Othello act 2 Flashcards
T W-L M O
“the warlike Moor Othello” - gentleman 3 (S1)
a. “Warlike”: known for his prowess and proficiency in battle – we are reminded/told of his capacity for violence despite his gentle nature – his murder of Desdemona was always something he was capable of, Iago just brought it out – TRAGIC HERO
b. “Moor”: still, despite his good reputation he is still defined by his race – these labels are inescapable – as a modern audience we see how throughout history, Black people have always been Black before we are anything.
O G C C
“our great captain’s captain”- Cassio about Desdemona (S1)
a. “Our”: accepting of Othello as a leader – respects him as an authority – a sense of pride that he can call Othello his captain specifically – a great love there.
b. “Great”: very complimentary of Othello – emphasises tragedy because he loves him so much – also undermines what Iago said about Othello “loving his own pride and purposes”.
c. “Captain’s captain”: 1) exemplifies the depth of their love – imagery of leading and following revealing he trusts her implicitly (emphasises the tragedy of his losing faith in her) – the use of military vernacular feeds into the idea in “Little blessed with the soft phrase of peace” that all he knows is war, it is so impactful that he loves her, the only way he knows how – makes them seem hella adorable but also introduces a sense of tragic inevitability in that Othello cannot entirely let go of war 2) HWVR this military vernacular also places her into this semantic field of war and although she initially asked to be placed there, it will eventually be her undoing
T M B T G M T B D O C
“Tis my breeding / That gives me this bold show of courtesy // [he kisses Emilia]” - Cassio (S1)
a. “Breeding”: 1) it’s simply in his nature – foreshadows how Iago takes the good things in Cassio’s nature and twists them against him 2) implies that it is an upper class thing that Iago just wouldn’t understand – while a nice guy, status is very important to Cassio, he likes to flaunt it, particularly in front of Iago, and when he loses it its like the bloody world has ended – this would also just piss Iago off to no end and make him hate Cassio more – Iago is INSECURE AS F
b. “Bold”: knows that what he is abt to do is out of the ordinary maybe – does it anyway – could argue he enjoys getting a rise out of Iago bcs he thinks it’s funny – some may use this to say that Iago may have been justified in some of his grievances towards Cassio and that maybe Cassio is a lil bit of a rich asshole.
c. “Kisses Emilia”: Iago would 100% see this as a threat to his masculinity bcs 1) Cassio is insinuating that he js wouldn’t understand and 2) bcs he’s js done whatever tf he wants with his wife, with Iago stood right there bcs he knows that Iago cannot and will not do anything to stop him – Iago would be mighty offended by this.
W A L A W A T W I E A G A F A C
“With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio” - Iago (S1)
a. “Little” and “Great”: juxtaposing images makes Iago’s manipulation all the more impressive because of the height that Cassio has achieved for himself 1) shows how good he is at manipulating people 2) as an aside, he is either talking to the audience or to himself – if the former he takes care to remind us of his power, influence and cunning and if the latter, he revels to himself in his genius – in either case he panders to his bloody enormous ego and confirms his catalyst of pride
b. “Web” and “fly”: image of a spider and a fly – predator and prey (he does this later as well) thinks he’s so superior
i. “Web”: image of intricate tangles – 1) Iago’s genius and profound ability to scheme incredibly well 2) there’s also a sense of artistry showing how Iago takes pride in his work – this may even be Shakespeare congratulating Iago in his intellectual prowess 3) there’s also a sense of being unable to find a way out and escape – a sense of directionlessness and being lost – exactly what Iago does, he makes Othello lose sight of the true and salient
ii. “Fly”: 1) through web imagery we know Iago is the spider so we fear greatly for Cassio because we know that Iago is coming for him – SP torturing his audience as per usual 2) there’s a strange juxtaposition between “great” and “fly” as it is very rare that one would view a fly with very much greatness – allows Iago to simultaneously compliment and demean Cassio as a means of inflating his own ego – great = worthy of respect, fly = small, insignificant, easily caught and killed – increases the worth of his achievement 3) is also incredibly disrespectful to Cassio because he likens him to a lowly insect, not even a rabbit or a deer, or any other prey animal but a whole ass fly – makes him seem like he’s a nuisance and just hella annoying 4) could also reveal how Iago believes that Cassio’s demise is simply a natural consequence of what he feels he’s done to offend him bcs he draws on such a basic, as-old-as-time tale of nature (as naturally as the spider inevitably catches the fly, so will I destroy Michael Cassio)
c. Sibilance: its very subtle but I’d argue it’s there – makes him sound very sinister, deceptive, dangerous – all the things you come to expect from sibilance in Shakespeare
A S U H D […] K Y T F S O […] Y A Y F T Y L
“Ay, smile upon her do […] kissed your three fingers so oft [..] Yet again your fingers to your lips?” - Iago about Cassio (S1)
a. General vibes: all Cassio is doing are customary and courtesy – he is doing nothing wrong, and yet Iago manages to twist it into something that sounds so scandalous – introduces us to his very clever ability to take things that are true and twist their meaning into something false – makes it much more difficult to refute any claims he may make – Iago demonstrates his skill, making us fear for Othello as how could he possibly hope to resist Iago’s manipulation
b. Dramatic effect: feeds into the popular idea with Iago that in his orchestration of characters, he has become arch director and storyteller and therefore there is no truly objective reality for the audience to experience. What’s particularly interesting is that here, Shakespeare pointedly does not use stage directions and instead allows Iago to narrate the action to us – this means that both a reader and an audience are forced to see this act between Cassio and Desdemona through Iago’s warped lens, feeding into his role as an agent of chaos both within the play and beyond it – VERY META
I S D T P T M T M
“I’ll set down the pegs that make this music,” - Iago (S1)
- General vibes: Iago wishes to disrupt the harmony (seen in “ music”) between Othello and Desdemona by “set[ting] down the pegs” and throwing them out of tune – WISHES TO CREATE CHAOS
O W A D T T A D
“our wars are done; the Turks are drowned!” - Othello
- Dramatic effect: this is very much a pivotal moment in the play – there has been a super quick resolution to what we thought was the main threat in the play – what seemed to be a very political, public tragedy in Act 1 has miraculously been averted, which creates an avenue for a private, domestic tragedy to emerge – Iago then begins to attack Othello’s private life with the knowledge that eventually it will affect his public one – wants to ruin him
D T N S H P W T P O H H
“Didst thou not see her paddle with the palm of his hand?” - Iago
a. Plosives: repeated “p” – 1) if said harshly = annoyance, anger and disgust 2) if said softly = very sensual, obscene, uncomfortable for the audience – Iago is such a skilled manipulator that he can craft the way his words sound to the ear to convey a specific meaning – SHOWS HOW HE TAKES TRUE EVENTS AND TWISTS THEM INTO SOMETHING THEY’RE NOT.
b. “Didst thou not see”: makes it sound as if it were the most obvious thing in the world – again he takes something innocent and twists its meaning
c. Dramatic effect: Iago’s relationship with Roderigo acts as an almost trial version of his plans for Othello (manipulation) – the small-scale manipulation of Roderigo is a microcosmic version of what Iago will do to Othello
D L A P M G M I
“Doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw my inwards” - Iago (S1 - Sol2)
a. General vibes: feeds into theme of jealousy, and how its all-consuming nature drives Iago and eventually destroys Othello – foreshadows how it is jealousy that destroys Othello from within
b. “Poisonous mineral”: like something he ingested – it was an active choice to let it consume him - different to Othello because he was convinced by others and Iago convinced himself = villainised more
c. “Gnaw”: 1) arguably quite a animalistic image – as if Iago’s jealousy is alive – this could again bring into question Iago’s prowess as a villain as it is like he is a servant to his own emotions – incredibly hypocritical as he consistently tells Roderigo to calm tf down (“we have reason to cool our raging motions”) – panders to his insecurities 2) its an absolutely agonising image – Iago is a man of great passion, emotion and hatred – impressive that he can channel that into being so calculated – makes him even more cruel by doing that to Othello because he knows how painful it is (hwvr I feel like where they differ is that Iago’s pain comes from the blow to his ego and masculinity, Othello’s pain comes from the betrayal by someone he loved so deeply)
T I A E W H W F W
“Till I am evened with him, wife for wife” - Iago about Othello (S1, Sol2)
a. “Evened”: treats all of this as if it were a game – callous, unfeeling, calculated, cruel
b. “Wife for wife”: views and treats women as if they are objects and prizes that can be won – does not see them as people – very dehumanising – Emilia is a possession that was stolen from him (echoes “Thieves! Thieves!” from act 1 scene 1)
A J S S T J C C
“a jealousy so strong that judgment cannot cure” - Iago (S1, Sol 2)
- “Cure”: image of illness and medicine, links to “the Moor already changes with my poison” and “work on, my medicine, work!” - Othello is entirely defenceless to Iago’s plans
I H O M C O T H
“I’ll have our Michael Cassio on the hip” - Iago (S1, Sol2)
a. General vibes: uses a hunting metaphor to lay out his plans for Cassio
b. “I’ll have”: possession – being able to control something – it brings him joy to be able to control someone who is socially superior to him (higher rank)
c. “on the hip”: hunting metaphor = predator and prey dynamic, Cassio is outmatched and unaware, so we feel sympathy for him
S W H […] S W B […] D H
“Some wine, ho! […] Some wine, boys! […] drink, ho!” - Iago (S3)
a. General vibes: He pretends to be drunk to get Cassio to feel more comfortable so he can manipulate the situation - machiavellian
N B M T L I T B S B T A
“not before me; the lieutenant is to be saved before the ancient.” - Cassio (S3)
a. “Not before me”: Cassio values hierarchy – “reputation, reputation, reputation!” – and he embodies Venetian order (even tho he’s a Florentine)
b. “lieutenant” vs “ancient”: reminds us of Cassio’s high status just before he falls
c. Audience response: makes us fear for Cassio because we know how much Iago already hates him, and how much value Iago places in status and power and therefore how deeply offended he will be by this remark.
T E T P T H S
“Tis evermore the prologue to his sleep” - Iago (S3)
a. General vibes: sews seeds of doubt for Montano, so he’s onside during Othello’s questioning. He makes Cassio seem unworthy of his position
b. “Prologue to his sleep”: suggests that Cassio depends on it – has a pitying tone like he’s just a concerned friend
c. “evermore”: it’s a genuine constant issue, prompts Montano to want to tell Othello of his own accord so Iago can negate responsibility (Machiavellian)
H D U H M
“he dies upon his motion” - Othello (S3)
“upon his motion”: he’s very brash, quick to violence - contrasts “hold your hands” from Act 1 Scene 2
Dramatic effect: he and others have spoken before of his capacity for violence, this is the first time he threatens it - the unbalanced chaos of Cyprus is getting to him
H I […] W B T? O T L I C T
“Honest Iago […] Who began this? On thy love, I charge thee.” - Othello (S3)
- “honest”: dramatic irony proves Iago’s skill at deception and highlights Othello’s hamartia of being too trusting
- “who began this?”: asks Iago for the truth, not Cassio, his whole ass lieutenant, but his ancient - already has much trust in and reliance on Iago
- “on thy love”: on his “love” specifically, not honour or loyalty or whatever - he clearly has a personal (private) relationship with Iago that he values deeply - uses that to force him to concede and gives Iago perfect means of bringing about his downfall
C I L T / B N M B O O M
“Cassio, I love thee / But never more be officer of mine” - Othello (S3)
- “love” vs “officer”: private vs public - chaos ensues when they merge
- “but” - the caveat makes it clear that this “love” could never be enough without loyalty - cares deeply about it - kills Desy for it.
R R R! O I H L M R! I H L T I P O M A W R I B. M R I M R
“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, Iago, my reputation!” - Cassio (S3)
- “Reputation”: repeated 6 times = clearly important to him - its not his relationship with Othello or even Montano that he mourns, but his reputation - unlike Othello, he values his public life over his private one (“I have […] with leaden thoughts been pressed”)
- “immortal part”: he wants to be remembered in history, wants to have a legacy and have people respect him (in many ways he gets that)
- “bestial”: savage, animalistic - he sees no use/purpose in himself without his reputation - without the respect from others he has nothing
O G W I N T G
“Our general’s wife is now the general.” - Iago (S3)
- General vibes: echoes “our great captain’s captain” but this time more explicitly suggesting that not only does Desy have power over Othello, but she now also has power over everyone else - maybe a sense of resentment on Iago’s part with his lack of respect for women
- “general”: it’s now Iago saying it, not Cassio = more dangerous, military vernacular - Othello has invited Desy into his war-filled public sphere and has, in turn, put her in harm’s way from both conflict and Iago - she’s now
involved, so we fear for her
I P T P I H E
“I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear” - Iago (S3, Sol4)
- “pour”: active verb = an infection with calculated intention - dark cruelty in Iago’s nature - chooses to make Othello suffer
- “pestilence”: infection and plague - Iago plans to corrode Othello and his friends from within, just as an illness destroys a body
- “Into his ear”: robs Othello of autonomy over his senses, fills his ears and his brain with nothing but Iago’s lies - in turn, isolating himself from the world and the people he loves = calculated orchestration of his downfall
O O H O G M T N / T S E T A
“out of her own goodness make the net / that shall enmesh them all.” - Iago (S3, Sol4)
- “out of her own goodness” - Iago’s special skill to turn people’s virtues into their undoing (Cassio - his kindness and openness, Othello - his trusting nature and big ol’ heart) AND “own” suggests its something intrinsic within her - knows she doesn’t deserve any of this, simply does not care)
- “shall”: certainty, inevitability, fear for them etc
- “net” and “enmesh”: similar to “web” in terms of both a predator/prey vibe and an inescapability and therefore a sense of, again, inevitability so we fear for our main characters
- “all” - his hatred extend beyond Cassio and Othello to literally everybody - his villainy is completely inexplicable and he just unimaginably cruel (see again in “all guiltless meet reproach in act 4 scene 1)
