THEME: Reputation

Question 1

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

Answer 1

• CASSIO 2:3:245-248
• Use of prose - perhaps shows this loss of status but also the contrast to the man he used to be. Emphasises how without his reputation, he has lost his power.
• “I have lost” - he could say “my reputation is lost”, but instead, he uses this personal deixis of “I”. He blames himself for the loss, accentuating the tragedy greatly.
• Repetition of reputation - almost as if it is a mantra, which is used in meditation. Perhaps this is the idea of going into a trance-like state. He is so worked up over this loss that he is no longer thinking as he normally would and has entirely lost control of his mind.
• “Immortal part of myself” - this idea of his legacy. He has become a mere mortal. “Part of myself” suggests it was genuinely part of his being; he didn’t have a reputation, but he was his reputation. And therefore, in losing his reputation, he loses himself.
• “Remains” - connotations of scraps and waste. Perhaps even the idea of human remains, as he has lost what separates him from animals.
• “What remains is bestial” - Great Chain of Being. Suggests his reputation is what makes him human. Shows how low his self-esteem is for himself, as he only values the picture he has created for himself.

Question 2

”Honest Iago”

Answer 2

• VARIOUS, throughout, most notably OTHELLO
• Iago’s reputation as ‘honest Iago’ is arguably what enables him to manipulate characters as effectively as he does.
• Military context: a great deal of trust has been built up between Othello and Iago, as they have been involved in life and death situations together. This created a strong bond, one which would’ve been unthinkable to break. This may have been the reason Othello puts so much trust in him, rather than his wife.
• ‘Honest’ as an epithet emphasises that honesty is what Iago is most renowned for, emphasising the dramatic irony, as the audience knows that this is not true.

Question 3

“Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving.”

Answer 3

• IAGO 2:3:251-254
• “Lost” and “got” assonance and parallel syntax - shows the clear link between these two verbs. Perhaps an allusion to the inevitability of Cassio’s loss of reputation, which may go into this idea of Iago being a “mastermind” (as per some interpretations). From the moment Cassio gained a powerful reputation in 1:1, Iago was already plotting his demise.
• Dramatic irony - Iago is more referring to himself than Cassio in this. Once again, showing his duplicity as well as his egotistical nature.
• “Idle” and “false” - blatant lie. Iago bases his entire existence on how others perceive him. Without his reputation of honour and honesty (“honest Iago”), he couldn’t pull off the astonishing duplicitist acts he does.

Question 4

“My parts, my title, and my perfect soul/ Shall manifest me rightly.”

Answer 4

• OTHELLO 1:2:32-33
• “My title” is a clear reference to reputation, and the value it has in society. Othello is aware that his title, and in turn reputation, gives him power. However, unlike Cassio and Iago, he shows an understanding of all the elements that make up a human. The inner workings, such as the soul and mind, and the outer workings, such as title and parts.

Question 5

“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls”

Answer 5

• IAGO 3:3:159-160
• Reputation is very valuable.
• Jewels are associated with the noble/royal.
• Links with the contextual point that only the noble are capable of having good reputations, as they are said to be closer to God (which links with the chain of being).
• One of the few times Iago implies some level of equality between men and women- during the temptation scene. This may just be another level to his deception; he is a very different character when he is alone.
• Jewels are often quite see-through; Iago is implying that someone’s reputation reveals their soul, but not completely, as their true soul is distorted by the colour/shape of the jewel. Links with appearances vs reality.

Question 6

“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”

Answer 6

• OTHELLO 4:2:91-92
• Speaking of himself in the third person; he is removing himself from the intimacy of the relationship.
• Now that she is a “whore” in his eyes, everything she does reinforces this perception of her, reflecting the significance of reputation both at Shakespeare’s time of writing, and for a modern audience. Her virtuous reputation has been shattered, and so everything has begun to fall apart.
• Degrading language, but he believes it is okay to refer to her in this way because of her sexual promiscuity, reflecting how women lose their worth once they have lost their reputation and their chastity/faithfulness.