Othello Flashcards
(25 cards)
How is Cassio initially presented as a respected scholar?
“A great arithmetician…a florentine”
Establishes him as a man of logic and strategy. Florence was associated with intellect so introducing him as a “florentine” tells the audience what to think of him.
How is Cassio presented as a push-over?
“They have given me a rouse already”
Rouse means either a reason to stop sleeping or a reason for anger/excitement
Easily manipulated and he gives into temptation and gets drunk, therefore he is easily provoked into a fight with Roderigo
How is Cassio presented as honourable and gentlemanly?
“Hail to thee lady!”
He greets Desdemona respectfully and refuses to engage in the ‘locker room talk’ that Iago attempts. He also takes his commitment to Othello very seriously.
How does Shakespeare show Cassio’s mysoginistic duality?
“He,when he hears of her, cannot refrain..from the excess of laughter” he leads on Bianca whilst ridiculing her behind her back. He clearly is taking advantage of her for his own pleasure and doesn’t value her as a human being.
AO5 Debate for the difference between Cassio and Othello
Although both men are loyal to the Venetian crown, Cassio represents youth and eye catching gallantry that attracts women to military men. Whereas, Othello represents a wiser, experienced military man.
How does Cassio’s character add to the mysoginistic undertones that Shakespeare is trying to create within the play?
Cassio brings up these ideals into causal conversation, creating a sense of being surrounded by mysoginy. Therefore, the women on stage feel claustrophobic and so do the women in the audience. Also, his mysoginy transcends class as he describes Desdemona as “the riches of a ship” objectifying her to be another material good. Therefore, Cassio suggests that mysoginy affects women no matter their class as it doesn’t lessen - it merely changes form.
How is Desdemona presented as innocent?
“A maiden never bold” - Brabantio
How is Desdemona presented as a mediator?
“I do perceive here a divided duty”
“Thy solicitor shall rather die..than give thy cause away” appeals for Cassio’s case
“He hath left part of his grief with me to suffer with him” extreme altruism reaches its Crux when she is killed, she explains other’s burdens become her own
Desdemona as a strong female protagonist
“I challenge that i may profess.. due to the moor my lord” defies her father and fights to accompany Othello in Cyprus showing bravery and commitment
“That deaths unnatural that kills for loving…a guiltless death i die” her charecter is bookended with another defiant act as she refuses to surrender
How is desdemona presented as a doting wife
“The heavens forbid but that our loves and comforts should increase” in the face of dissaproal she feels invincible through her love
“To his honours and his valiant parts did i my soul and fortunes consecrate” their lives are linked forever through soul connection
“His unkindness may defeat my life but never taint my love” Unconditional love endures Othello’s murder, she is faithful to him always
How is Desdemona presented to be affected by Iago’s plan?
“If i do die before thee, prithee shroud me/in one of those same sheets” she feels imprisoned and now sees death as inevitable. This compliance may be interpreted as a loss of courage
In death, Desdemona becomes a saint: “heavenly true”
How is Emilia presented as quietly resentful
“You shall not write my praise” she tells him this, yet is unable to escape the relationship. Iago constantly insults her “foolish” . Her passive reaction reflects the normality of the situation
Emilia as the jilted lover
“I nothing but to please his fantasy” suggests there is a part of her that still craves affection and attention from her husband.
The repetition of “my husband?” Presents how her consistent affection blinds her to iago’s true nature
Emilia as a loyal friend
“I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, lay down my soul at stake” she isn’t afraid to defy men in order to protect desdemona
“Would it not make one weep?” She challenges iago’s dismissal of desdemonas tears
“Help!…the moor hath killed my mistress” she chooses to raise the alarm every though this could result in her murder, consequently as she dies, “lay me by my mistress” choosing her frindship over her marriage overall
Is Emilia a martyr?
She is killed as she is unfazed by authority and unbraid to speak out against injustice: “so speaking as i think, i die, i die” suggests she sacrificed her life for truth
She displays deep remorse for stealing the handkerchief, Emilia’s death is an act of repentance “i thought so then; ill kill myself for grief”
How is Emilia presented as cynical?
“I’ll be hanged if some eternal villain…have not devised this slander” her cynisms allows her world view to appear wise.
“They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; they eat us hungerly and when they are full they belch us”
Presents desdemona as naive for not seeing that men only take and then leave.
Quotes for men: Reputation and Honour
Iago: “reputation is an idle and most false imposition: oft got without merit and lost without deserving” false lost and got syncopation of internal & half rhymes, paradoxical essence acquiring & losing happens quickly
Cassio: “slippery knave…young,handsome rash & very sudden in choler” Cassio is viewed as hot-headed.
Othello: at first honour and rep are aligned, “I won his daughters” by the end he has lost both, he feels the only way to restore his honour is to kill himself “of one that loved not wisely but too well” realises words are futile reflected in his anaphoric sequence “of one” he tries so hard to describe himself and after losing the ability to, he resorts to death. He describes Desdemona “whore” using demeaning language without proof suggests he is more concerned with others perceiving him as a cuckold than whether she is unfaithful in actuality
Quotes for women: Reputation and Honour
Desdemona: “am I that name which my Lord calls me thus?” Seeks validation from Iago on her reputation with Othello. “As I am a Christian” “as I shall be saved” her fidelity & behaviour is guided by an internal faith based locus, not contingent on whether others witness this (God is omnipresent)
Emilia: “tis proper I obey him, but not now” she honours her duty as a woman, though she’s aware of her role as a wife especially for a renaissance woman like Emilia, a declaration like “i will ne’er go home” could result in social banishment - Emilia sacrifices this for the sake of truth “speaking as I think, I die I die”
Bianca: “I’ll take out no work on’t” despite prejudice & judgement against her she guards her honour, she refuses to take out the stitching from handkerchief. Defends herself against Emilia “I am no strumpet” her reputation is unfair & rooted in more social prejudice than judgement of her actions.
Context point: Venetian Society
1) Venice symbolized the height of cultural sophistication in the eyes of British public at the time. Eg popular books like “Crudities” by Corya cemented the impression of a cosmopolitan “hub”. The geographical change form Venice to Cyprus is reflected in the change from peaceful domestic affairs to increasingly undone and primitive behaviour in Cyprus.
2) Iago contrasts the Venetian reputation “there’s many a beast then in a populous city, and many a civil monster” His behaviour and language is crude, bestial and unsophisticated- adjacent to the society of the time
Context point: Trade with Africa and the Middle East
1) Trade with the Middle East & Africa meant African men from the Barbary coast were hired as contractual soldiers. This arises the question, can you trust someone whose background you don’t fully understand? Eg: Desdemona never understood Othello’s motivations, passions, insecurities- understandable that she remained clue/helpless
2) African & Arabic merchants & diplomats were regularly invited to Elizabeth 1’s court, meaning Shakespeare would have come into contact with this. Is he reflecting on the socio-political implications of engaging foreign mercenaries for domestic interests?
Context point: Story adaptation
1) Story may have been adapted from an Italian tale, “Un Capitano Moral” but Shakespeare changes Iago’s motivations to be more ambiguous than the original charecter (only driven by love for Desdemona) this makes Iago more human and presents a more realistic take on social & interpersonal relations
What are Iago’s original motivations? Use quotes
1) Suspects Othello has had an affair with Emilia: “and it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets he has done my office” (sexual paranoia)
2) Bitter about not getting lieutenant role: “mere prattle without practise is all [Cassio’s] soldiership. But he, sir, had the election”
3)Innate discriminatory attitude towards Othello: “an old black ram is topping your white ewe” basis of bigotry
How can Iago be argued to be a pseudo dramatist who seeks to exert artistic control by imagining all as “actors” in a play
1) Recurrance of the word “play” in Iago’s Act 2 soliloquy’s, “you are most apt to play the sir in” “play the villain” “play the God” views those around him as agents to the state
How is Othello presented as “manichean”?
Man & Beast
Hero & Villain
Protector & Intruder
Lover & Murderer
“Fair and Black”
What changes him is a barometer of the clarity and control he has over a given situation
Othello is tied to his self-perception & his actions could be seen as being catalyzed by a flawed sense of self which breeds the jealous symptoms he displays. Jealousy eggs him on in his quest for acceptance, from himself & others
