key quotes Flashcards
roderigo:
‘iago, who hast my purse as if the strings were thine’
stolen money - accused of dishonesty
continued imagery throughout - heart strings - of roderigo to desdemona and her love - rationale why he allows this to happen
accepts manipulation- satan’s manipulation of god’s word to deceive eve.
unrestricted access to his money and is in control
purses carry something valuable is inherent in this play – everyone that comes into contact with iago is, to some extent, a ‘purse’.
iago:
‘i am not what i am’
declarative tone
not as he appears
constantly referred to as ‘honest iago’ by the characters he deceives,
only the audience are ever allowed to hear his true thoughts, in his soliloquies
like a false god, iago views himself as the puppeteer and the other characters as puppets
biblical quote, in which moses asks god his name and god offers an enigmatic response. by transforming god’s words into a negative formulation, iago indicates his identity as a diabolical figure.
iago:
‘an old black ram is tupping with your white ewe’
symbolism of age and colour difference
animalising othello
rams symbolise penetration and achievement
ewes symbolise gentleness, purity and innocence/ innocent sacrifice
illustrates a corruption of a pure, chaste and innocent desdemona
ewe makes a pun on word ‘you’ that iago uses to victimise brabantio as a victim of social and natural disorder.
iago:
‘by janus, i think no’
roman god of two facedness transitions, beginnings, doorways etc. but, it can be believed that Iago has used this apostrophe because ‘janus’ is also known to have two faces.
traditionally assumed because janus looks into the future, and into the past, but iago could worship janus for the act of having two faces in moralistic terms: being immoral.
the fact that this god is pagan (and therefore false) highlights the hollow, false nature of iago’s promises
the image of a white venetian swearing to a Pagan god juxtaposes the stereotype of pagan africans associated with othello
whilst, othello appears very aligned with the christian doctrine
shakespeare disproves of stereotypes
othello:
‘keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them’
don’t use swords to fight, only defence
being reasonable - talk about it
presented differently as to how iago and roderigo spoke of him
natural imagery - othello as a positive force
iambic pentameter
senator:
‘valiant moor’
epithet
not heard of othello’s elopement with desdemona, nor his subsequent clash with brabantio. to them, he is still the prized general and the venetians’ best chance to repel the turks
race defines identity
gives him height to fall from
brabantio:
‘to fall in love with what she feared to look on?
despite ethnicity, desdemona falls in love with othello - breaking racial stereotypes
did she fear to look on him because of his skin colour, his class or his upbringing?
not venetian
pseudo-rhetorical question, because brabantio honestly thinks that desdemona wouldn’t fall in love with othello.
roderigo:
‘it is silliness to live, when to live is torment: and then we have a prescription to die, when death is our physician’
prose - roderigo is losing rationality
elizabethans believed in reason over passion
hyperbolic metaphor, being melodramatic could be relating to othello’s suicide at the end of the play. also ironic because they make themselves suffer, it isn’t a product of life as they allow this to happen to themselves
could be foreshadowing roderigo’s demise and a metaphor showing iago is the physician, prescribing roderigo’s actions - seemingly acting to people’s aid but corrupting them from the inside outward
iago:
’ tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. our bodies our gardens to which our wills are gardeners’
love is not virtue - we control who we are
we tend to our bodies like gardens
show something about his perception of desdemona and matters of love - impatient and quick to dispel roderigo’s negativity.
metaphor of the body as a garden that can be tended to, adapted and changed by one’s will and intent, is evocative here to explain iago’s actions and his ideas about emotions and control.
reason must dominate passions and ‘cool our raging motions’ in life - love is no different to any other emotion
iago is unromantic and considers one shouldn’t be spurred on by matters of the heart.
cleverly manipulates roderigo through devilish similes such as ‘luscious as locusts’ and acrimoniously derides that desdemona will be put off othello ‘when she is sated with his body’
cassio:
‘our great captain’s captain’
desdemona is the boss in the relationship
subverts stereotypes
alludes to queen elizabeth’s role as queen - women were not supposed to rule
shakespeare cleverly places her in a militaristic hierarchy above othello.
though othello is used to a position of command, his love for desdemona puts him in a position of servitude
iago:
‘sir, would she give you so much of her lips as of her tongue bestows on me’
emilia talks to much - women expected to be submissive and obedient
speaks her heart and according to iago scolds people who do not agree with her feelings on impulse - at the end of the play, emilia has very progressive views about women for her time
iago:
‘you are pictures out of doors’
prose - rude
every aspect of emilia’s life is out of place
in a flurry of figurative language, iago offers a series of images that represent things out of place: ‘bells in your parlours, wildcats in your kitchens’
iago:
‘if she be fair and wise, fairness and wit, the one’s for use, the other useth it’
if she’s attractive, she’ll use it to get ahead
praise for desdemona comes down to her combination of ‘fairness and wit’ - her beauty and intelligence.
beauty is a resource meant to be used by one’s wit
rhyming couplets Iago uses to praise desdemona underscore the irreverence and frivolity of his words
iago:
‘to suckle fools and chronicle small beer’
iago claims that her ultimate goal is to raise children and do housework.
this poem within the play represents a parody of the courtly love poem
rather than praising a woman for her perfection, iago’s poem takes a turn into cheekiness and disrespect.
iago:
‘with as little a web as this will i ensnare as great a fly as cassio’
he can use tiny things to get people into trouble
spiders weave an inescapable web for flies, iago plans to construct a web of lies to similarly trap cassio, and frame him for adultery - wrong at the time
iago:
‘but men are men; the best sometimes forget’
boys will be boys - excuse for cassio
justifying a man’s cruel behaviour, in the way that he wouldn’t for a women
sums up othello well as not only does he seem to forget the love he has for desdemona but he also forgets he is the leader of an army by the end of the play
cassio:
‘reputation, reputation, reputation! o, i have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial’
upset that he’s lost his reputation
just an animal - chain of being
part of identity
iago:
‘reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit and lost without deserving’
why are you so worried?
people get it without deserving and lose it without deserving
iago doesn’t care - he just needs a good reputation to get revenge
dramatic irony - iago adds insult to injury
not only did cassio lose his rank ‘without deserving’ as a result of Iago’s scheming, iago subtly indicates that cassio achieved his rank in the first place ‘without merit’.
iago:
‘she is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, that she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested’
desdemona is such a good person
iago exploits people’s strengths
complimenting desdemona to cassio in order to give him more courage to see her, and also for those words to stick in cassio’s head so that he starts to (hopefully for iago) get feelings for desdemona - which doesn’t happen
christian morals
iago:
‘i’ll pour this pestilence into his ear, that she repeals him for her body’s lust’
plot enters its next phase.
cassio to plead to desdemona for his position as lieutenant.
going to tell othello that desdemona is in love with cassio
connotes disease and virus - the effect his lies have on othello
cassio:
‘i never knew a florentine more kind and honest’
cassio compares iago to his fellow florentines, finding the man just as kind and honest.
this reiterates one of the play’s central sources of irony: despite his intentions, iago is consistently praised for his upright moral character
devilish
desdemona:
‘thy solicitor shall rather die than give thy cause away’
foreshadows her death
desdemona is loyal and noble
a.c bradley - ‘eternal womanly’
fatal choice, as the audience is very much aware. iago’s long term plan is starting to play out as he intended. irony that she does have to die for his cause eventually, as told by iago.
solicitor is an unnatural role for a woman in patriarchal society - objection to female liberation?
othello:
‘excellent wretch! perdition catches my soul, but I do love thee; and when i love thee not, chaos is come again’
refers to himself as an ‘excellent wretch’, an oxymoron that characterises his status as a foolish, out-of-control lover
acknowledges that his love for desdemona has the power to influence him negatively
iago knows this well and capitalises on it
prophetic
the moment they stop there will be chaos
elizabethans believed that before creation was a state of chaos, so would it be following the world had ended.
can be interpreted as othello’s fear of falling out of love with desdemona, that when the day comes it will be catastrophic. another way is that when their love ends, he will adopt some personal chaos, as proven with iago.
cannot see a natural world where he doesn’t love desdemona.
ironically, it is not for natural reasons that he hates her - it is all contrived by iago.
iago:
‘green eyed monster’
jealousy
renaissance men often suspected their wives of adultery because of the stigma around being a ‘cuckold’. a cuckold man faced both social humiliation and ruined credit. such harsh consequences led to frequent paranoia, also called horn-madness because of the metaphorical horns that supposedly sprout from the cuckold’s brow. othello’s anxiety, though unfair, is understandable.
green and yellow are both emblematic of jealousy, so jealousy is a ‘green-eyed monster’. iago argues that the fortunate man knows his wide is adulterous, while the unfortunate man is plagued by the anxiety of unconfirmed suspicion
ironic as iago wants othello to be jealous in order to ruin his marriage and as part of his revenge.
linking othello to a monster - racial connotations - jealousy as a disease - seven deadly sins. iago plays an innocent role from othello’s perspective - but not to everyone else.
can be consumed by jealousy as one can be consumed by any number of maladies such as typhus
othello:
‘i had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon’
links to chain of being - expected to be introspective
cuckoldry
dialogue grows darker.
throughout the entire play iago’s dialogue has been laced with mentions of demons, beastly animals, and semi- biblical atrocities such as plagues. othello’s dialogue has been much lighter and more noble, with imagery highlighting his love, civility, and nobility. iago’s psychological poison goes to work on his victims, they start to talk like him - iago’s mentality is itself an infectious disease.
public perception of black people as violent and savage , and how even the noble and loving othello can have a monster brought out from inside him. It is interesting to note that othello’s emerging monstrosity sounds like the white man who’s manipulating him, implying that this same savagery resides in all races, and in fact might be easier to bring out in ourselves than in people different from us.
othello:
‘i have a pain upon my forehead here’
manifesting cheating
physically affecting him
medieval folklore - a man who was cuckolded grew horns
iago:
‘trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as holy writ’
jealous people lose reason
things which don’t usually bother you before, bother you in a relationship
handkerchief is like the bible - honest in truth. taken seriously because most venetians strong religious believers
othello:
‘dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black as my own face’
othello’s insecurities - internalising them
goddess of chastity and the moon
desdemona, who othello says resembled diana, has now seemingly had her purity stained and blackened
used to be proud of his race
madonna whore complex - women are either perfect or a whore, shows misogyny
othello:
[he kneels]
giving into desire
falling down the chain of being
everyone has darkness
iago is above him in control
othello:
‘this hand is moist, my lady’
four humours - too much passion = too much blood
convinced she’s having an affair with cassio
desdemona:
‘my lord is not my lord’
othello has changed
‘i am not what i am’
shakespeare is leading the audience to extinguish the true nature of characters in the play, mainly iago and othello.
othello:
‘how shall i murder him, iago?’
tipped over the edge
not the othello we know
iago has complete control over him
thou shalt not kill
irrefutable evidence that othello is jealous
othello:
‘sing the savageness out of a bear’
metaphor
conflicted
duality of his view - can’t cope
tragic waste - pathos - key element of a shakespearean tragedy
intelligence is negative - fear of women - witchcraft
othello:
[he strikes her]
stereotypes he’s not associated with - emphasises how much he’s changed
happened quickly - symbolism of how love can change
othello:
‘woman’s tears each drop she falls would prove a crocodile’
fake tears
internalising misogyny which iago shows throughout the play
othello:
‘well painted passion’
desdemona can change quickly
4 humours
fake love
internalising his passion
othello:
‘goats and monkeys!’
internalising animal imagery
mind infected
shows tragic fall
goats are often symbolically associated with evil and judgement and atonement and the transfer of sins from the people to the animal
monkeys represent base instincts such as lust, greed and malice, and can even represent the devil
emilia:
‘if any wretch have put this in your head, let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse’
iago
how well do we know someone?
dramatic irony
symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life, healing, and rebirth - ironic
emilia:
‘the purest of their wives is foul as slander’
becomes prophetic
anyone can be bad
makes her seem slightly more positive as she started out good - tragic waste
a.c bradley - eternal womanly
subjugation of women has resulted in many a societal “double-standard” whereby a woman could be punished severely for a crime for which a man might find full acquittal; also a carry-over of patriarchal and legalistic, religious-based dogmas.
emilia’s statement then reflects that quality, focusing solely on the actions of the “wives”–clearly remarking that if “she’s” not chaste and virgin, then no “woman” is
othello:
‘a closet lock and key of villainous secrets’
entrapment desdemona is in
emilia is stupid
internalised misogyny
desdemona:
‘i understand a fury in your words, but not the words’
i know you’re angry but i don’t know why
a.c bradley - innocent child
anna jameson - excess gentleness
extremely oblivious
othello:
‘double damned’
she will go to hell when she dies
trapped by male power
othello:
‘i must live or bear no life’
polarised view of the world
can’t live like this
othello:
‘summer flies are in the shambles’
flies around poo/ meat in summer
iago’s jealousy mocks the meat it docks upon
as flies aren’t loyal to one piece of meat, she isn’t loyal to one man
you are no more honourable than those disgusting flies which are associated with rapid procreation
desdemona:
‘lay on my bed my wedding sheets’
accepts her fate
the thing she wished for traps her
elizabethan tradition was to hang the bed sheets that a newly married couple have slept on out in public to show off the blood on it.
this blood would suggest their wife was a virgin and therefore pure.
desdemona is trying to repair her and othello’s marriage by proving that she isn’t a ‘whore’ but we get the feel that it is too little, too late
yet to consummate their marriage - patriarchal society
desdemona:
‘we must not now displease him’
very obedient of othello
women scared and trapped by men’s power
desdemona:
‘ willow, willow, willow’
foreboding as to what happens - singing about being forsaken
last time she has a voice - shakespeare wanted to show an emotional truth
a symbol behind weeping willows is that they represent death and grief - associated with oracles predicting alexander the great as the willows brushed his crown off of his head.
people whose lovers had forsaken them wore crowns made from willow leaves and twigs. willows appeared on gravestones and cemeteries, and when it rained, their drooping branches appeared as if they were bereaved and in tears.
not only foreshadows the death of desdemona as she is singing this song but also presents othello’s abandonment towards her yet she still loves him with her whole heart and perhaps grieves for his lost affection. the name of the tree itself–weeping willows–has already spoken so much about the symbolism.
used as a painkiller
desdemona:
‘tell me, emilia - that there be women do abuse their husbands in such gross kind?’
true reality of what women think about men
pathos
trapped
innocent in every sense of the word, desdemona asks emilia if she believes any women ever really cheat on their husbands.
william hazlitt observed -
‘this dialogue takes place just before the last fatal scene. if othello had overheard it, it would have prevented the whole catastrophe; but then it would have spoiled the play’
iago:
‘he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly’
cassio’s happiness make’s iago angry
cassio is more likeable and aesthetically appealing - he is a better man in a public sphere than iago is.
has to have him killed to make himself look better
ugliness or morals?
although often iago is labels as a ‘motiveless villain’ this quote highlights his jealousy as one of the sources and roots to the tragedy he is creating, emphasizing the destructive nature of jealousy as a whole - deterrent to audience
iago:
[enter iago with a light]
light has connotations of truth - ironic
manipulates the whole play, shining light on certain things to twist the truth, whilst shielding other things in the shadows. adding to the confusion of chaos. also links to his false pretence of being a saviour and innocent, using his light to act as an angel.
an absence of darkness and a quality that will help us to see – and understand - more clearly.
symbolises holiness
roderigo:
‘o damned iago! o inhuman dog!’
recognises iago’s villainy- tragic as it is too late for roderigo and thus anyone else to recognise this villainous trait in iago
bestial imagery against iago also creates a poignant contrast to the bestial slander of othello earlier. its like the irony in his slander of othello (a heroic character at the time) is flipped into a clarity that comes (tragically) far too late this last moment of realisation as roderigo sees the truth just too late
with no conscious or morals capable of evil, harmful acts
gluttony, scavengers sent by god to tear and devour.
othello:
‘she must die, else she’ll betray more men’
white and snow connote purity and chastity.
shakespeare appears to depict othello as the victim of a trap through his reluctance to murder her yet his belief that he must as a sacrifice/duty to humanity.
perceives himself almost as jesus.
links to patriarchal control, characters as victims of societal attitudes which force them to behave in a certain way. however is this an attempt to conceal his own interest as the cause of his tragic fall is ultimately his own pride and jealousy. shame in this? monumental connotes funerals.
what was he actually in love with?
he can’t bring himself to ruin desdemona’s image
othello:
‘o balmy breath, that dost almost persuade justice to break her sword.’
convinced that what he is doing is ‘justice’. (the sword and scales were emblems of justice (trad. female) scales weigh evidence; sword punishes)
othello puts off what he feels he must do - ‘one more’ kiss. He still loves her. but could the kiss also be a sign of his betrayal, reminiscent of judas’ “kiss of death” in the bible?
balm is a medicine or soothing ointment, which suggests that kissing her may cure him of his desire to kill her, or cure their relationship
once again, it is her beauty that ‘dost almost persuade him’ not her fear and pleading for her life (which only makes him angrier). it shows that he doesn’t value her as a person, only as entertainment.
legal language links to the social significance of her death, the murder as a performance for othello to recover his masculinity. Ironic as there has been no fair trial, desdemona has had no voice.
othello:
‘my wife, my wife! what wife? i have no wife. o insupportable! o heavy hour!’
regrets killing her - consequences of jealousy and manipulation
lost rationality - chain of being
no longer has the validation and affirmation she brings him as an outsider
no remorse or guilt
desdemona:
‘nobody; i myself. farewell’
trapped by the patriarchy
tries to save othello
creates even more pathos from the audience through desdemona’s undying love that she continues to feel for othello highlighting her devotion towards him, it could also convey many character tragic flaws that desdemona truly has.
her subversive nature is highlighted here and the fact that desdemona blames herself could actually show that she has come to the realization that going against societies conventions and desiring a marriage that would have been portrayed as negatively towards the contemporary audience is her downfall.
tragedy lies in shakespeare conforming to these racist social conventions
emilia:
‘my husband?’
disbelief that iago did it
doesn’t want to know
anagnosis - realises truth
doesn’t think he’s capable of such deceit
becomes the voice of the audience in this scene; we must have an outlet for our feelings of outrage.
the repetition of this quote is highly charged; emilia is as reluctant as desdemona to believe her husband is not what he seems.
could also show emilia coming to realization of the character that she truly believed iago to be but had constantly been denying to herself.
emilia:
‘villainy, villainy, villainy!’
repetition
angry - women would never get away with it
if you’re ‘perfect’ and this happens, then there’s no escape
patriarchy traps everyone
guardian of desdemona’s honour, a role othello should have assumed.
emilia’s castigation of othello reminds us how far the noble moor has fallen and the cruelty of her words might perhaps represent some kind of poetic justice. othello recognises the justice of emilia’s description when he reiterates her words, ‘o fool, fool, fool!’
emilia:
’ i will not charm my tongue. i am bound to speak’
refuses to be silenced by her husband, which is unheard of in a patriarchal society such as this, and admirably speaks out strongly against the injustice of desdemona’s murder. desdemona herself, by contrast, refuses to speak against her husband and is subjugated to him.
the woman who does not speak against her husband and embodies the patriarchy ends up dead and the woman who does speak out ends up dead
othello:
‘i look down towards his feet but that’s a fable’
medieval folklore - the devil has hooves
no hooves
iago is finally being seen for what he truly is, a diabolical villain who was able to convince everyone of his honesty, become a trusted confidant and advisor to all whilst at the same time scheming to bring the downfall of desdemona, othello and cassio.
nevertheless shakespeare keeps this character ambiguous, the fact that othello is unable to stab him leaves the audience wondering the nature of iago’s villainy and evil linking him closer to the devil.
othello:
‘an honourable murderer’
coleridge - ‘wounded honour’
attempts to justify his actions by saying he murdered desdemona as some kind of sacrificial honour killing.
ironic because othello may be commenting ironically on his own mistake about what he thought was honourable. this demonstrates othello’s anagnorisis because he discovers that he has misunderstood the idea of honour.
iago:
‘i will not speak a word’
no catharsis for the audience
no real reason for his hatred
maintain control of the situation
othello:
‘speak of me as i am; nothing extenuate’
concerned about reputation
black not venetian
t.s elliot said, “othello is endeavouring to escape reality, he had ceased to think about desdemona and is thinking about himself.”
very egotistical due to him still trying to protect his reputation and status even though he is in the wrong
tragic hero would undergo some sort of rehabilitation/redemption towards the end of the play, expressing hope that their true, authentic story will be told. on approaching his death, othello expresses this sentiment; that he dies as a known man of nobility and courage as opposed to the inferior of this
roderigo:
‘thick lips’
racist stereotypes
black people were still looked down upon in society
implies that othello is an animal/ inhuman
iago:
‘his soul is so enfetter’d to her love, that she may make, unmake, do what she list, even as her appetite shall play the god with his weak function’
desdemona is othello’s weak point
he’s so in love that he’ll believe anything
her actions control his emotions - follows everything she says
perceptive nature allows him to notice the vulnerabilities and desires of all characters
combining of everyone’s insecurities/fears which will bring about the success of his plan
