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English > Othello Key Quotes A2 > Flashcards

Othello Key Quotes A2 Flashcards

1
Q

A2:1 (6) - Montano: ‘A fuller blast…

A

…ne’er shook our battlements’

  • It is as if the even the weather, such a superior being to man, decries the depravity of Iago’s arrival, and warns against (and even tries to prevent) the chaos that will ensue.
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2
Q

A2:1 (21) - 3 Gentleman: ‘The desperate tempest…

A

…hath so banged the Turks / That their designment halts.’

  • It seems to be an unrealistic coincidence in Iago’s favour, implication of his omnipotence - he has removed all extraneous variables.
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3
Q

A2:1 (33-4) - 3 Gentleman: ‘they were parted…

A

… with foul and violent tempest.’

  • Shakespeare certainly employs parallelism here, likening the storm to Iago’s effect on the two later on.
  • Wrought with irony.
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4
Q

A2:1 (61-3) - Cassio: ‘a maid / That paragons description…

A

…and wild fame; / One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens.’

  • Cassio’s ability to wax lyrical about Desdemona shall come in useful for Iago.
  • Despite saying she ‘excels the quirks of blazoning pens’, Iago employs a blazon to describe her multiple times; despite his outwardly gentlemanly appearance and excessive flattery, Cassio is little more than another piece of the patriarchy.
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5
Q

A2:1 (67) - Montano: ‘He’s had most…

A

…favourable and happy speed.’

  • Again it seems Iago has the ability to manipulate nature in his own favour.
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6
Q

A2:1 (83) - Cassio: ‘The riches of…

A

…the ship is come on shore’

  • Cassio cannot refrain from expressing his reverence for Desdemona.
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7
Q

A2:1 (100) - Iago: ‘Sir, would she give you so much of her lips…

A

…As of her tongue she often bestows on me / You’d have enough.’

  • Iago is not only a racist, but a misogynist.
  • He criticises Emilia for being talkative, it seems that he expects her to be completely subservient to him, to only speak when spoken to.
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8
Q

A2:1 - Desdemona: ‘I do beguile…

A

…the thing I am by seeming otherwise.’

  • Ominous echo of Iago.
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9
Q

A2:1 (156-7) - Iago: ‘She that could think…

A

…and ne’er disclose her mind, / See suitors following’

  • Iago seems to think the perfect wife is one who can control her mind, one who can think without openly expressing it. We can see why this appeals to him, it would provide him with an accomplice.
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10
Q

A2:1 - Iago: ‘He takes her by the palm;…

A

…ay, well said, whisper.’

  • Iago in the previous lines presents himself as an antagonist, allowing Cassio to swoop in and defend Desdemona and Emilia, inflating his role as a threat and someone ‘framed to make women false’. By a calculated move of self-depreciation he in turn increases Desdemona’s regard for Cassio, allowing him to more easily hyperbolise their intimacy.
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11
Q

A2:1 - Iago: ‘With as little a web…

A

…as this I will ensnare as great a fly as Cassio.’

  • Iago is conniving, his ability to inflate the trivial relationships and discourses of people is an ability is highly aware of.
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12
Q

A2:1 - Othello (190-91): ‘Not another comfort like to this…

A

…Succeeds in unknown fate.’

  • Othello, upon being reunited with Desdemona, seems to believe his happiness has peaked, and that no greater contentment will follow in their uncertain future. It seems an oddly pessimistic outlook for the newly wedded pair.
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13
Q

A2:1 (198-99) - Iago: ‘I’ll set down / The pegs…

A

…that make this music.’

  • Iago is resolute in his attempt to dismantle their marriage. His current scheme is not yet aimed at incurring any fatalities.
  • The image of music implies that there will be some kind of resolution, aligning Othello’s fate with the archetypal trappings of tragedy.
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14
Q

A2:1 (219) - Iago: ‘Lay thy finger thus…

A

…and let thy soul be instructed.’

  • Roderigo is entirely submissive to Iago’s demands. The word ‘soul’ implies that Iago believes he is bestowing upon Roderigo some divine guidance, or at least he wishes Roderigo to believe as much.
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15
Q

A2:1 (221) - Iago: ‘but for bragging…

A

…and telling fantastical lies.’

  • Iago too has picked up on Desdemona’s infatuation ‘for the dangers [he] had passed’, and insinuates that she is merely captivated by his exotic tales and dangerous passings rather than his true character. Maybe he believes their union to be little more than an act of rebellion.
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16
Q

A2:1 (223-4) - Iago: ‘Her eye must be fed…

A

…and what delight / shall she have to look on the devil?’

  • Iago suggests Desdemona is a deeply superficial character and, whether he believes it or not, he is careful to make sure Roderigo does. Again he presents Othello as anti-religious symbol, an abomination whose appearance will not satisfy Desdemona, for he is ‘defective in’ these areas.
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17
Q

A2:1 (231) - Iago: ‘gorge, disrelish…

A

…and abhor the Moor.’

  • Iago believes Desdemona will come to hate her husband, to be revolted by him.
  • The opposite will happen, she will remain his staunchest defender and her love and loyalty will not falter even in her dying breaths. Othello alternatively will come harbour significant distaste for his wife.
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18
Q

A2:1 (257-8) - Iago: ‘They met so near with their lips…

A

…that their breaths embraced together.’

  • Iago uses Roderigo as a means of rehearsing his persuasion of Othello. By convincing Roderigo of Desdemona’s infidelity with Cassio, he better prepares himself for his psychological assault of Othello.
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19
Q

A2:1 (270-1) - Iago: ‘He’s rash and very…

A

…sudden in choler, and haply with his truncheon may strike at you.’

  • Iago demonstrates himself to be a shrewd judge of character, he is not fooled by Cassio’s outward gentile humility, he sees the nature of character below the surface which comes out when he talks to Bianca. Potentially an exaggeration due to spite.
  • Reinforces Roderigo’s weakness, he does not question why Iago himself will not engage Cassio to fight. He will happily be a proxy for Iago’s machinations.
20
Q

A2:1 (293-4) - Iago: ‘I do suspect the lusty Moor…

A

… / Hath leaped into my seat.’

  • Intimation of Othello having slept with Emilia.
21
Q

A2:1 (296-7) - Iago: ‘nothing can or shall content my soul…

A

… / Till I am evened with him, wife for wife.’

  • Iago’s plan is still aimed at making Othello repay the debt he believes he is owed - whether that be due to his belief that he has been cuckolded by Othello or usurped by Cassio.
  • No mention of death yet.
22
Q

A2:1 (298-300) - Iago: ‘I [will] put the Moor into…

A

…. A jealousy so strong that judgement cannot cure.’

  • Truly he will, he will cause Othello to harbour a jealousy so intense and merciless it seems beyond divine forgiveness.
23
Q

A2:1 (310) - Iago: ‘Knavery’s plain face…

A

…is never seen, till used.’

  • Iago reasserts himself as a knave, one of deceitful and conniving nature. He assures himself that his face and his plans will remain clandestine until their are delivered ‘to the world’s light.’
24
Q

A2:3 (9-10) - Othello: ‘The purchase made, the fruits…

A

…are to ensue; / That profit’s yet to come ‘tween me and you.’

  • Despite Iago’s constant accusations that Othello is a sex-driven animal, Othello’s approach to sex is actually very delicate and lyrical. He employs innuendo rather than direct language, even composing a sonnet-esque rhyming couplet to court Desdemona to consummate their marriage.
25
Q

A2:3 (36-37) - Cassio: ‘I have drunk…

A

…but one cup tonight, and that was craftily qualified too.’

  • Cassio knows that Iago is trying to subtly manipulate him, so why does he later comply? Gives in to the pressure Iago generates.
26
Q

A2:3 (54) - : ‘this warlike…

A

…isle.’

  • Despite their being no war, Iago knows the island will surely descend into chaos and conflict.
  • Othello is also called ‘warlike’.
27
Q

A2:3 (121-23) - Iago: ‘I fear the trust Othello puts him in…

A

…/ On some odd time of his infirmity / Will shake this island.’

  • Iago tries to engender some doubt regarding the consequences of Cassio’s inability to drink, he is building up to the altercation he has planned between Cassio and Roderigo.
28
Q

A2:3 (121-23) - Iago: ‘I fear the trust Othello puts him in…

A

…/ On some odd time of his infirmity / Will shake this island.’

  • Iago tries to engender some doubt regarding the consequences of Cassio’s inability to drink, he is building up to the altercation he has planned between Cassio and Roderigo.
29
Q

A2:3 (130-31) - Montano: ‘Perhaps [Othello]… / Prizes the virtue…

A

…that appears in Cassio / And looks not on his evils.’

  • Othello is well-regarded as a kind and accepting man, one of upstanding moral character.
30
Q

A2:3 (153) - Iago: ‘Go out and…

A

…cry a mutiny.’

  • Iago commands Roderigo from the shadows before advancing into the scene, his plan is unfolding as he hoped. The potency of his performance is his ability to divert and control people’s attention, he decides what people should and shouldn’t see, and ultimately Cassio’s mistakes will reflect poorly on Cassio himself but also Othello’s judgement as a leader.
  • In the rest of the scene he plays the peacekeeper, begging Cassio and Montano to separate and halt their fight.
31
Q

A2:3 (169-70) - Othello: ‘He that stirs next…

A

…to carve his own rage, / Holds his soul light: he dies upon his motion.’

32
Q

A2:3 (173) - Othello: ‘Honest Iago, that look’st…

A

…dead with grieving.’

  • Iago has definitive control over his countenance, Othello is evidently easily fooled by him.
33
Q

A2:3 (207-9) - Othello: ‘He that is approved in this offence…

A

… / Though he had twinned with me, both at a birth, / Shall lose me.’

  • Othello asserts that he shall hold justice at a higher regard than intimacy or friendship. Arguably this is one trait that he believes he maintains throughout, for his choice to kill Desdemona is one which he does in the name of justice for himself.
34
Q

A2:3 (219) - Iago: ‘I persuade myself…

A

…to speak the truth.’

  • Iago suggests he would never consciously perjure Cassio, his faux-withholding nature convinces Othello, the audience begin to appreciate the genius of his linguistic and performative abilities.
  • It works to great effect as Othello believes Iago’s ‘love’ for Cassio has caused him to understate the aggression with which Cassio acted in wounding both Roderigo (who Iago does not name for fear of compromising his plan) and Cassio. (‘thy honesty and love doth mince this matter’)
35
Q

A2:3 (244) - Othello: ‘Cassio, I love thee…

A

…But never more be officer of mine.’

  • For Othello, love should be no object in the deliverance of justice. He will be a staunch supporter of this belief even in Desdemona’s case.
36
Q

A2:3 (264-6) - Iago: ‘Reputation is and idle…

A

… and / most false imposition, oft got without merit’

  • Iago makes a subtle barb at Cassio who he believes to have been the beneficiary of ill-gotten gain (his promotion to lieutenant).
  • Iago’s dismissal of reputation is tactical, it encourages Cassio to attempt reconciliation with Othello, in which Desdemona will be used as a medium for peace - all of this has been calculated by Iago.
37
Q

A2:3 (277-279) - Iago: ‘O thou invisible spirit of wine…

A

… if / thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil!’

  • Ironically it is Iago who he is inadvertently cursing, for it has been his orchestrations that have caused him such woe, not wine.
38
Q

A2:3 (300-1) - Cassio: ‘To be now a sensible man, …

A

…by and by a fool, and presently a beast!’

  • Cassio exclaims that he has become something entirely, Iago is entirely, and proudly, responsible for this.
39
Q

A2:3 (317-18) - Iago: ‘This broken joint…

A

…between / you and her husband entreat her splinter.’

  • Splinter = apply splints, heal.
  • Iago advises Cassio to seek Desdemona’s help, framing her as the paradigm female care-giver to accentuate the effectiveness of his persuasion.
40
Q

A2:3 (340) - Iago: ‘His soul is so…

A

…enfettered to her love.’

  • Iago views love as a restrictive and compromising exercise.
41
Q

A2:3 (353-4) - Iago: ‘And by how much she strives…

A

…to do him good / She shall undo her credit with the Moor.’

  • Iago has constructed the perfect mechanism by which to pervert her virtue and drive the marriage apart. He will ‘turn her virtue into pitch.’
42
Q

A2:3 (356-7) - Iago: ‘And out of her goodness…

A

…make the net / That shall enmesh them all.’

  • He has perfectly crafted a mechanism by which the marriage shall be denigrated.
43
Q

A2:3 (365) - Iago: ‘How poor are they that…

A

…have not patience.’

  • Iago explains to Roderigo one of the most invaluable elements of his plan - patience, trying to comfort Roderigo who has ‘no money’ and only ‘a little more wit.’
44
Q

A2:3 (366) - Iago: ‘What wound did ever heal…

A

…but by degrees?’

  • Throughout the entire play there are no wounds healed, despite Iago’s obsession with patience not one character has enough to allow themself to heal.
45
Q

What is the state of Iago’s plan by the end of A2:3?

A
  • He has ensured that Cassio be shunned by Othello.
  • He next plans to direct Othello so that he will find Cassio ‘soliciting’ his wife.
  • He has reinforced Othello’s trust in him as ‘honest’.

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