Othello - Act 1 - memorise quotes Flashcards
1:1 Roderigo would have rather be his killer
“By heaven, I rather would have been his hangman.”
- jealousy: would rather kill than serve Othello.; R’s line contrasts Iago’s ref to being his ‘ancient’
Iago imagery of poison and flies
“Call up her father”
“poison his delight”
“Plague him with flies”
- Iago uses imperatives, perhaps controlling R.
- Iago is meddling in Othello’s relationship by alerting Desdemona’s father to the marriage.
Alludes to the fact that Iago has been taking money from Roderigo, we do not yet know that this was supposed to be used to ‘woo’ Desdemona but of course it never serves this purpose, Iago essentially robs him in broad daylight.
“hast had my purse as if the strings were thine” - Roderigo
iago jealous
“I know my price, I am worth no worse a place” - Iago
cassio beat up by women
“A fellow almost damned by a fair wife” - Iago
iago duplicity
“I follow him to serve my turn upon him - Iago
brabs loss emphasises by iago
“Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul” - Iago
alludes to god and moses
“I am not what I am” - Iago
racist sexist imagery from iago
An old black ram is tupping your white ewe” - Iago
brab sees iago’s true character
“Thou art a villain” - Brabantio
ironic comment from brab about venice
“This is Venice” - Brabantio
- Context: ironic suggestion that Venice is safe as, despite its culture, it had a corrupt underbelly.
Roderigo chimes in convincing Brabantio
“To the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor–”
- Desdemona seems passive.
- shakespeare reflects the Renaissance stereotype of black men as sexual predators.
iago hates othello
“Though I do hate him as I hate hell pains” - Iago
brab thinks o used magic on d
abused, stolen from me and corrupted by spells and medicines
iago excuses his crimes
heaven is my judge - Iago
iago emphasises d has been stolen
thieves, thieves, thieves
sex described with animal imagery
making the beast with two backs
racist, sexually driven othello
gross clasps of the lascivious Moor
reference to Iago’s role as flagbearer
“I must show out a flag and sign of love”
gross betrayal on D’s part : roderigo
“Your daughter, if you have not given her leave,
I say again, hath made a gross revolt”, “tying her duty, beauty, wit and fortunes”
- The patriarchal view is that Desdemona has wronged her father by choosing her own husband and eloping
- Othello is portrayed as a vagrant and unstable, without sound roots.
Brabantio’s language showing his upset
“—Oh, she deceives me
Past thought!—What said she to you?—Get more tapers”
- Questions suggest distress: Brabantio will be shamed if his daughter has eloped.
- quetions and dashes suggest distress
O cocky that his role is gonna guarentee his freedom
“My parts, my title and my perfect soul
Shall manifest me rightly.”
Brabantio’s rhyme which suggests toward an unnatural marriage
“For if such actions may have passage free,
Bond-slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be.”
- In the final couplet, Brabantio suggests a union between Othello and Desdemona is unnatural, turning the natural order upside down.
- acobeans would have recognised this subversion as a warning of trouble ahead.
O makes snidey comment about swords
“Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.”
he loves her
“I love the gentle Desdemona”
iago talks of two faced god in responce to
“My parts, my title and my perfect soul
Shall manifest me rightly”
“By Janus, I think no.”
O proud of history
I fetch my life and being From men of royal siege
o calm and measured
let him do his spite
meanwhile duke have been desperately looking for O - needs to go to venice
three several quests to search you out
o used magic on D: brabantia
“enchanted her … in chains of magic” “foul charms” “abused her”
“theif”
gives height to Othello
“the valient Moor”
b is being dramatic about losing d to O
“my particular grief … engluts and swallows other sorrows”
- monster; internal rhyme
Othello expresses regret at his job?
“some nine moons wasted”
“little of this great world can I speak “ than “feats of broil and battle”
- suggests regret; lack of choice
othello repetition of of… emphaises his role
“Of moving accidents by flood and field,
“Of” “of”
- worked way up
o respected as a soldier - tryna win over his audience
“battles, sieges, fortunes”
o reminds us of slavery past
“sold to slavery”
brab: not natural for black and white to be together
“against all rules of nature”
o is talking about how d loves to hear his stories
“and with a greedy ear devour up my discourse”
“a world of sighs”
“‘twas strange, ‘twas passing strange,
‘Twas pitiful, ‘twas wondrous pitiful”
- emotion; reaction intensified
Brab disowns Desdemona
“God be with you, I have done.”
“I had rather to adopt a child than get it.”
“jewel”
d establishes she chooses O
“you are Lord of all my duty”
“so much duty as my mother showed
To you, preferring you before her father”
rhyming couplet - brab warns O
“She has deceived her father and may decieve thee”
1:3 D wants to go with O to war
“to his honour and his valiant parts”
“A moth of peace”
“Let me go with him.”
- dedicated to him
o trusts desdemona
“my life upon her faith’
he is not honest
honest iago
roderigo being dramatic about d
“I will incontinently drown myself”
‘The Moor is of a…’ Iago acknowledges Othello’s good qualities and so how he will use them against him.
“free and open nature”
iago is going to feed O some bs
“abuse Othello’s ear”
keeps repeating this cuz hes money hungry
“money in thy purse”
Roderigo puppet - listens to his money requests
“I am changed. I’ll go sell all my land.”
- manipulated
Thinks O slept with Emelia but don’t matter if he’s not sure
“He’s done my office. I know not if’t be true,
But I for mere suspicion in that kind
Will do as if for surety.”
moor is of a/ monstrous birth - end of Act 1
“free and open nature”
“bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.”
- final rhyming couplet: structural to highlight significance of end of act
