Othello Key Quotes

Question 1

Scene 1 setting

Answer 1

The street outside branbantios house, enter Roderigo and iago
Othello= absent structurally-may suggest his marginalisation and mistreatment
Informal - godless , lead to immoral actions

Question 2

Iago act 1 ‘ mere prattle without practice’ about Cassio

Answer 2

Emphasises the binary between mentality and physicality
He prioritises being a fighter and active soldier

Question 3

Derogatory pattern of language to describe othello

Answer 3

‘Old black ram’ ‘devil’ ‘ Barbary horse’ ‘beast’
Roderigo and iago are weaponising their own language to vilify othello
These efforts reveal about racial views in Venice could be entrenched and bottled up , undermines the assumption that Venice is cosmopolitan

Question 4

Symbols in 1.1

Answer 4

Venice= a bastion of cosmopolitan civilisation and commerce, protecting the boundaries of Europe from the Ottoman Empire
Animal imagery and failure to name othello= racism and continual dehumanisation of othello.

Question 5

Symbols in 1.2

Answer 5

Disease= uncontrollable spread of evil
Misogynistic language= objectify des. ‘Owmned’ by men, commodified and diminished to a sexual symbol

Question 6

Symbols in 1.3

Answer 6

Council chamber= place of power, confirmed his elevated status
Marriage= in a world of war, othellos marriage appears to be an oasis of calm, offers a possible escape from conflict

Question 7

Symbols in 2.1

Answer 7

Storm= increasing chaos ; the magnitude of natural forces that dominate mankind, foreshadowing ,characters are subject to forces beyond their control[ nature, fate] or the inversion of the natural order, almost as if Pandora’s box had been opened in retaliation. Universal - could show how their interracial marriage extends beyond iagos manipulation, status quo rebelling.
Cyprus= on the edge of civilisation symbolises chaos and society’s precarious balance.
Sea= symbolise the vastness of othellos love, suggest that the marriage is natural , however the sea is always unpredictable , drowned the Turks but spare the Venetians could symbolise the survival of their love in the face of war, but still be vulnerable to internal turbulence - foreshadowing the internal emotional storm that iago will unleash.

Question 8

Symbols in 2.3

Answer 8

Drunken bawl- chaos
Shift from blank verse to prose signals increasing disorder = associated with malevolence and destructive impulses

Question 9

Symbols in 3.3

Answer 9

Handkerchief= traditional love token symbolises their passion, traditional heirloom, suggesting Desdemonas acceptance of his different background. Later becomes a representation of his jealousy n suspicions. Could represent des body, which othello believes has been handled by Cassio.

Question 10

Symbols in 3.4

Answer 10

Monstrous imagery= unnatural, deviant, immoral behaviour. Iago refers to his plot as a ‘monstrous birth’ and othello calls Desdemonas infidelity ‘ monstrous’ . This demonic imagery alludes to complete, unstoppable and almost unspeakable destruction