act 4 scene 1 Flashcards
othello:
‘the devil their virtue tempts, and they tempt heaven’
othello feels he knows what cassio and desdemona were doing, and they cannot possibly be innocent.
contrast of devil and heaven - repercussions of sins in heaven - heavy emphasis on religion - heavenly judgement
iago:
‘with her, on her, what you will’
casual - he knows
subtle deviancy of iago
winding othello up
othello:
‘is’t possible? - confess? handkerchief? o devil!’
lost reason and control - chain of being
can’t take emotional trauma
othello:
‘a horned man’s a monster and a beast’
devil - horns when jealous
folklore - cuckolds grew horns
wife’s infidelity at the time brought great shame to the husband.
paralleling this idea and himself suggesting that he has internalised iago’s misleading deceptions and he is showing that he believes his wife is cheating on him/ being unfaithful.
cassio:
‘what do you mean by this haunting of me?’
demanding
similar to how iago treats emilia
don’t see people’s true colours until after a year or two
is this how all men treat women?
bianca:
‘a likely piece of work that you found it in your chamber and and not know who left it there!’
cassio is a cheat - frowned upon at the time
makes iago’s case stronger
immoral
irene dash - the play is a net of circumstance
othello and desdemona destined to fail
othello:
‘how shall i murder him, iago?
tipped over the edge
not the othello we know
iago has complete control over him
thou shalt not kill
irrefutable evidence that othello is jealous
othello:
‘a fine woman, a fair woman, a sweet woman’
iago:
‘nay you must forget that’
othello still loves desdemona
iago struggles with this - he only understands the bad qualities of human nature - no love or compassion
this is iago’s hamartia
othello:
‘hang her, i do but say what she is: so delicate with her needle, an admirable musician - o, she will sing the savageness out of a bear’
metaphor
conflicted
duality of his view - can’t cope
tragic waste - pathos - key element of a shakespearean tragedy
intelligence is negative - fear of women - witchcraft
iago:
‘if you are so fond over her iniquity, give her patent to offend’
panicking
playing into othello’s masculine ego
knows darker side of humanity
iago:
‘do it not with poison; strangle her in bed’
directly by him - more intimate
slow and painful death
shows how depraved iago is - wants to see people suffer - justice for him
turning point in othello’s development - not even a hint of remorse in his speech since compliments iago for coming up with a more sadistic method of killing his wife
iago:
‘lives, sir’
high frequency lexis
knows he’s going to be dead soon
inside joke
reminds othello of his anger and betrayal
desdemona:
‘for the love i bear to cassio’
talks about cassio - looks like she cares more about cassio
completely oblivious
othello:
[he strikes her]
stereotypes he’s not associated with - emphasises how much he’s changed
happened quickly - symbolism of how love can change
othello:
‘woman’s tears each drop she falls would prove a crocodile’
fake tears
internalising misogyny which iago shows throughout the play
