Othello - Act 1, Sc2. Flashcards
Why is Act 1, Sc. 2 important?
It is the first time we see Othello.
What is Brabantio’s final quote before he dissapears from the play?
“Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!
I therefore apprehend and do attach thee
For an abuser of the world, a practicer
Of arts inhibited and out of warrant.”
What do Brabantio’s final words say about him?
His brief appearance serves chiefly to establish, through his racial prejudice and enmity towards Othello, the extent to which the “Moor” is isolated in Venetian society.
● This speech is a pertinent example of the racial prejudice directed at Othello by the other characters.
Brabantio’s words reflect the widespread idea that Othello is not a normal human, but is either an animal-like “thing” or a fantastical being with supernatural powers.
Brabantio also reiterates the idea of Desdemona and Othello’s relationship being non-consensual as he says “to the sooty bosom/ of such a thing as thou – to fear, not to delight.”
What is the alternate reading of Brabantio’s final words?
Brabantio may be attempting to save his daughter honour by making all these absurd claims of her being charmed, magically enchanted, providing her with an escape route - showing his love for Desdemona.
What Iago quote links to the Roman god ‘Janus’ and who speaks it?
(Give meaning).
“By Janus, I think no” - IAGO
● Shakespeare alludes to the two-faced Roman god, Janus.
Iago is similarly two-faced, portrayed again and again as someone who is duplicitous and not to be trusted.
Throughout the play, Iago is revealed to be an adept liar capable of gaining the trust, however misplaced, of the people he wants to manipulate: “By Janus, I think no,” he says, evoking his own pantheistic counterpart.
Ironic that he swears on a 2 faced god.
What quote has eleven monosyllabic words from Othello?
(Give meaning + relevant criticism).
“Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.” - OTHELLO
● Shakespeare employs an intriguing formal technique to convey Othello’s authority.
The line consists of a series of eleven monosyllabic words, more than the typical ten.
Critic Harold Bloom commented that this was a “massive and menacingly monosyllabic line.”
The shortness of the words gives the line a sense of forcefulness.
Moreover, in some productions, Othello is unarmed and surprisingly calm in the face of many raised swords. Othello’s peaceful and civilised actions again contrast with the barbaric depiction of him in Act 1 Scene 1.
What quote by Brabantio shows his view of his daughter as an monetary?
(Give meaning with relevant contextual reference).
“O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow’d my Daughter?” - BRABANTIO.
By calling Othello a “foul thief,” he denies Desdemona’s agency, as if she were a stolen object rather than a participant in her affairs.
“Stow’d’’ reiterates the image of Desdemona as a piece of treasure.
CONTEXT - In the Jacobean era, women were owned by their fathers until they got married, then they were owned by their husbands.
Brabantio repeatedly characterises Desdemona’s elopement with Othello as an act of coercion or theft. The variety of ways in which he describes the event—as the result of theft, magic, and drugging—indicates that he uses his imagination to cope with the reality that his daughter may have fallen in love with Othello.
● The scene ends on a rhyming couplet - “Bond slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be” - This departs from the usual blank verse of the play. Shakespeare often uses this technique to end a scene or speech with emphasis.
