Cassio Flashcards
“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my ___________! I have lost the ________ part of myself, and what remains is _______” (2.3)
theme: honour, manhood, masculinity
devices: foreshadowing, symbolism
Int 1: Othello charged Cassio with keeping an eye on victory celebration, instructing him to make sure the men on guard do not get too drunk: Iago, meanwhile, manipulated the situation so Cassio himself got drunk and ended up fighting and injuring Montano. Having discovered this, Othello demanded to know what happened and Iago described the fight while making it seem like he was reluctant to implicate Cassio. A shocked Othello has said he will have Cassio dismissed as an officer. Cassio mourns the loss of his reputation and describes himself as no better without it, he thinks of himself as a beast.
int 2: Cassio’s statement confirms huge value he places on his reputation at the time; the immediacy with which he is ruined despite his otherwise flawless record highlights danger of mistaken appearances and foreshadows Othello’s falls from grace in play. His comment that “what remains is bestial” emphasises importance of honor as characteristic that distinguished men from animals, again connecting Cassio’s predicament to racist distrust of Othello as animalistic
int 3: the adjective “bestial” describes the primordial part of you that is connected to your fears, survival instincts and untamed self. Reinforces the one dimensional Venetian society that only values people who are socially accepted and of a high nobility. Fear is a major tool that Iago uses to consume his victims. The fear of cuckoldry In Othello, the fear of being “bestial” in Cassio.
AO4: value of reputation in similar to in that of Coriolanus and King Lear.
AO5: Cassio is immediately terrified by the idea of otherness being his label
“good Michael”
themes: honour, status
AO2: “Michael” has biblical origins as one of the archangels in Hebrew tradition and described as ‘leader of heaven’s armies against satan considered patron saint of soldiers.
AO2: perhaps his fated origin denies him the ability to thrive after his social image is ruined and deemed “bestial”.
AO3: In terms of a Venetian society in late 1500s, “good” morals were lesser than this character represents. This can immediately establish both Othello and Cassio as outsiders.
AO4: Coriolanus’ pride in his status and reputation is similar to the honourable characters of this play. Moreover, Cassio’s “good[ness]” could be a hamartia in his character contributing to his tragic downfall.
AO5: The concept of otherness would support this because modern critics argue that ‘being an ‘other’ means being outside of the norm’. Because Iago fits in with the loose morals of Venice, he uses duplicity to shield his immoralities and in order to manipulate Cassio.
- New Historicist: “Cassio is a symbol of the social construction of honour”
“spinster”
themes: hatred, misogyny, reputation, manhood
AO2: Iago describes Cassio as incompetent. Iago is labelling Cassio as a military theorist who has no experience in battle. To compare Cassio to a “Spinster” (unmarried woman with no sexual experience) would be an insult to his manhood and honour.
AO2: it can be said that Iago already knows just how weak a character Cassio is (1.1). His dependence on social reputation and honour as his prime characteristics makes him open for manipulation, without true foundations behind him.
AO3: censorship of the strict Elizabethan society was avoided by setting the play in another country, here we can see the misogynistic view of females as vectors for sex. The fact that Cassio is compared to someone who cannot do they designated tasks is questioning his authority as lieutenant.
AO4: Gender stereotypes are also seen in ‘The Taming Of The Shrew’ where
