Act 3 Scene 3 quotes

Question 1

‘His bed shall seem a school, his board as thrift, I’ll intermingle everything he does with Cassio’s suit’

Answer 1

Themes: female agency, goodness
Metaphor - emphasises her goodness of character as she is determined to go to any extent to right any wrong - this makes her a tragic victim

Question 2

‘He hath left part of his grief with me to suffer with him’

Answer 2

Themes: goodness, Desdemona’s naivety
This seems threatening to her and Othello’s connection, as another man seems to be coming between them, threatening Othello’s honou.r

Question 3

‘Predition catch my soul/ but I do love thee; and when I love thee not/ chaos is come again’
‘Ineed?’

Answer 3

Themes: manipulation, pure love
Foreshadows the later events of the tragedy, as when he loses faith in her, he loses his grip on sanit.y

Question 4

‘He echoes me, as if there were some monster in his thought/ to hideous to be shown’

Answer 4

Themes: apperance vs reality
Similie - Othello sees this ‘monster’ in Iago’s thought, yet is unable to see this to its full jealous, destructive extent - Iago has a monster in his mind, but only the audience is aware of this

Question 5

‘O beware, my lord, of jealousy/ it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ the meat it feeds on’

Answer 5

Themes: jealousy
Metaphor - the violent imagery of this metaphor shows how jealousy humiliates the beholder, and this challenges Othello’s honour again as it shows him as a lesser man due to the jealousy he feels - he is not at her infidelity but the consequences on himself

Question 6

‘O curse marriage/ that we can call these delicate creatures ours/ and not their appetites’

Answer 6

Themes: female sexuality
There is engagement with appearance vs reality here, as women seemingly are passive creatures, yet their inner desires or metaphorically their ‘appetite’, is dangerou.s

Question 7

A good wench! Give it to me’

Answer 7

Themes: marriage, male control of women
Iago praises Emilia, but only when it benefits him

Question 8

‘O now for ever/ Farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! Farewell the plumed troops and the big wars that makes ambition virtue’

Answer 8

Themes: jealousy, madness
Repetition and exclamations show the descent of Othello’s composed demeanour

Question 9

‘Now art thou my lieutenant’/ ‘I am your own forever’

Answer 9

Themes: male friendship, apperance vs reality
While Iago gets what he desires, he continues with his destruction, emphasising his evil nature

Question 10

‘I nothing but to please his fantasy’

Answer 10

Themes: male control of women
Emilia too understands her role as a woman, but actively tries to dismiss this to Desdemona