quote analysis Flashcards
(32 cards)
“Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter”
othello asssumes that iago is being tactful and trying not to blame cassio for what happened, whereas iago has actually engineereed the entire situation in order to get cassio in trouble. this quote reveals othello’s blind spot where iago is concerned and sets the stage for how othello’s belief in iago’s integrity and honesty will lead to disaster
“I prithee speak to me as to thy thinkings”
a master manipulator, iago plants a seed of suspicion, but then seemingly hesitates to make any distinct accusations. as a result, othello actually has to beg iago to reveal the very suspicions that iago is eager to pass along. he is unable to leave the idea of her dishonesty alone.
“my bloody thoughts with violent pace / shall ne’er look back”
finally convinced that desdemona has betrayed him, othello vows revenge agianst her and cassio. the quote shows how fully othello’s feelings toward desdeona have changed. he not hates her as passionately as he once loved her. this quote darkly foreshadows how othello will be unmoved by desdemona’s pleas of innocence as he kills her
“i do perceive here a divided duty”
this quote reveals desdemona’s eagerness to honour the social expectations of showing loyalty to her husband. this loyalty will later endanger her because she refuses to challenge othello’s authority over her.
“the sun where he was born / Drew all such humours from him”
she insists to Emilia that he is not a jealous man. shows she is naive and trusting and does not realise how capable her husband is to be jealous
“Beshrew me if i would do such a wrong”
she explains to emilia that she would never consider being unfaithful. she just assumes that everyone will see her with integrity and purity and does not stop to consider how her actions may appear to someone who is jealous, ie othello. again and again desdemona speaks truthfully to her husband, but tragically, othello is poisoned by iagos constant manipulation of language and emotions and is therefore blind to her honesty.
“i follow him to serve my turn upon him”
although everyone, including othello, believes Iago to be loyal and devoted, iago understands the strategic advantage this false friendship gives hum. this quote shows that from the moment the action begins, iago is already looking for ways to bring about othello’s downfall. this statement is one of the few moments of honesty between iago and another character, and is also the first seed planted in his game of deception
“it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets / He’s done my office.”
this is one of the few moments where iago explains his possible motivation for being obsessed with destroying othello.
“strangle her in bed, even the bed she hath contaminated”
this quote reinforces the fact that iago has complete control over othello at this point, since othello immediately agrees to the gruesome plan.
“I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking”
iago uses this information against cassio, getting hum very drunk and setting him up to be involved in a fight
“Oh, i have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial”
this quote shows how much value cassio places on his honour and reputation, and how he would never willingly do something shameful. this sentiment is echoed by othello, who is motivated to kill desdemona because her affair has besmirched the reputation that he has worked so hard to craft. both cassio and othello believe a man is nothing more than “bestial” without his good name.
if any wretch have put this in your head / Let heaven requote it with the serpent’s curse”
she hits upon the truth that othello’s suspicions result from someone else planting the ideas. this quote reflects the important theme of deception, showing that even married couples may not truly know much about their spouse.
“i am not what i am”
iago signals that he is not all that he appears to be - he is two faced. links to the later mention of Janus, the two faced God, but also the God, who in Exodux 3:14 says “I am that i am”. iagos words serve as a paradic allusion, and by transforming God’s words into a negative formulation, iago indicates his identity as a multifaceted, diabolical figure.
“The Moor is of a free and open nature… / And will as tenderly be led by the nose / As asses are”
iago reveals in his soliloquy that he intends to use othello by exploiting the mans naive belief in the reality of the appearances to lead him (like a trusting donkey) to his own destruction
“Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster”
iago warns othello against succumbing to jealousy. he issues this warning with a false earnestness. he anthropomorphizes jealousy as a “green-eyed monster” to conjure an offensive image to intensify othello’s concern. iago characterizes the emotion as one that consumes the man who revels in it.
“Trifles light as air / Are to the jealous confirmations strong”
iago observes in one of his soliloquies that things that may otherwise seem insignficant are given outsized importance when they confirm an already held belief. the handkerchief is the “trifle light as air” - in itself, it means nothing, but knowing that othello’s jealousy has already been ramped up, iago predicts that he will overestimate the handkerchiefs signficance.
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse”
iago makes it clear here that he intends to manipulate Roderigo in such a way that he will essentially function as Iago’s “purse”. Iago’s confession in the first moment in the play where he indicates the depth of his treachery.
“So will I turn her virtue into pitch / And out of her goodness make the net / That shall emnesh them all”
iago further develops his plot against Othello. he uses two ill-matched metaphors where he shifts the image from sticky pitch to a web he can ensnare his enemies on mid sentence. clearly his treachery runs so deep that he cant even commit to a single metaphor.
“be sure thou prove my love a whore; / Be sure of it. Give me the ocular proof”
othello demands evidence that will visually verify the allegation against his wife. othello’s emphasis on the need for iago to “prove [his] love a whore” demonstrates his commitment to justice.
“O perjured woman”
word choice here once agian signals his commitment to the law. he implies that by denying the allegations against her, she has lied under oath. her supposed false testimony has dire consequences for othello’s interpretation of her upon her death
she must die, else she’ll betray more men
trying to bring himself to kill desdemona, othello ackowledges the finality of what he is about to do. however, though he will kill her, he will not mar her beauty in doing so. he believes the murder will maintain her purity, stopping her from betraying others like she has supposedly betrayed him
“she’s gone. i am abused, and my relief must be to loathe her. o curse of marriage”
his conclusion that desdemona is gone shows how far iagos insinuations about cassio and his wife have taken othello; in a matter of only 100 lines or so, he has progressed from belief in conjugal happiness to belief in his abandonment and betrayal.
othellos suicide
his suicide acts as a kind of martydom as he kills the only foe left to conquer: himself.
“i will wear my heart upon my sleeve”
in pursuit of his revenge, iago will become duplicitious, never showing his true emotion to the outside world. the irony of this statement is that he is telling the truth about his dishonesty.
