othello key quotes

Question 1

“I follow him to serve my turn upon him. We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly followed” Act 1 scene 1 line41 IAGO

Answer 1

equivocal language to impress R, long + confusing on purpose, he’s only with O to profit from him

Question 2

“I am not what I am” act1 scene 1 line64 IAGO

Answer 2

duplicitous, biblical illusion, inversion of all that is good, encapsulates the theme of deception and duplicity, disconnect between outward appearance and inner reality, facade, complexity of I’s character, foreshadowing his deceptive natutre, “men should be what they seem” act 3 scene3

Question 3

“look to your house, your daughter, and you’re bags…you’re robbed” act 1 scene 1 line79 IAGO, DESDEMONA

Answer 3

no name, commodity, list, objectification

Question 4

“an old black ram is tupping your white ewe!” act1 scene1 line87 IAGO, OTHELLO, DESDEMONA

Answer 4

racial imagery, bestial imagery, aggressive plosives, contrast between O and D’s purity & naivety

Question 5

“Let him do his spite” act 1 scene 2 line7 OTHELLO

Answer 5

calm, collected, eloquent, ready to face consequences of his actions, confident

Question 6

“keep up your bright swords for the dew will rust them” act 1 scene 2 line58 OTHELLO

Answer 6

Menacing, monosyllabic line, authoritative yet calm = highly skilled general, doesn’t want to fight

Question 7

“If she in chains of magic were not bound” act 1 scene 2 line65 DESDEMONA

Answer 7

sinister imagery of blackmagic, D was manipulated into the marriage, prisoner, O as the devil, racial stereotypes

Question 8

“Were it my cue to fight I should’ve known it without a prompter” act 1 scene 2 line 82 OTHELLO

Answer 8

doesn’t have a violent nature, honourable, doesn’t fight for no reason

Question 9

“For if such actions may have passage free, bond-slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be” act 1 scene 2 line 97 OTHELLO

Answer 9

rhyming couplets, world has turned upside down, subversion of natural order, reduces O to racial stereotypes, need to be cautious of foreigners

Question 10

“She is abused, stolen from me from me and corruptedn by spells and medicine” act 1 scene 3 line 60 DESDEMONA OTHELLO

Answer 10

dehumanising, recurring motif of witchcraft associating O with the devil

Question 11

“rude am I in my speech” act 1 scene 3 line 82 OTHELLO

Answer 11

imagery of weakness and innocence, humble, downplaying, his eloquence

Question 12

“She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them” Act 11 scene 3 line 168 OTHELLO, DESDEMONA

Answer 12

equilibrium of love, mutual, doubts about validity of theur relationship, insecurities

Question 13

“Twixt my sheets he’s done my office” act 1 scene 3 line 386 IAGO, OTHELLO

Answer 13

Believes O slept with Emilia, disrespected his honour, payback is fair

Question 14

“sir would she give you so much of her lips…bestows on me” act 2 scene 1 line 100 IAGO

Answer 14

Iago belittles Emilia, insecure, male cliches, misogynistic, power dynamics, characterizes Iago as cruel and misogynistic, foreshadows deception through early indication of Iago’s moral depravity and ruthlessness, themes of gender - patriarchal society and abuse of power

Question 15

“hail to thee, lady, and, the grace of heaven” act 2 scene 1 DESDEMONA

Answer 15

religious and godly imagery, lack of formality, courtly langauge, seductive, respectful of women

Question 16

“the moor is of free and open nature that thinksmen honest that but seem to be so” act 1 scene 3 line398 OTHELLO

Answer 16

recognising his good qualities, foreshadowing, easily manipulated, appearance vs reality

Question 17

“with as little a web as this I will ensnare as great a fly as Cassio” act 2 scene 1 line168 IAGO, CASSIO

Answer 17

metaphorically compares to a web, subtle but effective in trapping, Iago aims to disrupt O’s trust and sow seeds of doubt

Question 18

“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my repuation!” act 2 scene 3, line 258 CASSIO

Answer 18

repetition, emphasis, also affects, heightens his insecurities & makes him

Question 19

“You have not been a-bed then?” Act 3 scene 1 line 31 OTHELLO

Answer 19

Othello hasn’t slept, link to Macbeth, vulnerable, foreshadows downfall

Question 20

“Why then, tomorrow night…let it not exceed 3 days” act 3 scene 2 line 60 DESDEMONA

Answer 20

persistent, loyalty to Cassio, power struggle

Question 21

“When I love thee not chaos is come again” act 3 scene 3 line 91 OTHELLO

Answer 21

he’ll be dammed by his extreme love, foreshadowing, when their love ends he’ll adopt personal choas

Question 22

“Men should be what they seem” Act 3 scene 3 line 131 IAGO

Answer 22

Dramatic Irony, gnomic comments, repitition by O = under his control

Question 23

“Beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” act 3 scene 3 line 166 IAGO, OTHELLO

Answer 23

warns O and sets stage for manipulation of his emotions, personifies jealousy, vivid metaphor emphasises it’s destructive + irrational nature, envy +sickness = corrosive, monstrous = consume + distort thoughts and perceptions, consumes it’s victims, “meat”= D’s infidelity, jealousy will lead him to doubt and destroy the thing he loves most

Question 24

“And yet how nature erring from itself-“ act 3 scene 3 line 231 OTHELLO, IAGO

Answer 24

begins to question D, interupted by I, power shift

Question 25

“Not poppy nor Mandragora…which thou owedst yesterday” act 3 scene 3 line 333 IAGO, OTHELLO

Answer 25

Wants O to suffer unrest and pain, villainous, sleep deprevation = madness, drugs link to act 2

Question 26

“he that is robbed…not robbed at all” act 3 scene 3 line 345 OTHELLO

Answer 26

link to act 1, D = O’s possession, it’s better to be ignorant, tormented by lack of physical proof

Question 27

“I think my wife be honest, and think she’s not…black as mine own face” act 3 scene 3 line 387 OTHELLO, DESDEMONA

Answer 27

internal conflict, deteriorating mental state, acknowledges his insecurities

Question 28

“Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys” act 3 scene 3 line 406 IAGO, DESDEMONA, CASSIO

Answer 28

goats = hell/devil, describing O and D as primal and bestial, animal imagery

Question 29

“Like to the pontic sea…to the propontic and the hellespont” act 3 scene 3 line 456 OTHELLO

Answer 29

naval imagery, lack of punctuation, O’s “bloody” thoughts are propelled towards an inevitable end as the waters of the pontic sea are propelled to Hellespont

Question 30

“Now art thou my lieutenant” act 3 scene 3 line 481 IAGO

Answer 30

recieves the promotion he wanted, continues his plan for: personal vendetta against Cassio, jealousy for cassio, power and control, and his psychological complexity which stems from nihilism

Question 31

“this argues fruitfullness and liberal heart: hot, hot and moist” act 3 scene 4 line 38 OTHELLO

Answer 31

Taunting her, mental turmoil, sexual language like Iago, confused speech pattern

Question 32

“the handkerchief did an Egyptian to my mother give…” act 3 scene 4 line 56 OTHELLO

Answer 32

loses our sympathy, spiteful and cruel, making her feel guilty, heartless

Question 33

“the handkerchief!” act 3 scene 4 line 94 OTHELLO

Answer 33

anger, harsh and demanding tone I uses, dismissive of D, symbol of her body and honour

Question 34

“they are all but stomachs and we all but food” act 3 scene 4 line 105 EMILIA

Answer 34

metaphor, men use women to satisfy their own greed then discard them, Emilia is shown to be independent of thought

Question 35

“Is this the noble moor whom our full senate call all in all sufficient?” act 4 scene 1 line 264 OTHELLO

Answer 35

loosing his reputation, O had a rep of being honourable + respectable, oxymoron

Question 36

“Lie with her? Lie on her? we say lie on her when they belie her” act 4 scene 1 line 35 OTHELLO

Answer 36

repetition, consuming his mind, disjointed speech, breakdown in his sanity, his anger inhibits clear thoughts

Question 37

“I will be found most cunning in my patience…most bloody” act 4 scene 1 line 91 OTHELLO

Answer 37

his jealousy has turned into violence, animalistic characteristics, living up to racist stereotypes

Question 38

“But yet the pity of it Iago, the pity of it Iago!” act 4 scene 1 line 192 OTHELLO

Answer 38

repetition, exclamation, highly emotive, sympathy

Question 39

“I will chop her into messes!” act 4 scene 1 line 197 OTHELLO

Answer 39

extreme turmoil, violent, brutal, heartless, jealousy consumes him

Question 40

“O devil, devil! If that the earth…prove a crocodile” act 4 scene 1 line 245 OTHELLO

Answer 40

contrasts his devotion in act 1, insulting her, tormented, hyperbolic

Question 41

“To whom my lord? with whom? how am I false?” act 4 scene 2 line 41 DESDEMONA

Answer 41

questions, naïve, besotted to him, her innocence creates more sympathy

Question 42

“committed?…impudent strumpet!” act 4 scene 2 line 74 OTHELLO

Answer 42

repetition of committed, lack of self control and emotional intelligence, crude language

Question 43

“lay on my bed my wedding sheets” act 4 scene 2 line 107 DESDEMONA

Answer 43

chilling, foreshadowing, I said O should strangle her with them

Question 44

“speak within doors” act 4 scene 2 line 147 OTHELLO, EMILIA

Answer 44

imperative, Iago is unable to control Emilia

Question 45

“Get you to bed on th’instant, I will be returned forthwith. Dismiss you attendant there: look’t be done” act 4 scene 3 line 5 OTHELLO

Answer 45

dismissive, short sentences, imperatives, militaristic tone, how he’s comfortable being, distance between him and D

Question 46

“my mother had a maid called barbary… and she died singing” act 4 scene 3 line 24 DESDEMONA

Answer 46

‘barbary horse’, D grew up with a black maid, similar to D’s situation, foreshadowing her death

Question 47

“I might do’t as well i’th’ dark” act 4 scene 3 line 66 EMILIA

Answer 47

Foil to Desdeomona, would cheat on Iago, opposite of female stereotypes, shocking to audience, pragmatic

Question 48

“If Cassio do remain he hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly” act 5 scene 1 line 18 IAGO, CASSIO

Answer 48

Just be existing Iago is inferior to Cassio, emasculating, must kill him

Question 49

“Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars, It is the cause” act 5 scene 2 line 2 OTHELLO

Answer 49

going against God, overriding fate, cosmic imagery having conversation with the universe, repetition

Question 50

“Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow And smooth as monumental alabaster” act 5 scene 2 line 3 OTHELLO

Answer 50

supposed to be an act of hatred, but his love shines through - there is not an imperfection on Desdemona in his opinion. She is beautiful. Racial divide, focus on skin and beauty that comes from this.

Question 51

“she’ll betray more men. Put out the light, and then put out the light!” act 5 scene 2 line 7 OTHELLO

Answer 51

justifying his actions, selfless act, light imagery, recurring motif, hide his actions, extinguish all hope and clarity

Question 52

“Promethean heat That can thy light relume. When I have plucked the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again” act 5 scene 2 line 12 OTHELLO

Answer 52

Greek god, eternal suffering, doubt or second judgement, he doesn’t want to hurt her, he just wants to get back at her for what happened. She will not come back when she is dead. Images of beauty. The supernatural power he was claimed to have had in the beginning is what he needs now.

Question 53

“justice to break her sword!” act 5 scene 2 line 17 OTHELLO

Answer 53

Othello sees himself as an allegorical figure of justice, ironic as there is no justice

Question 54

“so sweet was ne’er so fatal…this sorrow’s heavenly” act 5 scene 2 line 20 OTHELLO

Answer 54

paradox = conflict, conflict between his humanity and duty, his tear’s are just for show, oxymoron

Question 55

“It is the very error of the moon; She comes more nearer earth than she was wont And makes men mad.” act 5 scene 2 line 107 OTHELLO, DESDEMONA

Answer 55

Men are driven mad by a natural phenomenon - moon is personified as a woman - moon orbits around the earth - patriarchal society and power of men. Power of women over men - love has completely altered Othello.

Question 56

“O, the more angel she, And you the blacker the devil!” act 5 scene 2 line 128 DESDEMONA, OTHELLO

Answer 56

Desdemona is only going to look better of a person - Othello is only going to look worse. Association with heaven and hell, fixation on religion.

Question 57

“O thou Othello, that wert once so good, Fall’n in the practice of a cursed slave” act 5 scene 2 line 287 OTHELLO

Answer 57

Othello was an image of a perfect man at the beginning of the play, despite his race. He is now associated with slaves, the lowest part of society, Racial imagery.

Question 58

“I kissed thee ere I killed thee; no way but this: Killing myself, to die upon a kiss” act 5 scene 2 line 356 OTHELLO

Answer 58

Full circle, He has killed her, so he too must die, his way of apologising to her.