Othello Key Quotes A1 Flashcards

Question

Othello: ‘Were it my cue…

Answer 1

…I should have known it without a prompter’ A1:2 - Othello is independent, he acts according to his own volition - this will change. - Despite all the insults and hatred he maintains his dignity and self discipline. - He will not be provoked - he is not the violent racial paradigm they present him as. - He wins audience sympathy.

Answer 2

…may have passage free / Bond-slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be.’ A1:2 - Brabantio associates their marriage with depravity and social decline into chaos.

Answer 3

…Moor. Valiant Othello’ A1:3 - He is respected and revered by his superiors and peers.

Answer 4

…stolen from me and corrupted by spells and medicines.' A1:3 - Again, Brabantio believes the only feasible means by which Othello could have got Desdemona to marry him is by coercion and necromancy.

Answer 5

…Send for the lady to the Sagittary.’ A1:3 - He is an advocate for mutuality in relationships, he asks her to speak for herself instead of him doing so on her behalf.

Answer 6

…sentence / Even fall upon my life.’ A1:3 - Othello deems his life a worthy price to wager for Desdemona’s love. - It is ironic that he is willing to sacrifice his own life for Desdemona now, for he will arguably do just that in the final scene.

Answer 7

…in this fair lady’s love / And she in mine.’ A1:3 - We experience first hand the love they afford one another, the strength of feeling is evident.

Answer 8

…oft invited me, / Still questioned me the story of my life / From year to year’ A1:3 - Here we see Othello being valued for his role as a novelty, an outsider who is being exploited for entertainment by the sheltered Venetians. - Though Brabantio’s interest in his life seems genuine, he evidently doesn’t enjoy his presence or character for any other reason than the entertainment and services which benefit him (Brabantio).

Answer 9

…the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them.’ A1:3 - The association of absolute true love in their relationship seems threatened here, it seems based on Desdemona’s fascination with the novelty of his suffering and his reciprocation seems rooted in his enjoyment of her sympathy. They seem to have little common ground aside from his recitals, drawn together simply by rather fleeting sensation rather than impenetrable love.

Answer 10

…here a divided duty.’ A1:3 - Women presented as unable to be independent in such androcentric circumstances, she must be in service to one or the other, husband or father, never truly master of herself.

Answer 11

… / That the bruised heart was pierced through the ear.’ A1:3 - Brabantio will not be present to see this proved wrong, Iago’s words will corrupt the minds and bodies of multiple people. Othello will be the primary victim, his heart will be more than bruised, it will be torn apart by Iago’s machinations; he uses little more than auditory evidence (despite Othello’s plea for ‘ocular proof’) to convince, corrupt and defile Othello and his marriage. - The use of a rhyming couplet in Brabantio’s speech implies finality - foreshadowing, expressing his loss in verse.

Answer 12

…visage in his mind’ A1:3 - She looked past something which others might hold against him, she does however imply his actual visage is inferior.

Answer 13

…of peace’ A1:3 - Desdemona frames herself as an inherently peaceful and subdued character, this is reinforced by her inability to combat Othello’s accusations later on, or perceive how her actions might be misinterpreted. She is highly naive.

Answer 14

…the palate of my appetite, / Nor to comply with heat’ A1:3 - Othello contradicts the earlier accusation that he, personally, is ‘lascivious’. He also subverts the stereotype of hyper-sexuality in people of a similar race to him.

Answer 15

…honesty and trust.’ A1:3 - Even at such a premature stage in the play we know Iago is far from being either of the descriptors Othello choose to apply to him.

Answer 16

…is far more fair than black.’ A1:3 - Despite meaning it to be a compliment, the Duke upholds the implication that dark skin is an indicator of moral stain.

Answer 17

…upon her faith.’ A1:3 - Both of their lives will be the cost of Desdemona’s mistaken infidelity. Othello lays out an ultimatum for himself; he will sooner die than believe her unfaithful, demonstrates the abominable effect Iago will have upon him.

Answer 18

…I leave to thee’ A1:3 - Othello places Desdemona under Iago’s control. This decree must signify the beginning of his machinations, Othello has afforded Iago complete manipulation over him via use of Desdemona as a medium for exploitation.

Answer 19

…that knew how to love himself.’ A1:3 - Iago seems to have an inherently pessimistic view on life, it implies he does not love himself and maybe isn’t as conceitedly self-satisfied as his speech and actions would have the audience believe.

Answer 20

…in thy purse’ A1:3 - The literal meaning is that Roderigo should sell his assets so he can follow Desdemona to Cyprus to see Iago’s plan take fruition. Iago will doubtless take the profits of Iago’s land, and it demonstrates how ignorant and desperate Roderigo must be. - Iago implies Roderigo must invest in him, and himself, to see his interests catered to. Could he be encouraging Roderigo to have patience, for he believes Othello’s downfall to be a certainty? - Repeated numerous times, Iago is incredibly persuasive and this repeated phrase seems to excite Roderigo’s faith in him and the possibility of him having his love Desdemona reciprocated. Iago, though yet to put it into to practice, seems assured of his ability to change people’s minds, to contort their loves and hates.

Answer 21

…in the womb of time, which will be delivered.’ A1:3 - Links to his later quote: ‘Hell and night / Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.’ - Iago utilises a perversion of an image of childbirth, implying he not only has utter control of the future, but also aspects of life that he should normally have no control over. He seems omnipotent, and able to make every occurrence the progeny of his malicious mind.

Answer 22

… ‘twixt my sheets he has done my office.’ A1:3 - We are given a glimpse into Iago’s motivation for wanting to destroy Othello’s life. - Iago seems as easily susceptible to rumour and falsehood as all the other characters, maybe due to his first-hand experience he can appreciate the all-consuming nature of jealousy, and thereby he can manufacture it with extreme dexterity, and weaponise it against others.

Answer 23

…and open nature / That thinks men honest that but seem to be so’ A1:3 - Iago seems to criticise Othello for the fact that he is a trusting character. He implies that his lack of cynicism is a flaw which he will isolate and exploit, which indeed he will. - Iago has now formulated his new plan. Despite not yet wanting either Othello or Desdemona dead, he has increased the severity of his scheme: previously he only wanted to dissolve their marriage by using Brabantio as a source of objection. Now he wishes to destroy it from within, by insinuating Desdemona has been unfaithful.

Answer 24

…by the nose / As asses are.’ A1:3 - Reinforcement of the racist epithet that Othello is closer to animalism than the other pale-skinned characters. - Iago can already envisage how easy it will be to lead Othello to false conclusions even about the women he loves and who loves him unconditionally.

Answer 25

…Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.’ A1:3 - Again he perverts imagery of childbirth, with the possible implication that his power is such that he controls all aspects of nature, even those he is not physically predisposed to be capable of. - He also suggests only by dredging the depths of ‘Hell and night’ (the epitomes of sin and darkness) could he engender such a plan capable of destroying their marriage, and therefore that is what he must do.

Answer 26

... past thought! (A1:1)

Answer 27

...what she feared to look on' A1:3

Answer 28

...nature' A1:3

Answer 29

...rules of nature' A1:3

Answer 30

...pitiful' A1:3

Answer 31

...enjoy her' 1,3

Answer 32

...drown myself' 1,3

Answer 33

...Shall out-tongue his complaints' (1:2)

Othello Key Quotes A1 Flashcards

(57 cards)