Othello - O and D Quotes. Flashcards
What quote begins “Damned as thou art..” - A1, S2.
(With contextual).
“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.” - BRABANTIO
- Brabantio disappears from the play at this point, and the only other time the audience hears of him is when we are told in act 5 scene 2 that he has died of grief at Desdemona’s marriage.
What quote begins “Keep up your bright..” - A1, S2.
(With language analysis) + Critic.
“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.”)
What quote begins “O thou foul..” - A1, S2.
(With analysis).
“O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow’d my Daughter?” - BRABANTIO
- Brabantio’s language betrays his view of his own daughter as an object of monetary value.
What quote begins “Most potent, grave..” - A1, S3.
(+ Critical.)
“Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors……. Rude am I in my speech…. I won his daughter” - OTHELLO SOLILOQUY
- Many critics see Othello as Shakespeare’s most ‘poetic’ hero, a fitting judgement given the fact that we focus on the protagonist’s experiences of love in this play.
- But Othello does not just speak of his love poetically; he also speaks of his glorious career as a soldier in the same vein, thus establishing himself as a great military man. The orderliness of his verse suggests not just his confidence, but also the fact that the audience, and the senate are wise to trust in his composure and reason.
What quote begins “She loved me for..” - A1, S3.
(+ Production).
“She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and i loved her for she did pity them. This is the only witchcraft I have used.”
- In Richard Twyman’s production of “Othello” the actor of Othello speaks into a microphone when he says “this is the only witchcraft i have used” to emphatically assert his confidence and further his argument that if there is any truth to Brabantio’s accusation that Othello “enchanted” his daughter, this enchantment was achieved through the decidedly civil art of rhetoric as opposed to sinister magic.
What quote begins “I do perceive here a..” - A1, S3.
(Analysis).
“I do perceive here a divided duty.” - DESDEMONA
- Desdemona’s primary allegiance is to Othello. The behavior of Desdemona and Othello in this scene proves that they are both honorable, truthful people who are honest about their allegiances––a characteristic that puts them in direct contrast with Iago.
What does Othello call Desdemona? - A1, S3.
“My Desdemona.”
- In Richard Twyman’s production of “Othello” the director also chose to include here a heartwarming moment when Desdemona starts tickling Othello, with him laughing and reciprocating her playfulness.
What quote begins “O my fair..” - A2, S2.
(Analysis) + Critic + Contextual.
“OTHELLO: O my fair warrior,
DESDEMONA “My dear Othello.”
- The stichomythia within their shared speech patterns represents their marital harmony and mutual affection of Othello and Desdemona’s match, this is furthered through Desdemona echoing Othello’s joyful declaration of love; the lovers are as Iago expresses shortly after in Act 2 are “well tun’d” at this point. Each of Othello’s long speeches in this scene could be compared to a poem; expressing the nobility and romance we come to associate with the tragic protagonist.
- Critic Nicholas March highlights how Othello ‘often conjures the magnificence of a traditional, military order and medieval ideals, such as honour. His love for Desdemona has strong overtones of medieval courtly love where the woman’s purity is worshipped and idolized.’
- In one of Shakespeare’s other works (Sonnet 130), he mocks the infatuation and romanticism of women to show the reality of love, this juxtaposes Othello’s hyperbolised and over the top idealisation of Desdemona where he Othello is the thing that Shakespeare abhors, making his character full of irony where Othello’s hubris in his love for Desdemona becomes painfully obvious to the audience.
What aside begins “O, you are well..” - A2, S1.
(Analysis).
“[Aside] O, you are well tuned now; But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music” - IAGO
- Iago’s use of imagery here perfectly describes how he plans to upset and break up the couple. He compares them to a piece of music which aptly describes their rhythm and harmony when in each other’s company. However, Iago promises to “set down the pegs,” effectively suggesting that he will interfere and upset this harmony within their relationship.
What quote begins “I’ll […] make the Moor..” - A2, S1.
(Analysis).
“I’ll […] make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me.” - IAGO.
- This passage is a reminder of Iago’s scheming nature––he wants to destroy Othello not only for the pleasure of vengeance, but also for the “reward” of advancing his own career. It also reveals the truly perverse, sadistic extent of his desire for revenge. It is not enough for Iago to ruin Othello; he wants Othello to “thank” and “love” him for it.
What quote begins “And, I’ll warrant..” - A2, S3.
(+ Small analysis).
“And, I’ll warrant her, full of game.” - IAGO - - DESDEMONA.
● Shakespeare develops the theme of female virginity and reputation here.
What quote begins “I know, I ago, thy honesty..” - A2, S3.
(+ Analysis).
“I know, Iago, thy honesty and love doth mince this matter…Cassio, I love thee; but nevermore be an officer of mine.” - OTHELLO
● Shakespeare shows the influence of Iago over Othello as he immediately dismisses Cassio from his position on his word alone-highlighting his hamartia/blindness.
What quote begins, “Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my..”? - A3, S3.
(+ Language Analysis).
Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul. But I do love thee! and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again.” - OTHELLO TO DESDEMONA
The collapse of form and order - “chaos” - would cause him to fall out of love with his wife, Desdemona. Desdemona is essentially tasked with maintaining the sanity of her husband.
What quote begins “I’ll tear her..”? - A3, S3.
(+ Language).
● Shakespeare’s use of exclamation “pieces!” here shows Othello’s loss of control and violent tendencies. The verb “tear” is graphically vicious and serves to dehumanise him- almost conforming to Iago’s negative characterisation of him in the opening act
What quote begins “Damn her..”? - A3, S3.
(+ Analysis).
● The drastic change from calling Desdemona “my Desdemona” saying that he does “love thee” to daming her to hell “Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her!”.
- Modern audiences may wonder how Othello switches so quickly where it’s simply unbelievable.
However, Shakespeare may present how jealousy, like a virus, propagates itself. Once a jealous thought is planted it uses nearly everything it sees to support its hypothesis.
