

This makes Othello’s murder appear more of Iago’s doing

Question 17

What makes Othello’s suspicions of Desdemona and Cassio even more strong from what she says to him in Act 4.1?

Answer 17

“for the love I bear to Cassio”

Question 18

What does Emilia call jealousy in Chapter 4.2?

Answer 18

the “serpents curse”

Question 19

“Your wife, __ _____, your ____ and ____ wife”-Desdemona to Othello Chapter 4.2

Answer 19

my lord
true
loyal

Question 20

When Othello is talking about his jealousy, what does he say it is?
“a ______ for foul ____” Act 4.2

Answer 20

cistern
toads
the fountain, which is his wife in this metaphor, will become a gross slimy swampy place where toads hook up. Othello uses this imagery to make the point that in his eyes, his wife is now corrupted.

Question 21

“O thou _____”- Othello to Desdemona Act 4.2

Answer 21

weed

Question 22

“O ____ public _______!”-Othello to Desdemona Act 4.2

Answer 22

thou

commoner

Question 23

What does Impudent mean?

“impudent strumpet”-Othello to Desdemona Act 4.2

Answer 23

shameless

ironic, as she is

Question 24

“I am a _______.”-Desdemona to Othello Act 4.2

Answer 24

Christian

Question 25

How does Desdemona excuse Othello’s anger towards her? Act 4.2

Answer 25

“I am a child to chiding”

Question 26

What is the significance of Emilia describing the unknown person who has told Othello of Desdemona’s affair? Act 4.2
“______ villain”
“insinuating ____”

Answer 26

• eternal
• rogue

Emilia’s accurate descriptions relate to her husband, suggesting she is aware of his plot

Question 27

Why is it significant that Desdemona directly proves her innocence to Iago Act 4.2?

“I __ ___ ___, and ever ___/ And ever ___”

Answer 27

do not yet
did
will

significant as this makes Iago appear more monstrous
her eternal love is communicated

Question 28

“His __________ may _____ my life/

But never _____ my love”-Desdemona to Iago Act 4.2

Answer 28

unkindness -defeat

-taint

Question 29

What is a votarist?
Roderigo suggests that the money he had given Iago to seduce Desdemona would have…. Act 4.2
“corrupted a votarist”

Answer 29

someone bound by vows to a religious life

Question 30

How is the fact that Desdemona’s mothers maid named Barbary significant to the structure of the play? Act 4.3

Answer 30

Othello has previously been named a “Barbary horse” and therefore foreshadows his similar fate as Desdemona’s lover who also falls mad, and highlights the classical element of inevitability and the tragic idea of fate

Question 31

“Who would ___ ____ ___ husband a _______ to make him a ______?”-Emilia to Desdemona

Answer 31

not make her
cuckold
monarch

Question 32

“it is their husbands’ faults/

__ _____ __ ___”- Act 4.3

Answer 32

if wives do fall

Question 33

What is the purpose of Shakespeare allowing Emilia to say
“___ _______ ____,
Their wives have _____ like them”-Emilia to Desdemona Act 4.3

Answer 33

Let husbands know
sense

Shakespeare allows women to have a voice against the patriarchy and the gender roles, leaving a moral question at the end of the novel to question if Desdemona’s death would have still been “an honorable murder” had she had an affair. Is this right?