Othello Act 1-2

In act 1 scene 1 what reason does Iago give for hating Othello? What are all of the charges that he makes against his general? He chose Cassio over him to be second commander, when he was the one who had military experience. He calls Othello “black ram”, “thick lips”, and “the moor”
What reason does Roderigo give for hating Othello? Because Othello married Desdemona who Roderigo is in love with
Why is Iago’s speech (45-72) important in explaining what happens later? Iago is spying on Othello and is trying to manipulate him
Why should Roderigo pay particular attention to Iago’s speech? Because he can be manipulating him too
What is Iago’s master plot to annoy Desdemona and Othello? He is going to tell Desdemona’s father that she married Othello. The marriage is only official once they sleep together so Desdemona’s father will want to get there right away
How does Brabantio’s attitude toward Roderigo change during the course of Act 1 scene 1? At first he wants Roderigo to leave his house and says his daughter will never marry him but at the end he is grateful he told him and says he wishes his daughter would have married someone like him
Why is Brabantio’s explanation of why his daughter has ran off with Othello? She’s been bewitched
How does Iago treat Othello in the beginning of act 1 scene 2? He is very kind and said he stood up for him
Why is Othello so unconcerned about the warning that Iago is giving him? What is the warning? The warning is the Brabantio is coming for him so he better secure his marriage. Othello is noble and thinks he won’t get into trouble because he has done nothing wrong
How does Brabantio feel about Othello’s marriage to Desdemona? He is angry
How does the Duke treat Othello? What does this say about Othello? He respects and thinks highly of Othello. This shows that Othello is well known in society and has a reputation for his war fighting
What are Brabantio’s accusations against Othello? That Othello tricked and enchanted Desdemona with black magic spells and stole her away from him
How does the Duke react to these accusations? He says he wants to hear all sides of the argument
How does Othello answer these accusations? He admits that he took Desdemona and married her, but that is his only defense and they can kill him if he is lying
Who does Othello choose to fetch Desdemona? What does this say about his relationship to this person? Iago, shows that he trusts him
Summarize the story Othello tells his history of courting Desdemona He would tell stories about his fighting in wars and Desdemona would listen and thats how she fell in love with him. She loved him for the dangers he survived, and he loved her for feeling such strong emotions about him
What does Desdemona want to do for a living arrangement when Othello goes to Cyprus? She wants to go with him
Who does Othello entrust his wife to? What relationship do you see developing? Iago, Othello really trusts Iago but Iago is planning revenge and Desdemona can be manipulated
What do Iago and Roderigo discuss when left alone on stage? How much they hate Othello and how Roderigo wants to kill himself. Iago tells him to seek everything he owns and come to Cyprus to show how rich he is and then maybe Desdemona will fall in love with him
At the end of act 1 scene 2 what does Iago claim his real problem with Othello is? There is a rumor Othello slept with his wife
Why does it seem that there will not be a war at Cyprus now? The storm smashed the Turks so bad it ruined their plans
Why is Cassio worried at the beginning of act 2? He is worried about Othello because they got separated during the storm
Why does Iago say Desdemona will eventually leave Othello? Because he is ugly and eventually she will get sick of him and look for someone who has new stories to tell and more to offer
How does Iago characterize Cassio? He is a smooth talker, sophisticated, has fine manners, is crafty, young, and handsome
In Iago’a opinion, what makes Desdemona an “immoral” person Because she fell in love with Othello, and if she was moral she would have never fell in love with him in the first place. She is also flirtatious
What is Iago’s plan? To make Othello jealous and convince him that Cassio and Desdemona have feelings for each other so he can’t even think straight
What is Roderigo’s job when Cassio is on guard duty? To get him angry and rile him up so that he will hit or fight someone and then Othello will fire him
What news does the Herald deliver? That the war is over and they have defeated the Turkish enemies. There will be a feast to celebrate their victory and Desdemona and Othello’s marriage
What are Othello’s orders to Cassio? To keep an eye out on the guards so that the party doesn’t get too wild at the end
What, in general, are Iago and Cassio saying about Desdemona at the beginning of act 2 scene 3 Iago is taunting Cassio trying to get him to admit that he has feelings for Desdemona
Why does Cassio not want to drink? He is a lightweight and has already had one drink and doesn’t want another because he is trying to follow Othello’s orders to keep the party calm
Why does Iago want Cassio to drink? Because he needs him to get drunk and lose control so he can start a fight with Roderigo
What rumor does Iago start with Montano about Cassio? That Cassio is a drunk and drinks every night before bed so Othello should get rid of him
Why do Montano and Cassio fight? Montano steps in to stop Cassio from fighting Roderigo but Montano and Cassio end up fighting
How does Roderigo factor into the fight? He is the one who provoked Cassio to start with
How does Othello react to the fight? He gets upset with Cassio for disobeying his orders, and he relied on Iago to tell him the truth about what happened
What does Othello do to Cassio? He fires him
What does Iago tell Cassio about reputations when Cassio is concerned that he has ruined his? That reputations are pointless and useless and he should worry more about his physical health
What advice does Iago give Cassio about getting back into Othello’s favor? To go Desdemona and open his heart to her because she has a lot of influence on Othello, and if he can get into her good graces maybe he can get back into Othello’s too.
How does Cassio respond to Iago’s plan? He thinks it’s a great idea
What are Iago’s true intentions in regards to the advice he gave to Cassio? He is manipulating Cassio and Roderigo and eventually will manipulate Othello and Desdemona
How does Iago try to justify his actions to the audience at the end of act 2 scene 3? He goes back and forth trying to justify his behavior. He is pretending that he is helping Cassio, but really he is only doing it for his own benefit
July 16, 2019