| Act One, Scene One: street in Venice | Roderigo has been paying Iago to help him win Desdemona, Iago hates Othello for giving the lieutenant position to Cassio |
| Roderigo plans to alert Desdemona’s father of her secret marriage to Othello | Brabantio is furious at the news and goes to search for his daughter |
| Scene Two: Othello’s lodging | Iago arrives to warn Othello of Brabantio’s plans, Cassio and a party of people arrive to tell Othello that he’s wanted by the Duke of Cyprus |
| Brabantio’s people arrive to accost Othello and a fight almost breaks out between Cassio’s people and them | Othello halts the fighting |
| Scene Three | The Dukes meeting discusses the Turkish invasion of Cyprus about to occur |
| Brabantio arrives and says that his daughter has been stolen by potions and spells | Othello tells his side of the story about how Desdemona was moved to love him by his stories, Desdemona arrives and he claims she married Othello by her own will |
| Othello is asked to leave to Cyprus to defend it from the Turks, so he and Desdemona go | In a soliloquy, Iago, states that he plans on declaring his hatred for Othello and his suspicion that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia. He lays out his plan to cheat Roderigo out of his money, to convince Othello that Cassio has slept with Desdemona, and to use Othello’s honest and unsuspecting nature to bring him to his demise |
| Act Two, Scene One: | Many turkish ships are taken out in a storm however Iago, Emilia, Roderigo, and Desdemona arrive through the storm |
| Iago criticizes women for being no good except for sex | Cassio speaks to Desdemona in private and Iago hopes to use this to frame him |
| Othello arrives | Iago secretly lusts after Desdemona, partially because he suspects that Othello has slept with Emilia, and he wants to get even with the Moor. |
| Scene Two: | Othello plans for festivties to celebrate Cyprus’s freedom and his love for Desdemona |
| Scene Three: | Othello leaves Cassio on guard and reminds him to restrain himself during the festivities, Othello and Desdemona leave to consummate their marriage |
| Iago persuades Cassio to drink and to go get more party people | [Aside] Iago announces that he plans to lead Cassio into committing an action that will disgrace him |
| Montano steps in to prevent a fight between Roderigo and Cassio and Cassio stabs him, Othello arrives and Iago tells him what happened | Othello releases Cassio from his service, Iago suggests that Cassio appeal to Desdemona who Cassio hopes will speak to Othello for him, [Aside] Iago tells the audience the plot that is to come: he will convince Emilia to speak to Desdemona on Cassio’s behalf, and he will arrange for Othello to witness Cassio’s suit to Desdemona. |
| Act Three, Scene One: | Cassio sends for musicians the play under Othello’s window to win him back which Othello sends away |
| Emilia tells Cassio that Desdemona has pleaded for Cassio, but Othello worries that Montano’s influence and popularity in Cyprus would make Cassio’s reappointment impractical, no matter how much Othello cares for his former lieutenant. | Emilia allows Cassio to come in and tells him to wait for Desdemona |
| Scene Two: | Othello gives Iago some letters to deliver and goes to look at the town’ fortifications. |
| Scene Three: | Desdemona states that she will do all she can on Cassio’s behalf to get his position back, Othello states that he will speak to Cassio |
| Iago begins to convince Othello that Cassio has been having an affair with Desdemona | Othello believes that his wife doesn’t love him because he is too old and black |
| Emilia steals Othello’s handkerchief that Iago wanted when he drops it | Othello demands that Iago provide proof for Desdemona and Cassio’s affair, Othello wants revenge on Cassio and Desdemona and promotes Iago to lieutenant |
| Scene Four: | Othello asks Desdemona for the handkerchief which she cannot produce, he tells her the story behind it, Othello leaves in rage |
| Cassio enters and continues asking Desdemona for help | Emilia suspects that Othello is jealous, Bianca a prostitute enters and Cassio asks her to copy the embroidering of the handkerchief onto another one |
| Act Four, Scene One: | Othello continues to ask Iago for information on the Desdemona situation to which Iago says that Cassio told him he laid down with her, Othello passes out |
| Iago arranges to meet with Cassio while Othello hides to watch Cassio’s face | [Aside] Iago speaks of how he actually plans to joke with Cassio about Bianca’s pursuit of him but Othello will believe they speak about Desdemona |
| The plan works, and Cassio speaks about Bianca’s advances, laughing and depicting sexual things | Bianca comes in and announces that if Cassio doesn’t show up for dinner with her then he is never welcome back again |
| Othello comes out of hiding once their gone and wonders how he should murder Cassio, Iago tells Othello to strangle Desdemona in her bed and that he will arrange for Cassio’s death | Lodovico enters with word that Othello is to return to Cyprus, Desdemona shows her excitement to leave and Othello hits her |
| Lodovico asks for Othello to call her back and he does so only to call her a promiscuous woman | Othello plans to head back to Venice |
| Scene Two: | Othello questions Emilia about Desdemona’s behavior to which she says nothing is wrong, Iago attempts to persuade Roderigo into killing Cassio since he is staying in Othello’s place |
| He tells Emilia to fetch Desdemona and then he weeps to her and proclaims his love for her asking how she could be unfaithful, Desdemona denies being unfaithful and asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed for that night | Desdemona asks Iago why Othello is treating her like a wh0re (it wouldn’t let me use the real word), he denies it all saying he’s just troubled by business, Iago attempts to persuade Roderigo into killing Cassio since he is staying in Othello’s place |
| Scene Three: | Othello sends Desdemona to bed saying she should dismiss Emilia, she is aware of her fate and tells Emilia that if she is to die to use one of her wedding sheets to wrap her in during burial. |
| Act Five, Scene One: | Iago and Roderigo wait outside the Brothel to kill Cassio |
| Cassio enters to which Roderigo stabs him but due to Cassio’s armor has no luck | Cassio stabs Roderigo, Iago stabs Cassio in the leg then exits |
| Othello enters believing Iago has killed Cassio and then returns to the bedroom to kill Desdemona | meanwhile Lodovico and Graziano stumble upon the stabbed men to which they can’t see in the darkness |
| Iago returns and stabs Roderigo | Bianca enters and is taken under arrest by Iago |
| Iago sends Emilia to tell Othello and Desdemona what has happened | [Aside] Iago says “This is the night…that either makes me or fordoes me quite.” |
| Scene Two: | Othello kisses Desdemona once more before he kills her, she wakes and asks why he wants to kill her |
| he states because she has been unfaithful with Cassio and he has seen the proof, they wrestle but Othello succeeds in smothering her, he mistakes Emilia’s cries at the door for his wife’s and smothers her more to end her pain | Emilia informs Othello that Cassio has killed Roderigo but Cassio is still alive |
| Desdemona cries out that she has been killed and then dies, Emilia screams and Montano and Graziano enter, they announce that Brabantio is dead | Emilia says she found the handkerchief to which Othello charged Iago who escapes and kills Emilia, Iago flees |
| Emilia tells Othello that his wife loved him, the guards return with Iago whom Othello stabs | a letter in Roderigo’s pocket reveals the entire scheme, not wanting to be taken back and stripped of his power: Othello stabs himself and dies, Graziano is put in charge |
Othello Plot
August 12, 2019