Act 4

Question 1

What does Act 4 lead to?

Answer 1

the combination of Othello’s increasing corruption and Iago’s lust for power plunge society into chaos and disorder

Question 2

act 4, scene 1

Answer 2

• O and I enter in mid-conversation, these persistent insinuations of D’s unfaithfulness work Othello into an incoherent frenzy
• I says that C told him he has lain with D, and Othello falls down in a trance
• C enters, and I mentions that O has fallen into a fit of epilepsy
• O comes out of his trance, and I explains that C stopped by
• I orders O to hide nearby and observe C’s face during their conversation
• I explains that he will make C retell the story
• I explains that O will be driven mad, thinking that C is joking about D
• the conversation goes to plan
• Just as C says that he no longer wishes to see B, she herself enters with the handkerchief and again accuses C of giving her a love token given to him by another woman
• O recognizes his handkerchief, he wonders how he should murder his former lieutenant.
• he suggests that he will poison his wife, but I advises him to strangle her in the bed
• I also promises to arrange Cassio’s death
• D enters with L—O has been called back to Venice
• when D hears the news that she will be leaving Cyprus, she expresses her happiness, whereupon O strikes her.
• L is horrified by O’s loss of self-control
• O accuses her of being a false and promiscuous woman
• L cannot believe that the O he has just seen is the same self-controlled man he once knew.

Question 3

act 4, scene 2
The one with the interrogation

Answer 3

• Othello interrogates Emilia about Desdemona’s behavior, but Emilia insists that Desdemona has done nothing wrong
• Emilia returns with Desdemona, Othello sends Emilia to guard the door
• Alone with Des, she denies being unfaithful
• Othello storms out of the room, and Emilia comes in to comfort her
• Des tells Emilia to lay her wedding sheets on the bed for that night
• Emilia brings in Iago, and Des tries to find out from him why Othello has been treating her as if she’s been unfaithful
• Emilia says to her husband that Othello must have been deceived by some villain
• Iago assures Des that Othello is merely upset by some official business
• Rod enters, furious
• Iago tells Rod that the only way to prevent Othello from taking Des would be to get rid of Cassio.

Question 4

act 4, scene 3

Answer 4

• After dinner, O sends D to bed, telling her that he will be with her shortly and that she should dismiss E
• D seems aware of her imminent fate as she prepares for bed
• as E helps her mistress to undress, D sings a song called “Willow” about a woman whose love forsook her
• the song makes D think about adultery, and she asks E whether she would cheat on her husband
• this leads Emilia to speak about how men who deceive their wives have only themselves to blame if their wives cheat on them
• D replies that she prefers to answer bad deeds with good deeds rather than with more bad deeds.