act 1

Question 1

“o sir, content you… I am not what I am” (I, i, 41)

Answer 1

• Iago. foreshadowing. Iago will cause destruction of everyone
• “nothing is as it seems.” Iago seemed to be a loyal friend to roderigo but he’s just serving himself. every man is out for himself.
• “heaven is my judge” = juxtaposition because Iago is straight from hell :)
• “I am not what I am” allusion because real quote is “I am what I am” by god. he is the opposite of god

Question 2

“even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (I, i, 89)

Answer 2

• Iago
• he uses this scary animal metaphor for dramatic effect, to really rile up brabantio. shows what a mastermind Iago is at manipulation and people are blinded by biases

Question 3

“zounds sir… and jennets for germans” (I, i, 109)

Answer 3

• iago
• again, theme that human judgment is flawed because nothing is as it seems. also ironic because Iago convinces brabantio to trust him and roderigo over Othello, when brabantio should’ve stuck to his o.g. judgment of trusting Othello over them
• uses animal metaphor again to dehumanize Othello, showing that Iago is a genius

Question 4

“I am one, sir… the beast with two backs” (I, i, 116)

Answer 4

• Iago
• scary beast metaphor! describes sex between des and oth as making the beast with two backs… ew! that has to disturb Des’s father. again, smart move by Iago

Question 5

“though I do hate him as I do hell’s pains… which is indeed but sign” (I, i, 154)

Answer 5

• Iago
• simile involving hell, which reminds the audience that hell is where iago belongs
• ironic because iago says that he’s showing a sign of love to othello when he’s also showing a sign of love to roderigo

Question 6

“tis better as it is” (I, ii, 6)

Answer 6

• othello
• theme of “people are blinded by their own biases and desires.” Othello is clearly a good man yet he does not get any credit for being so because he is a black man in power

Question 7

“that, with the little godliness I have” (I, ii, 9)

Answer 7

• Iago
• again we got some juxtaposition. any time Iago uses biblical reference in his speech it stands out as a stark contrast in the audience’s mind

Question 8

“not I; I must be found” (I, ii, 30)

Answer 8

• Othello
• wow Othello is so honourable! theme that people will be blinded by their own biases because look at what a good guy he is

Question 9

“faith, he tonight hath boarded… he’s made for ever” (I, ii, 50)

Answer 9

• Iago
• analogy to show Iago’s view of women, which contrasts that of Othello’s. iago views love as a treasure ship; the pirate can take all he wants from it. Othello views love as something that goes both ways; you give and you take

Question 10

“run from her guardage… not to delight” (I, ii, 70)

Answer 10

• brabantio

- imagery of “sooty bossom” to show how people are blinded by their prejudices

Question 11

“bondslaves and pagans shall our statesmen be” (I, ii, 99)

Answer 11

• brabantio
• people are blinded by their prejudices. Brabantio cannot see Othello any of Othello’s good qualities because of his race and especially because iago dehumanized him
• irony because pagans are people with no belief, yet brabantio is the one that doesn’t believe in his own daughter. and who he does put faith in is the real pagan (iago)

Question 12

“tis a pageant to keep us in false gaze” (I, iii, 18)

Answer 12

• first senator
• allegory. the deception of the turks mirrors the deception of iago and actually shows us that the two issues at hand (the war and Iago’s shenanigans) are quite similar, except for the domestic threat of iago is even more dangerous than the turks

Question 13

“valiant Othello… we lack’d your counsel and help tonight” (I, iii, 48)

Answer 13

• duke
• Shakespeare puts Othello on a pedestal by putting him above brabantio. characteristic of a tragic hero’s tale; the higher the height, the greater the fall

Question 14

“for my particular grief is of so flood-gate and o’erbearing nature” (I, iii, 55)

Answer 14

• brabantio
• uses this dramatic imagery/hyperbole to get the counsel on his side. theme of every man is out for himself. brabantio will exaggerate the story a lot to get his way

Question 15

“whoever he be that… stood in your action” (I, iii, 65)

Answer 15

• duke
• cacophony helps convey that justice isn’t fair because the duke clearly is not a proper judge of character either. he would believe that someone put witchcraft on Desdemona without any evidence

Question 16

“to vouch this is no proof… do prefer against him” (I, iii, 106)

Answer 16

• duke
• justice is fickle. now that he realizes that Othello, who is very important to the army, is the offender, the duke backtracks. theme that every man is for himself. duke doesn’t care about justice, he just wants to win the war

Question 17

“her father lov’d me… let her witness it” (I, iii, 127)

Answer 17

• Othello
• beautiful imagery to describe a love that may seem great but actually isn’t; Othello only loves Desdemona because she pities him and Desdemona only loves Othello because of the challenges he overcame.
• also, nothing is as it seems. brabantio clearly didn’t know his daughter because she was an initiator in the relationship, not just some meek girl

Question 18

“my noble father… due to the moor my lord” (I, iii, 180)

Answer 18

• desdemona

- again, nothing is as it seems. she violently threw away her old life instead of obeying her father.

Question 19

“so please… to be sent after me” (I, iii, 280)

Answer 19

• othello
• dramatic irony: nothing is as it seems. we all see iago for who he is but can do nothing about the fact that nobody else does

Question 20

“let it be so… far more fair than black” (I, iii, 280)

Answer 20

• duke

- metaphor that is racially loaded. people’s opinions are clouded by their biases

Question 21

“my life upon her faith!” (I, iii, 291)

Answer 21

• Othello

- foreshadowing because Othello will eventually take his own life due to his lack of faith in his wife

Question 22

“virtue? a fig… to be a sect or scion” (I, iii, 315)

Answer 22

• iago
• uses imagery of gardens to show that we can make ourselves whatever we want to be, very true to iago. also uses imagery to say that we can restrain ourselves with reason, like iago does with Desdemona (it’s revealed in act 2 that he wants to be with her but restrains himself)

Question 23

“it is merely… and go without her” (I, iii, 330)

Answer 23

• iago
• “the food… as the coloquintida.” imagery to convince roderigo by using bias. people are blinded by their biases.
• iago uses such strong rhetoric to convince roderigo to do what he needs him to do, again iago is a mastermind

Question 24

“thus do I ever make… to the world’s light” (I, iii, 374)

Answer 24

• iago. synecdoche on “my fool my purse”; purse refers to all profits
• “it is engender’d.” iago uses imagery of birth which puts image of some ugly, rotten, dark baby in our minds
• “hell and night… to the world’s light.” dark allusion to hell so we associate iago with it. adds to the dramatic irony; both the audience and iago know himself that he is evil but he doesn’t care,
• “twixt my sheets” is synecdoche for slept with

Question 25

"good brabantio... than their bare hands" (I, iii, 172)

Answer 25

- duke - alliteration for flow of it all - ironic because he's telling brabantio to make the best of a bad situation since men often fight against what they can't fix instead of looking for alternatives, and he's really just trying to use Othello as his broken weapon

Question 26

"but I pray... as double as the duke's" (I, ii, 10)

Answer 26

- iago - DOUBLE voice = irony because iago also has a double voice hehe. iago is planting seeds of doubt in Othello's mind by asking if he's really in a committed relationship w/Des

Question 27

"O treason... by what you see them act" (I, i, 169)

Answer 27

- brabantio - foreshadowing because he is warning people to not trust their own opinions of people, only go off of how the person actually acts. conveys theme that people's biases cloud the truth

Question 28

"I saw Othello's visage... and fortunes consecrate" (I, iii, 252)

Answer 28

- Desdemona - foreshadowing because she is saying that their soulds/faiths are the same, which is true; both are now distrusted (des by her father and othello by iago/roderigo/brabantio) and both will die in this story

Question 29

"yet, by your gracious patience... of my whole course of love" (I, iii, 89)

Answer 29

- othello - juxtaposition. he says that he will tell an unvarnished tale, so no exaggeration. this contrasts iago who essentially only speaks in half-truths and exaggerations

Question 30

"what profane wretch art thou?"

Answer 30

- brabantio (I, i, 115) - dramatic irony because brabantio doesn't know it yet but iago, who he's speaking to, is the most profane wretch out there

Question 31

"come Desdemona, I have but an hour of love, of worldly matters and directions to spend with thee"

Answer 31

- othello (I, i) - INTERESTING: 1 hour isn't enough time for sex back then. they haven't had time to consummate their marriage, so it's natural that when there's rumours that another man took Des's virginity, othello gets upset because that's supposed to be his privilege