Michael Cassio

Question 1

How is Cassio presented in the play?

Answer 1

Michael Cassio is the embodiment of the Renaissance view of masculine qualites. He is a soldier with a strong reputation and while intelligent, he is not cunning: Iago easily ensnares the unwitting Cassio in a plot to convince Othello that Desdemona has cheated on him with Cassio.

Question 2

“Cassio’s a proper man”

Answer 2

Iago, Act 1 Scene 3
AO1: Adjective “proper”
AO2: Iago believes Cassio is a proper man in comparison to Othello, showing the racial prejudices of Venice
AO3: Homoeroticism - During the Renaissance, wealthy cities in northern Italy— Florence and Venice in particular—were renowned for their widespread practice of same-sex love.
AO3: Racism in Venice (the moors)

Question 3

“O, reputation reputation, reputation! I have lost my reputation!”

Answer 3

Cassio: Act 2, Scene 3
AO1: bestial and celestial language
AO2: Cassio’s “immortal” reputation is what will live on when he dies, and now the story of how he lost his reputation will become his reputation.
AO2: “bestial” – without his social status, all that remains are his primal instincts.

Question 4

“I have lost this immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial”

Answer 4

Cassio: Act 2, Scene 3
AO1: Repetition and exclamative sentences
AO2: shows how devastated Cassio is about losing his high-status position
AO3: Reputations became so valued because humanist scholars and artists promoted fame as an admirable feat.

Question 5

“I marry her! What! A customer!”

Answer 5

Cassio, Act 4 Scene 1
AO1: Derogatory language - “customer”
AO2: It is evident that Cassio is willing to engage in a sexual relationship with Bianca but will not truly love her due to her background as a prostitute (men care more about their reputation and conforming than the women who stand up for themselves and are silenced, shown by Cassio asking Iago to “bear some charity to my wit.”)
AO3: Women in society and prostitution