Othello's flawed nature Flashcards
(31 cards)
Act 1, Scene 2
‘Let him do his spite, my service….shall tongue out his complaints’
-METAPHOR shows his extreme confidence, HUBRIS, lack of fear of Brabantio characterises him as over confident
Act 1, Scene 2
‘My parts, my title and my perfect soul’
-TRIPARTITE STRUCTURE suggests his HUBRIS ironic that his very remarks about his soul come across as pride, a sin
Act 1, Scene 3
‘I won his daughter’
-not referring to her by name, misogyny in the undertones, possible objectification of her as trophy, sense of HUBRIS
Act 1, Scene 3
‘her tears’
‘twas pitiful, wondrous pitiful’
‘i loved that she did pity them’
-unstable foundations of the relationship, Othello lacks pity and sorrow towards him due to his high ranking status in society and identity as a black man, so Desdemona’s affection fulfils this desire
Act 2, Scene 3
‘The purchase made, the fruits are to ensue, the profits yet to come ‘tween me and you’
CONTRACTUAL METAPHOR of a transactional marriage - Othello treats his relationship in a militant way, not very romantic and portrays it as a duty to fulfil → typical of men in Jacobean society
Act 2, Scene 3
‘Are we turned Turks?’
have we become the enemy
Act 2, Scene 3
‘For Christian Shame, put by this barbarous brawl’
reminding them of their mortality and what they should be, insult to Islam and the Turks
Act 2, Scene 3
‘If once i stir, or do, but life this arm, the best of you, shall sink in my rebuke’
-Othello’s instinct in moments of chaos is to reinstate his authority and power, establishes this as a part of his nature
Act 2, Scene 3
‘come back to bed’
-alerting us to how Othello responds to chaos - by retreating and ignoring the issue at hand
-possibly if Othello was with the men and not Desdemona he may have thought more rationally, not letting it get out of hand but instead preventing it
-instead of recognising the seriousness of the issue and taking responsibility with his men trying to really find out what is going on, he acts quickly and deems it done
-this indicates that his relationship with Desdemona is taking him away from his duties as a general
Act 3, Scene 3
‘I will deny thee nothing’
-conflict in his character between the control and underlying love
-all consumed by his love, HAMARTIA
Act 3, Scene 3
‘Excellent wretch!’
-sounds OXYMORONIC despite being used as a term of endearment, foreshadows the rest of the scene
Act 3, Scene 3
‘Perdition catch my soul’
‘When i love thee not, chaos is come again’
-sense of FATE, completely engrossed by his love that his whole world will collapse if it breaks down
Act 3, Scene 3
‘arise black vengeance, from thy hollow cell!’
-IMPERATIVE + PERSONIFICATION calling up the darker aspects of his psyche, connecting him to hell and darkness, therefore placing Othello’s state of mind closer to that of Iago’s diabolical nature
-pivotal shift that will lead to his TRAGIC DOWNFALL
Act 3, Scene 3
‘Blood, blood, blood!’
-MINOR SENTENCE + FRAGMENTED SPEECH mirrors Othello’s state of mind
-foreshadows, JOURNEY TOWARDS DEATH and violence to come
-EPIZEUXIS foreshadows family betrayal, passion and the motivation sounds despaired
Act 3, Scene 3
‘forever farewell to the tranquil mind!’
-PERIPETIA + ANAPHORA
-Othello’s reversal of fortune, farewell to all of his pride, status, reputation, and honour, marking the end of his noble identity, FATE is set
Act 3, Scene 3
‘Damn her lewd minx’
-Othello condemns Desdemona to hell, planting the seeds of revenge and violence
Act 3, Scene 3
‘reverence of scared vow’
-BIBLICAL LANGUAGE promising his revenge to ‘marble heaven’ violence juxtaposing the Christian values he is swearing by
-condemning Desdemona is challenging the great chain of being by assuming a godly position and taking the morality of others into his own hands - UNHOLY AND IMMORAL
Ac 3, Scene 3
‘why did i marry?’
-STRUCTURAL PATTERN OF ORDER → DISORDER
-reveals that othello is questiong his very foundations of all elements of his life - his marriage, due to Iago’s manipulation
Act 4, Scene 1
‘let her rot and perish and be damned tonight for she shall not live’
-TRIADIC STRUCTURE
-use of EMOTIVE language conveys Othello’s determination
-HAMARTIA Othello knows he can not live without her so choosing to kill her is also choosing to kill himself - TRAGIC HERO
Act 4, Scene 1
‘I will chop her into messes’
-VIOLENCE & REVENGE - racial stereotype of savagery
-BEHAVIOUR OF THE PROTAGONIST → he is no longer a foil of Iago and is more like Iago
Act 4, Scene 1
‘Good, good, the justice of it pleases. Very good!’
-Othello thinks that it is just → wants to kill her in the location of her betrayal - her bed
-Symbolises the breakdown of their marriage wants to make it an apparent and clear punishment
-Misguided by Iago away from Christian values inclusion of Christian values participating in vigilante justice
-Sense of duty that he needs to bring about a sense of justice by directly killing her → links to his military role being in charge - viewing justice as the path to revenge
Act 4, Scene 1
‘Fire and brimstone’ ‘O devil, devil’
-moment of PERIPETEIA (reversal of fortune)
-contrasts his character at the start, exposing the change from his controlled and compelled to a more violent character, dismantling his reputation
Act 4, Scene 1
[HE STRIKES HER]
-STAGE DIRECTIONS Othello publicly hitting Desdemona shows how he no longer cares about his reputation and has lost all ability to manage his emotions
-Reckless mindset, making rash decisions FORESHADOWS his decision to kill Desdemona
-his violent and savage behaviour feeds into RACIAL STEREOTYPES and is seen as FATED by the audience as they expect a black man to have violence intrinsically embedded in his nature
Act 4, Scene 1
DESDEMONA: ‘Why do you weep? Am i the motive of these tears my lord’
-Othello doesn’t reply and leaves Desdemona clueless to his suspicions
-breakdown of communication in their relationship
-TRAGIC FLAW of silence
