| “They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; They eat us hungrily, and when they are full they belch us” | Emilia; men are stomachs and women food; when they are full they discard us. |
| “But there where I have garnered up with my heart, where either I must love or bear no life, the fountain from the which my current runs or else dries up-to be discarded thence, or keep it as a cistern for foul toads to knot and gender in-“ | Othello; where he holds his heart, whether I live or die depends; comparing heart flowing to fountain; if i discover her to be unfaithful then I will throw away my heart or let my hatred fester. |
| “To be once in doubt is (once) to be resolved” | Here, Othello is claiming that when he becomes doubtful concerning Desdemona’s faithfulness he will not resort to becoming jealousy or committting any wrong acts before he has accuarate proof |
| “You, mistress, that have the office opposite to Saint Peter and keeps the gate of hell” | Othello talking to Emilia that she guards the gate of Desdemona of which Satan lives; biblical allusion Emilia to Saint Peter. |
| “Comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much, and his unkindness may defeat my life, but never taint my love” | Desdemona is defending Othello saying that no matter what he does she will love him regardless; speaks to desdemona blind affection and obedience; representation of the stereotypical of the ideal renaissance women. |
| “But I do think it is their husbands’ fault if wives do fall” | Emilia is pointing out the faults in men in the relationship; if women cheats it is the mans fault; takes feminist independence too far. |
| “Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace, yet have we some revenge” | Emilia; though we are women we are creatures of grace; supposed to be the better of the two race; desire resentment; we want the same things as men and have the same desires. |
| “trifles light as air are to jealous confirmations as strong as proofs of holy writ” | The trifle, meaning Othello’s handkerchief is like proof that is light as air. If a jealous person is thinking like this, to them, it is as strong as the words of the bible |
| “Within these three days let me hear thee say that Cassio’s not alive” | Here, Othello is claiming to iago that he needs to kill Cassio within three days. |
| “I confess, it is my nature’s plague to spy into abuses, and (oft) my jealousy shapes faults that are not” | Here, Iago is talking to Othello claiming that it is his nature to spy into other peoples’ business. He is claiming that his jealousy shapes faults that are often not true or never there. |
| “Look to your wife” | Here, Iago is suggesting that Othello should watch his wife carefully to read into whether she is acting suspiciously |
| “and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again” | Here, Othello is claiming that by chaos, he will kill Desdemona when he hears she is having an adulterous affair |
| “I follow him to serve my turn upon him” | Here, Iago is claiming he will stay close and friendly to Othello until he finds the right time to execute his revenge on Othello |
| “I am not what I am” | Here, Iago is mocking the Bible claiming that he has a duplisidious nature, allowing him to get close to Othello until he can back stab him |
| “I am one sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the moor are (now) making the beast with two backs” | Here, Iago is pretending to be Rodrigo claiming that Desdemona and Othello are married and are going to have beastly children because Othello is black?? |
| “Another of his fathom they have none” | Here, Iago is telling Roderigo that they cannot find any fault in Othello, and there will not be a better man to lead the army than him |
| “Rude am I in speech, and little blessed with soft phrases of speech” | Here, Othello is claiming that because he is a moor and just the leader of an army, he is not blessed with good speech. He is speaking to the Duke and the council |
| “my life upon her faith” | Othello is trying to tell Brabantio that he trusts Desdemona’s love for him with his life |
| “Look to the Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has decieved her father, and may thee” | Here, Brabantio is trying to scare Othello into thinking that because she cheated on her father, she will cheat on him |
| “thus do i ever make my fool my purse” | here, Iago is telling Roderigo that he is a fool and is like his purse/bank account |
| “I have’t. It is engendered” | Iago has concieved a plan to take Cassio’s position and to kill Othello. By the end of act I, this plan is just coming to light |
| “it is the cause, it is the cause, my soul” | Here, Othello is claiming that there is something within him that he cannot name, that causes him to make his decision to go through with killing Desdemona |
| “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men” | Here, Othello is justifying his killing of Desdemona so that she will not hurt any other men like she hurt Othello |
| “A word or two before you go” | Here, Othello is instancing that he is NOT going with them because he will not suffer an embarassing death. Othello does not want anyone to speak ill of him after his death, he wants his legacy to be “correct” |
| “of one not easily jealous but being wrought/ perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand/ like the base judea, threw a pearl away” | Here, othello is claiming that he is a fool for killing Desdemona like a simple Indian throws away a precious pearl into the ocean |
| “demand me nothing. What you know, you know. / From this time forth I never will speak word” | Here, Iago is announcing to Othello, Lodovico, and Gratiano that he will never speak outloud again- everyone already knows his plan and why he did it |
| “I know not where is that Promethean heat” | Othello makes a mythical allusion for when Prometheus stole light from the gods to give to the humans on earth. It is a metaohor comparing fire to life. He claims that once he kills Desdemona, he cannnot bring her back to life |
| “This sorrow’s heavenly: It strikes where it doth love. She wakes” | Othello claims that his sorrow is so intense that his love for her is heavenly, there is beauty in his sorrow concerning her |
| “perchance, Iago, I will ne’er go home” | Here, Emilia is claiming that Iago has been behind this plot the whole time and she doesnt know who she is married to anymore.This is foreshadowing to Emilia’s death because she is killed by Iago later in the scene |
| “A thousand times committed. Cassio confessed it,” | Here Othello claims that Cassio and Desdemona had committed adultery a thousand times. Othello uses the “evidence” Iago has given him to confirm his suspicions of their affair. |
| “and have not these soft parts of conversation / that chamberers have” | Here, Othello is claiming that he is ‘rude’ in speech. However, Othello begins to believe that because he is black, he is rude in speech and Desdemona probably left him because he was too old for her. He is speaking to Iago |
| “my husband hath a hundred times / wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token–“ | Here, Emilia announces that she has taken the handkerchief off the ground and has given it to Iago. She claims she is doing it to “please his fancy” |
| “Lay down my soul at stake. If you think other,/ Remove your thought” | Here, Emilia is claiming to Othello that she is Desdemona’s first lady who truly knows her and her morals |
| “For if she not be honest, chaste, and true,/ There’s no man happy. The purest of their wives/ Is foul as slander.” | Here, Emilia is claiming to Othello that she is Desdemona’s first lady who truly knows her and her morals. Emilia claims if Desdemona is not a good woman, then there are no good women in the world |
| “A closet lock and key of villainous secrets./ And yet she’ll kneel and pray. I have seen her do’t.” | Here, Othello is claiming that Desdemona or Emilia? keeps a closet full of secrets but then goes to church at the same time. He claims that Des/Emilia are not honest women |
| “Lest, being one,of heaven, the devils themselves/ Should fear to seize thee. Therefore be double/ damned” | Here, Othello claims to Desdemona that that even the devils fear to grab Desdemona for what she has done because it is so horrendous |
| “This fellow’s of exceeding honesty,” | Here, (after Iago leaves the room) Othello is characterizing Iago as an earnest, honest man. Othello has completely bought into all of the lies Iago has told him. |
| “Yet ’tis the plague (0f) great ones; Prerogatived are they less than the base” | Here, Othello is claiming that only the “great” and victorious men of the world are cheated on by their wives. He claims it was obvious it would sometime happen to him. He is making excuses to save his legacy |
| “I swear ’tis better to be much abused/ Than but to know ‘t a little” | Here, Othello is claiming that it would be better if Desdemona was a *****, so he would not have to live with this doubt |
| “As if he plucked up kisses by the roots” | Here, Iago is describing Cassio’s dream to Othello, emphasizing that Desdemona was adulterous |
| “This hand / is moist, my lady” | Here, Othello is speaking to Desdemona, claiming that she needs to go to church because of her promiscious thoughts. He claims that she is capable of becoming pregnant as she is full of love, energy, and strenghth |
| “I am not bound to every act of duty,/ I am not bound to (that all slaves are free to.” | Here, Iago speaks to Othello claiming that even slaves dont have to tell their masters their innermost thoughts so Iago shouldnt have to either |
| “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” | Here, Iago is warning Othello not to become jealousy because of its monstrous qualities |
| “not like a hound that hunts, but one that fills up the cry” | Here, Rodrigo claims that Iago has played him for a fool, and that there is no reason to stay and help Iago with the execution of his plan |
| “to say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,/ Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances (well) “ | Here, Othello is characterizing Desdemona, claims she has the most virtuous qualities any woman/man could ever want/neeedOthello claims to Iago that he would never become jealous because his wife is so fair |
| “To win the Moor– (were’t) to renounce his baptism” | Here, Iago claims in a soliloquy that Othello will damn himself to hell in order to stay/find out about Desdemona’s infedility |
Othello Quotes
September 7, 2019