Quotes - Othello Flashcards
Act One Scene One
‘A black ram is tupping your white ewe.’
‘The beast with two backs.’
‘A black ram is tupping your white ewe.’
‘The beast with two backs.’
Iago blatantly shows the racism that Othello experiences, using animalistic, demonic imagery. Demonstrates Iago’s hatred of Othello, and the racist attitudes of the time.
Act One Scene Two (1)
‘Let him do his spite;
My services which I have done signiory
Shall out-tongue his complaints.’
‘Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.’
‘Let him do his spite;
My services which I have done signiory
Shall out-tongue his complaints.’
‘Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.’
Demonstrates Othello’s position in the military, being very well-respected and level-headed.
Act One Scene Two (2)
‘Thou hast enchanted her.’
‘If she in chains of magic were not bound.’
‘Thou hast enchanted her.’
‘If she in chains of magic were not bound.’
Brabantio perpetuates the idea that for Desdemona to love Othello, he must have used witchcraft, shown through this semantic field of magic, again, demonstrating racist attitudes.
Act One Scene Three
‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed,
And I loved her that she did pity them.’
‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed,
And I loved her that she did pity them.’
Introduces Othello as an articulate, level-headed leader, and shows his pure love for Desdemona. The fact that Othello must fight for his marriage is representative of the racism in Jacobean Venice.
Act Two Scene One
‘O, my soul’s joy,
If after every tempest come some calms,
May the winds blow till they have wakened death.’
‘O, my soul’s joy,
If after every tempest come some calms,
May the winds blow till they have wakened death.’
Demonstrates Othello’s pure love for Desdemona before he becomes corrupted. The semantic field of chaos and weather foreshadows the chaos and tragedy to come.
Act Two Scene Two
‘Heaven bless the isle of Cyprus and our noble general Othello!’
‘Heaven bless the isle of Cyprus and our noble general Othello!’
Presents Othello’s nobility and the respect that he has earned through his military prowess.
Act Two Scene Three
‘I know, Iago,
Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,
Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee,
But never more be officer of mine.’
‘I know, Iago,
Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,
Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee,
But never more be officer of mine.’
Clear demonstration of Othello’s strong moral code, making no exceptions even for a friend, showing his great leadership and good character. We begin to see how Iago’s manipulation is taking effect on Othello.
Act Three Scene Three
‘Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul
But do I love thee; and when I love thee not,
Chaos is come again.’
‘Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul
But do I love thee; and when I love thee not,
Chaos is come again.’
The oxymoron here shows his conflicting mind, between his love for Desdemona and his developing jealous. His paradoxical statement aligns him closer with Iago’s mysterious language, a change from his previous poetic speeches. ‘Chaos’ foreshadows what’s to come, and may refer to the Elizabethan belief that before creation, the world was in a state of chaos.
Act Three Scene Four
‘There’s magic in the web of it.’
‘There’s magic in the web of it.’
Othello discusses the handkerchief with the semantic field of magic and spiritualism. This may represent his loss of touch with reality.
Act Four Scene One
‘Confess? Handkerchief? O devil! [He] falls in a trance.’
‘Confess? Handkerchief? O devil! [He] falls in a trance.’
Here, Othello begins to speak in free verse, losing any sense of calm and sanity. The short sentences suggest a sense of mania, before he passes out - stagecraft.
Act Four Scene Two
‘Come, swear it; damn thyself;
Lest, being like one of heaven, the devils themselves
Should fear to seize thee. Therefore be double-damned.
Swear thou art honest.’
‘Come, swear it; damn thyself;
Lest, being like one of heaven, the devils themselves
Should fear to seize thee. Therefore be double-damned.
Swear thou art honest.’
Semantic field of religious imagery, as if Othello is praying for Desdemona’s downfall. Irony as Iago is the true villain.
Act Four Scene Three
‘Get you to bed on th’instant. I will be returned forthwith. Dismiss your attendant there.’
‘Get you to bed on th’instant. I will be returned forthwith. Dismiss your attendant there.’
Uses imperative language, commanding the woman he had once respected. Dismisses Emilia as he does not want her influencing Desdemona, viewing women as evil. This foreshadows what we know he is about to do to her.
