Othello Quotes Flashcards
Quote on Othello’s love for Desdemona
“I love the gentle Desdemona”
- defends his love
- first reference from Othello to both love and Desdemona- suggests they are equivalent showing her good nature
Othello’s ironic quote about his nature A1, S2
“My perfect soul”
-does suggest pride/ arrogance
Quote for him being a proud, successful solider
A1, S2
“Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them”
Quote on Othello’s inner conflict
“Rude I am in my speech,
And little blest with the soft phrase of peace”
-“little” has connotations to weak- peace is weak
Viewing Deademona as his possession
A1, S3
“I won his daughter”
-women are the property of their father, before being owned by their husband
Othello’s ironic quote regarding Desdemona’s loyalty to him
“Hey life upon her faith! Honest Iago”
Quote for Othello’s broken speech
“Why, how now, ho?”
Shows his anger and frustration
Quote from Othello to show his life as a soldier connecting to his marriage
“Come, Desdemona: ‘tis the soldiers’ life”
Abstract noun used to describe future events, A3, S3
“Chaos”
Othello’s certainty of his wife’s love
“For she had eyes and chose me”
Quote for when Othello places the future of his marriage in Iago’s hands
“Let me know more;
Set on thy wife to observe”
- Othello’s thoughts are officially under Iago’s control
- he is now well tuned with Iago, not his wife
What is used as a symbol of destruction?
“Napkin”
What does Othello want from Iago?
“Ocular proof”
Quote for Othello no longer believing Desdemona is faithful
“Prove my love a whore”
Quote for Othello being unable to see love from reality
“I think my wife be honest and she is not”
- love becomes war
- confusion
What is the significance of “honest”
- sexually faithful or honest about her love to him
- Iago is often called honest, which he resents, due to it being used to describe someone who is socially inferior
- honest has a reverse meaning in the play
Quote for Iago’s poisonous references being copied by Othello
“Poison, or fire, or suffocating streams”
Othello speaks in violent ways
“I’ll tear her all to pieces”
-Iago has won the battle for his mind- men will always be stronger than women in a battle between Desdemona and Iago
Othello’s broken speech as he discusses Desdemona at the end of A3, S3
“Damn her, lewd minx: O, damn her, damn her!”
How is Othello seen to move away from his Christian values?
“Give me your hand”
- palm reading
- links to his pagan ancestry
How does he copy Iago’s language at the beginning of A4, S1?
Repeats Iago’s line of “think so”
How does Othello use Christian imagery at the beginning of A4, S1?
“Tempt heaven”
Quote to show Iago infecting Othello
“Infected house”
How does Othello use nature imagery to foreshadow the ending?
“Doth the raven”
-birds of ill omen
Quote for Othello seeking advice from Iago
“How shall I murder him, Iago?”
When does othello copy Iago’s language?
At the beginning of A4 , S1,
repeats “think so”
Quote for Othello being tormented by Iago’s imagery
“Naked in bed, Iago, and not mean harm?”
Evidence for Othello’s irrational, jealousy causing him to repeat his words
“Lie with her! Lie with her!”
Quote for Othello seeking advice from Iago
“How shall I murder him, Iago?”
Quote to show Othello’s pain over his wife’s betrayal
“A fine woman, a fair woman, a sweet woman”
Othello uses very violent imagery
“I will chop her into messes”
Contrasts to his earlier calm language, just a few lines earlier when he refers to her as fine, fair and sweet
How does Othello refer to her death?
“Justice”
How is Othello’s language used to make him seem mad?
“Goats and monkeys”
Contrast in his language to describe Desdemona in the same line
4.2
“Thou weed”
“Lovely fair”
Example of Othello using religious imagery to create pathos
“Ignorant sin”
Words used to insult Desdemona by Othello and it’s 17th century meaning
“Whore”
Degrading and shaming Desdemona
A good wife was part of a man’s honour
Othello’s use of third person to distance himself from the pain quote
“That cunning whore of Venice
That married with Othello”
