Othello Act 2

Question 1

“I cannot ‘twixt the heaven and the main/Descry a sail.”= I can’t see a single sail between the sky and the ocean”

Answer 1

G1 (guard 1)
The lack of foresight, inability to see what lies ahead
“Descry” = discern

Question 2

“What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them,/ Can hold the mortise? - when waves as tall as mountains strike them, what will happen?”

Answer 2

Montano
Suggests that even Othello’s relationship might be destroyed if faced with extreme emotional external pressure

Question 3

“You rise to play, and go to bed to work.”

Answer 3

Iago
Suggests that women spend days in frivolous pursuits (“rise to play”), view sex (“go to bed to work” as form of manipulation/labor in their relationships.

“I shall make his bed seem like a school.” - Desdemona

Question 4

“I am not merry; but I do beguile/The thing I am by seeming otherwise.”

Answer 4

Desdemona
Reveals her inner conflict, foreshadows her later struggles, underscore how when people hide true emotions, can create misinterpreted facade by people like Iago

Question 5

“Would they were clyster pipes for your sake!”

Answer 5

Iago
Claims Cassio’s suspicious behavior when he kisses Desdemona’s hand, eventually manipulates what he sees because of his jealousy

Question 6

“The heavens forbid/But that our loves and comforts should increase/Even as our days do grow. “

Answer 6

Desdemona
Jinxes her and Othello’s relationship by saying that they don’t need the Heavens to “calm the storm”
Being active vs. passive
Choosing to choose instead of not to choose

Question 7

“O, you are well tuned now!/ But I’ll set down the pegs that make their music,/ As honest as I am.”

Answer 7

Iago
Saying that for now, Othello and Desdemona’s relationship is “well tuned”, but he wants to disrupt that harmony (“set down the pegs”)
Foreshadows how he plans to sabotage their marriage by implementing distrust + jealousy