Othello Quotes

Describe a quote showing Iago’s anger at Othello and Cassio. He describes Cassio’s military career as ‘Mere prattle without practice’.Plosive sounds and alliteration add emphasis and show his anger as it’s like he’s spitting the words out.
Describe two quotes showing Iago’s disgust at Desdemona and Othello’s relationship. When telling Brabantio about Desdemona and Othello, he says… ‘even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe.’Power of three for now adds emphasis. Animal imagery is demeaning and vulgar. Colour imagery adds racist element as it emphasises her purity and his corruption and impurity. Juxtaposition of black and white could show Iago thinks it’s unnatural….and…They’re ‘making the beast with two backs’.Vulgar imagery and dysphemism to enrage Brabantio.
Describe two quotes showing Iago’s deception and hatred of Othello. ‘In following him, I follow but myself’ Showing he only cares for himself.’I hate the Moor’, he’s ‘twixt my sheets’ and ‘done my office’.He hates him as he thinks Othello slept with Emilia. Shows marriage is a business arrangement with the metaphor of ‘office’. ‘I hate the Moor’ uses simple, impactful language, emphasising his hatred.
Describe a quote, said by Brabantio, showing racist stereotypes. Desdemona’s in the ‘gross clasps of a lascivious Moor’.Lascivious means lustful. Black were stereotyped as lusty as they were thought to be descended from Ham in the Genesis story in the Bible who was punished for his sexual excess by his blackness. ‘Gross’ also emphasises his disgust.
Describe a quote, said by Brabantio, showing sexist attitudes. ‘Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters’ minds’.Shows misogynistic mistrust of women.
Describe two quotes showing Othello’s power and nobility at the start of the play. When confronted by Brabantio, he’s respectful and calls him ‘good signor’Showing his calm and noble demeanour.Othello tells the Duke ‘I won his daughter.’ Short line, simple language and after caesura adds emphasis. Full stop adds element of finality. These features give impression of power and nobility.
Describe quotes showing Brabantio’s mistrust of Othello ‘Foul thief’, ‘thou hast enchanted her’, ‘foul charms’, ‘chains of magic’.Witchcraft was feared and hated and was even punishable by death in England, so the audience would have been mistrustful of Othello. ‘Thief’ is also mistrustful, demeaning and disrespectful.
Describe a quote, said by Brabantio, showing that Desdemona is the ideal woman. ‘A maiden never bold; of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion blushed at itself.’Contextually, this is how women were meant to act.
Describe a quote, said by Brabantio, showing racism as he thinks there marriage is wrong. He describes their relationship as ‘in spite of nature’ and ‘against all rules of nature’. It shows racism as he thinks inter-racial marriage is unnatural, which was a commonly held view.
Describe a quote, said by Othello, showing how they fell in love. Desdemona would ‘with a greedy ear devour up my discourse’ and ‘she loved me for the dangers I had passed.’Shows that their love may not be true love and may just be hero-worship as it seems a very superficial basis for a relationship.
Describe a compliment given to Othello, showing racist attitudes. The Duke tells Brabantio ‘your son in law is more fair than black.’It shows that they’re surprised by a black person having good qualities.
Describe a quote, said by Desdemona, and a piece of evidence showing her defiance. ‘Let me go with him.’ Imperative, simple language and short sentence give impression of power, going against her gender role. Also, she married Othello secretly, showing defience.
Describe three quotes showing Iago’s misogynistic views and disrespect towards women. He tells Emilia ‘you rise to play and go to bed to work’ and he calls her ‘a foolish wife’ showing his disrespect and showing he thinks that a women’s only purpose is sex. When Emilia gets the handkerchief for him he says, after ‘[snatching it] Why, what is that to you?’ showing his disrespect. The interrogative sentence is accusatory and hostile.
Describe two quotes showing Othello’s anger at Desdemona. ‘Damn her, lewd minx! O damn her, damn her!… the fair devil!’Repetition of ‘damn her’ (power of three) and exclamatory and minor sentences emphasise his hatred and anger. The ‘fair devil’ had religious relevance and shock factor as it would have been seen as a juxtaposition.’I will chop her into messes. Cuckold me!’Violent imagery. Exclamatory, minor sentence emphasise anger.
Describe three quotes showing Desdemona’s submission. After Othello hits her, she says ‘I will not stay to offend you’.When Othello says he’s going to kill her she says ‘then heaven have mercy on me’.When Desdemona’s asked who killed her, she says ‘nobody. I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my Lord.’ The minor sentences show her dying. Could be seen as loyalty or love for Othello, but a feminist would see this as oppression.
Describe a quote of why Othello believes he must kill Desdemona. ‘She must die, else she’ll betray more men’.Full stop emphasises finality. A feminist reader may see this as sexist as it’s all about protecting other men.
Describe two quotes showing Emilia’s views on women. ‘Have not we affections, desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?’ and ‘I do think it is their husbands’ faults if wives do fall’.It is quite a feminist idea so this would have been deviant and shocking to hold these views at the time.
Describe three quotes showing Desdemona and Emilia’s differences in views on cheating. ‘Who would not make her husband a cuckold to make him a Monarch?’ and ‘it’s a great price for a small vice.’ A feminist may say she goes against gender roles, but she also says she would do it for her husband.Desdemona says she would never cheat: ‘no, by this heavenly light’. Shows her purity with images of light and religion.
Describe a quote showing Othello’s grief after having killed Desdemona. ‘O insupportable! O heavy hour!’Shows his grief through minor, exclamatory sentences.
Describe two embedded quotes showing that Othello was reluctant to kill Desdemona. ‘It is the cause’ is repeated and he refers to killing her with the euphemism ‘if I quench thee’ showing he is trying to persuade himself it is the right thing to do and doesn’t want to think about it.
August 28, 2019