Act Four, Scene One Flashcards
I: Will you think so?
> medias res
rhetorical questioning gives Othello illusion of being in control
O: Pish! Noses, ears, and lips- is’t possible? Confess-handkerchief-O, devil
> fragmented speech
body parts - obsession with D’s physical betrayal
jealousy as possession
repeated refrains
prose
Falls into a trance
> visual signifier of transgression
no longer fit for leadership
theatrical image of destruction
I: My medicine work! Thus credulous fools are caught
> metaphor of trapping a fool - aligns with “led by the nose as asses are”
ironic comparison
I: To be naked with her friend
I: Not meaning any harm
> deliberately provocative
Othello creating his own nightmare
rhetorical genius
O: Hypocrisy against the devil
> polarizes Desdemona
black-and-white worldview
I: Her honour is an essence that’s not seen
> paradoxical statement
dismantles O’s perception of honour
replaces staunch truth with doubt
I: Lie-
I: With her-on her-what you will
> dual meaning
deceptive phrasing
situation depends upon misinterpretation
O: A horned man’s a monster and a beast
> cuckolded
Othello withdraws
> 1:2 I must be found
now obeying Iago
I: Strumpet’s plague
> contempt for women
prostitute’s curse - to be seduce many and be seduced by one
O: Now he denies it faintly at laughs it out
> concrete proof
O: Do you triumph, Roman? Do you triumph?
> Ceaser parallel
war/ conflict emerging
C: Thither comes the bauble
> switches to prose
course, vulgar
similar to Iago
difference in attitude to high vs low status
O: I see that nose of yours, but not that dog I shall throw it to
> contrapuntal
duologue
C: Marry, a perfumed one!
> scarlet lady trope
C: She’ll rail in the streets else
> reputation concerned
O: That should be my handkerchief
> fatal moment
O: How shall I murder him
> asking instead of commanding
I: Did you perceive how he laughed at his vice?
> relishing it
O: Let her rot and perish
O: World hath not a sweeter creature
O: Delicate with her needle, an admirable musician
> constant wavering
O: I will chop her into messes
O: Get me some poison
O: Her body and beauty unprovide my mind
> regressed to I’s initial description
contradicting violent words
patriarchal aestheticism
egotism
I: Strangle her in her bed
> Machiavellian pinnacle
calculated violence
gratification
Trumpet sounds
> symbolises Venice - return of law and order
contrasts primitive events
O’s barbarianism
