othello

Question 1

damn her lewd minx! o damn her

Answer 1

monosyllabic — create anger
mirrors iago’s language and view on women
slowly losing eloquence

Question 2

transformation form

Answer 2

starts in verse — goes to prose when presented with the idea of Des’s infidelity
— symbolises the degradation of mental state and rational judgement

Question 3

emilia’s quote on love

Answer 3

lạy mẹ by my mistress’ side

Question 4

but i do love thee! and i love thee not chaos is to come again

Answer 4

foreshadowing and allusion to othello’s descent into madness

Question 5

she wished she had not heard it, yet she wished that heaven had made her such a man

Answer 5

shows othello insecurities

Question 6

nobody: i myself. farewell

Answer 6

desdemona trying to protect othello with her last words

Question 7

put out the light and then put out the light

Answer 7

light dark imagery
symbolising desdemona’s life

Question 8

she loves me for the dangers i had pass’d and i loved her for that she did pity them

Answer 8

relationship built on storytelling

Question 9

love + transformation

Answer 9

my life upon her faith

Question 10

i am not what i am

Answer 10

antithesis of biblical phrase, paradoxical chain, chiasmus, dramatic irony
insightful view on irrational decision to trust iago

Question 11

honest iago

Answer 11

ironic epithet
disillusioned from iago’s true nature

Question 12

handkerchief

Answer 12

motif symbolises the infidelity and love and corruption of the love
- makes the downfall of othello

Question 13

iago is most honest

Answer 13

• high modality
  foreshadows the consequences of ideation trust and if public appearances

Question 14

iago’s soliloquy’s

Answer 14

power of deception and manipulation
shows the audience the mistake of trusting iago and the irrationality of that
— iago’s ability to manipulate trust so that othello commits irrational actions is the cause of his downfall

Question 15

“So will I turn her virtue into pitch”

Answer 15

iago soliloquy antithesis – effectiveness of Iago’s deceit and manipulation as he is capable of turning virtues of humanities into the worst

Question 16

into a judgement so strong that judgement cannot cure

Answer 16

foreshadowing othello’s descent into madness and blindness due to jealousy

Question 17

knavery’s plain face is never seen till used

Answer 17

highlights the duplicity of iago through personification of knavery
true intentions never shown

Question 18

she was false as water, thou art rash as fire

Answer 18

showcase the consequences of iago’s manipulation – murder of desdemona as he thinks she’s cheated on him
metaphor

Question 19

o, beware..of jealousy! it is the green eyed monster

Answer 19

dramatic irony
- warns othello of the dangers of jealousy
- manipulates othello perception of reality
- shows audience the duplicity and nature of iago

Question 20

a horned man’s a monster and a beast

Answer 20

Overcome with jealousy
- shows delicacy of the human psyche when faced with adversity – horn symbolise cuckoldry

Question 21

let her rot, and perish, and be damned to night

Answer 21

ascending tricolon + imagery of decay emphasise violent mindset
- Showcase ability of jealousy to undermine reasoning

Question 22

“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial”

Answer 22

Alludes to great chain of being
- Cassio used lamenting tone asserts the excessive values of reputation and pride within the world
- Foreshadows how othello views himself later in the play

Question 23

“Farewell the pride, pomo, circumstance of glorious war!” + “farewell! Othello’s occupation’s gone”

Answer 23

hyperbolic outburst → his identity and character is diminished by supposed infidelity
- ties worth to social pride and status

Question 24

“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul – let me not name it to you, you the chaste stars – it is the cause”

Answer 24

Enjambment, repetition, apostrophe, ironic
— O justification of his premeditated plan – insecurity of his actions and his morals

Question 25

an old black man is tupping your white ewe

Answer 25

animal/bestial imagery + recurring dichotomy of light and dark
— emphasise the racial difference between O and D impacting their dynamic in their marriage/relationship

Question 26

i hate the moor

Answer 26

Metonymic language
Builds bad name for moors
Dehumanise him → referring to him as ‘the moor’ rather than his name

Question 27

a horned man’s a monster and a beast

Answer 27

internalised racial prejudice shown through animal imagery
— embodies animalistic characteristics he was described as
— shakespeare warns audience of othello’s self deception resulting in internal self deception

Question 28

binary use of..

Answer 28

black and white imagery to symbolise othello’s separation and isolation from whole society

Question 29

“Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now as begrimed and black as my own face”

Answer 29

Othello tainting desdemona’s purity → allusion of goddess of moon

Question 30

my ancient..

Answer 30

a man he is of honesty and trust

Question 31

STAGE DIRECTION TRANCE

Answer 31

[he] falls into a trance
— demonstrates the irrational behaviour of othello
- dangers of placing blind trust in an individual

Question 32

OTHELLO ASIDE

Answer 32

How do you, desdemona
— rhetorical question to show othello’s loss of trust in desdemona
— lack of trust in desdemona is making othello turn into iago

Question 33

STAGE DIRECTION HIT

Answer 33

Stifles her
doom the tragic hero of his downfall as his hamartia shows the audience of the consequences of irrational trust and lack of trust in others

Question 34

set on thy wife to observe

Answer 34

Othello tells iago to spy on desdemona
degradation of trust and decline in HONOUR of one self

Question 35

peripeteia

Answer 35

sudden reversal of fortune
— shift from verse to prose after pp

Question 36

anagnorisis

Answer 36

tragic hero’s recognition
“My wife, my wife! What wife, I have no wife”
“Rot half a grain a day! He lies to the heart!”

Question 37

hamartia and hubris

Answer 37

hamartia : fatal flaw
hubris : excessive pride form of hamartia

Question 38

ac bradley (5)

Answer 38

[othello] is a tragedy of passion
it is the wreck of his faith and his love rather than jealousy
Othello’s passion battles his self-control throughout
experiences love powerfully
Any man situated as othello would have been disturbed by iago’s communications