act 2 scene 3 Flashcards
othello:
‘the purchase made, the fruits are to ensue’
haven’t consummated their marriage
stop being a virgin - innocent
harold bloom, among other critics, has argued that the two honeymooners never do have time to make love, and that othello’s murder of desdemona in act v enacts a symbolic, tragically ironic ‘consummation’
iago:
‘he hath not yet made wanton the night with her’
not consummated marriage
can be anyone’s
cassio:
‘she’s a most exquisite lady’
iago and cassio share slightly different opinion on desdemona’s character
cassio views desdemona with admiration and respect, referring to her as ‘exquisite, ‘fresh and delicate’.
without disagreeing, iago adds a sexual tone, calling desdemona provocative and ‘full of game’
iago’s goal is to compel cassio to make advances on desdemona.
iago:
‘if i can fasten but one cup on him with that which he hath drunk tonight already’
shakespeare uses a clever metrical device here.
two lines of iambic pentameter have eleven syllables, so that each has an unstressed syllable hanging of the end
gives these lines a loose, uncontrolled feeling.
this is fitting, for in these lines Iago plots to get cassio drunk.
cassio:
‘do not think gentlemen, i am drunk: this is my ancient, this is my right hand, and this is my left. i am not drunk now; i can stand well enough, and i speak well enough’
humorous exchange - cassio drunkenly attempts to convince the party of his sobriety
he stumbles into a hilarious but poetic moment.
these lines are often stages so that cassio reaches for iago - his ‘right-hand man’ - with his right hand as he utters ‘this is my ancient, this is my right hand’; he then flourishes with his left hand
othello:
‘my blood begins my safer guides to rule, and passion, having my best judgement collided, assays to lead the way. if i once stir, or do but lift this arm, the best of you shall sink in my rebuke’
first time in the play we witness othello subject to his own temper
uncharacteristic of him to leverage his authority in such a tyrannical way
interplay between emotion and reason; in this case, othello’s passions collie - or control - his ‘best judgement’.
montano:
‘thou dost deliver more or less than truth, thou art no soldier’
i know he’s your friend but you have to tell the truth
iago doesn’t want cassio in trouble
iago:
‘but men are men; the best sometimes forget’
boys will be boys - excuse for cassio
justifying a man’s cruel behaviour, in the way that he wouldn’t for a women
sums up othello well as not only does he seem to forget the love he has for desdemona but he also forgets he is the leader of an army by the end of the play
othello:
‘look if my gentle love be not raised up!’
never be an officer again
ruined cassio’s status
cassio:
‘reputation, reputation, reputation! o, i have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial’
upset that he’s lost his reputation
just an animal - chain of being
part of identity
iago:
‘reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit and lost without deserving’
why are you so worried?
people get it without deserving and lose it without deserving
iago doesn’t care - he just needs a good reputation to get revenge
dramatic irony - iago adds insult to injury
not only did cassio lose his rank ‘without deserving’ as a result of Iago’s scheming, iago subtly indicates that cassio achieved his rank in the first place ‘without merit’.
iago:
‘a punishment more in policy than in malice’
machiavellian streak
needs to protect venice’s reputation
iago:
‘she is of so free, so kind, so apt, so blessed a disposition, that she holds it a vice in her goodness not to do more than she is requested’
desdemona is such a good person
iago exploits people’s strengths
complimenting desdemona to cassio in order to give him more courage to see her, and also for those words to stick in cassio’s head so that he starts to (hopefully for iago) get feelings for desdemona - which doesn’t happen
christian morals
iago:
‘his soul is so enfetter’d to her love, that she may make, unmake, do what she list, even as her appetite shall play the god with his weak function’
desdemona is othello’s weak point
he’s so in love that he’ll believe anything
her actions control his emotions - follows everything she says
perceptive nature allows him to notice the vulnerabilities and desires of all characters
combining of everyone’s insecurities/fears which will bring about the success of his plan
iago:
‘how am i then a villain to counsel cassio to this parallel course, directly to his good? divinity of hell! when devils will the blackest sin put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows, as I do now’
iago again uses the tension between heaven and hell to describe his motives. iago is a ‘divinity of hell’, a devil whose ‘blackest sins’ project ‘heavenly shows’.
shows why iago is such a perplexing character.
whereas many unfavorable characters think themselves noble, Iago is a villain who owns his villainy. he is a devil who admits to his sins and relishes them
the path to hell is paved with good intentions
