act 1 scene 2 Flashcards
iago:
‘yet I do hold it very stuff o’ th’ conscience to do no contrived murder’
talking about conscience is highly ironic
as the play progresses, he commits more and more crimes against his peers - he has a guilty conscience.
all of the murder and death in this play is contrived by him
foreshadows the rest of the play.
links to Iago’s position as puppeteer- he never does any of the difficult parts of his plan himself
othello:
’ i love the gentle desdemona’
epithet
comes across as though othello has to prove to iago that he loves her
described as perfect with sort of cotton wool around - as a woman she is perfect, until a man ruins her reputation.
men make or break her - she is under scrutiny for the whole play.
iago:
‘by janus, i think no’
roman god of two facedness transitions, beginnings, doorways etc. but, it can be believed that Iago has used this apostrophe because ‘janus’ is also known to have two faces.
traditionally assumed because janus looks into the future, and into the past, but iago could worship janus for the act of having two faces in moralistic terms: being immoral.
the fact that this god is pagan (and therefore false) highlights the hollow, false nature of iago’s promises
the image of a white venetian swearing to a Pagan god juxtaposes the stereotype of pagan africans associated with othello
whilst, othello appears very aligned with the christian doctrine
shakespeare disproves stereotypes
othello:
‘keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them’
don’t use swords to fight, only defence
being reasonable - talk about it
presented differently as to how iago and roderigo spoke of him
natural imagery - othello as a positive force
iambic pentameter
brabantio:
’ o thou foul thief! where hast thou stowed my daughter?’
pirate language
demonstrates the sense of possession and ownership that an elizabethan man had.
constant objectification of desdemona throughout othello highlights the social hierarchy present at the time.
accuses othello of an unlawful act - shakespeare conveys to the audience the elizabethan social belief that women were not able to make their own choices or have an opinion
only purpose was to provide a male heir
brabantio:
‘thou hast enchanted her, for i’ll refer me to all things of sense, if she in chains of magic were not bound’
semantic field of supernatural
implies othello is involved in sorcery
would have upset the contemporary audience who deeply feared the supernatural
the correlation between othello’s race and his supposed supernatural abilities highlights the society’s desire to hate those of a different racial background in order to maintain their own superiority
brabantio and othello’s professional relationship is seemingly untainted by racism, however, the elizabethan views regarding inter-race marriage and social hierarchy become apparent, as brabantio does not want a ‘Moor’ marrying his daughter.
the association that shakespeare makes between a ‘moor’ and witchcraft is significant as it evokes negative connotations between the two, forcing the audience to question their affiliation and created empathy with othello’s character.
brabantio:
‘for it such actions may have passage free, bondslaves and pagans shall our statesmen be’
can’t let othello marry desdemona
the future will be in danger
karen newman - desdemona’s love for othello is a threat to venice - miscegenation
