quote analysis

Question 1

“Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter”

Answer 1

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

Question 2

“I prithee speak to me as to thy thinkings”

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

“my bloody thoughts with violent pace / shall ne’er look back”

Answer 3

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

Question 4

“i do perceive here a divided duty”

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

“the sun where he was born / Drew all such humours from him”

Answer 5

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

Question 6

“Beshrew me if i would do such a wrong”

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

“i follow him to serve my turn upon him”

Answer 7

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

Question 8

“it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets / He’s done my office.”

Answer 8

this is one of the few moments where iago explains his possible motivation for being obsessed with destroying othello.

Question 9

“strangle her in bed, even the bed she hath contaminated”

Answer 9

this quote reinforces the fact that iago has complete control over othello at this point, since othello immediately agrees to the gruesome plan.

Question 10

“I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking”

Answer 10

iago uses this information against cassio, getting hum very drunk and setting him up to be involved in a fight

Question 11

“Oh, i have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial”

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

if any wretch have put this in your head / Let heaven requote it with the serpent’s curse”

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

“i am not what i am”

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

“The Moor is of a free and open nature… / And will as tenderly be led by the nose / As asses are”

Answer 14

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

Question 15

“Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster”

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

“Trifles light as air / Are to the jealous confirmations strong”

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse”

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

“So will I turn her virtue into pitch / And out of her goodness make the net / That shall emnesh them all”

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

“be sure thou prove my love a whore; / Be sure of it. Give me the ocular proof”

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

“O perjured woman”

Answer 20

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

Question 21

she must die, else she’ll betray more men

Answer 21

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

Question 22

“she’s gone. i am abused, and my relief must be to loathe her. o curse of marriage”

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

othellos suicide

Answer 23

his suicide acts as a kind of martydom as he kills the only foe left to conquer: himself.

Question 24

“i will wear my heart upon my sleeve”

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

“your son in law is far more fair than black”

Answer 25

here, black has dual meaning as it refers to othello’s race and also according to usage of time, meaning “ugly”. the duke calls othello “fair”, or beautiful because he possesses goodness. however, because othello is black this can be interpreted as a backhanded compliment; othello is more fair (just, gentlemanly) than those of his race. race is a pervasive theme in the play as prejudice is pervasive in venice. othello is able to rise above the stereotypes but he is never able to forget what others may feel about him. this links the themes of reputation, race and potentially setting/time as well.

Question 26

“must you speak of one that loved not wisely but too well”

Answer 26

othello takes responsibility for what he has done and tells them that any good he has done in the past should not pardon him for this foolish act of passion. othello wants venice to remember him as honourable in spite of his actions. like cassio, othello believes a man’s reputation is “immortal” and he hopes his name will not be sullied by this final chapter of his life. had he been less in love with his wife, he would not have become angry.

Question 27

i think my wife be honest and think she is not

Answer 27

emphasises othello’s confusion as he doesnt believe desdemona is capable of hurting him but iagos manipulations cause him to begin to doubt her

Question 28

tear her to pieces

Answer 28

calm and controlled nature is disregarded, constrast in attitude before and during key scene is significant as it shows his personality was quick to change

Question 29

like the base indian threw away a pearl richer than all of his tribe

Answer 29

othello was blinded by his jealousy and it lead him to throw away the most important thing in his life leaving him with nothing left to live for

Question 30

she loved me for the dangers i had passed, and i loved her that she did pity them

Answer 30

othello speaks these lines while explaining how desdemona came to fall in love with him. while the other venetitians are shocked that desdemona could love a man from a different race and background, othello’s explanation shows that he and desdemona fell in love out of mutual admiration and respect. the quote also reveals that othello is a charismatic and impressively articulate individual, who can charm someone with the power of his words.

Question 31

i sawt not, i thought it not, it harmed not me

Answer 31

othello says this line as he rages about the torment he is experiencing now that he is suspicious of his wife’s fidelity. othello recalls at time when he was blissfully unaware of desdemona’s alleged betrayal, and as a result he lived in a happy ignorance. now that iago has awakened jealousy and suspicion in him, he cannot think about anything else.

Question 32

they are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they’re jealous.

Answer 32

emilia says these words to desdemona in an attempt to explain the irrational nature of jealousy. even though jealous individuals may state specific reasons for their jealousy, jealousy has no cuase but itself. in other words, jealous people are inherently jealous. emilia signals the ciruclarity of this logic with the confounding image of jealousy as a monster that gives birth to itself. this recalls iagos “green eyed monster” and the ancient symbol of the ouroboros, which depicts a snake swallowing its own tail and therefore stuck in a self-perpetuating loop.