Othello Flashcards
(4 cards)
Who is Desdemona?
The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in some ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting Bareilly with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.
Who is Othello?
The play’s protagonist and hero. Othello is the highly respected general of the armies of Venice, although he is not a native of Venice but rather a Moor, or North African. He is an eloquent and powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, Othello is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his self-consciousness about being a racial and cultural outsider. He possesses a free and open nature that his ensign Iago exploits to twist Othello’s love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful an destructive jealousy.
Who is Iago?
Othello’s ensign (a senior position also known as “ancient” or “standard-bearer”), a twenty-eight-year-old military veteran from Venice. Iago is the main villain of the play. Although he is obsessive, relentless, bold, and ingenious in his efforts to deceive and manipulate the other characters–particularly Othello– Iago’s motivations are notoriously murky. At various points in the play, he claims to be motivated by different things: resentment that Othello passed him over for a promotion in favour for Michael Cassio; jealousy because he heard a rumour that Othello slept with Iago’s wife, Emilia; suspicion that Cassio slept with Emilia too. Iago gives the impression that he’s tossing out plausible motivations as he thinks of them, and that we’ll never understand what really drives his villainy. He hates women and is obsessed with other people’s sex lives.
Who is Michael Cassio?
Othello’s lieutenant, or second-in-command. Cassio is highly educated but young and inexperienced in battle. Iago resents Cassios’s high position and dismisses him as a bookkeeper. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and flirtatious manner with women to Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s infidelities.
