Othello Study Guide
Brian Neaves
Mrs. Izzo
Monday, April 27, 2009
Othello Study Guide
Plot Summary:
1)Iago is annoyed, convinces Roderigo to help him convince Brabantio that Othello is having sex with Desdemona.
2)Brabantio tries to bring Othello to court nothing happens, Desdemona testifies that she willingly loves him, ever since he told her war stories at her house. Brabantio thinks Othello uses drugs and magic.
3)Othello gets sent to Cyprus to fend off Turkish invasion: Desdemona decides to go with.
4)Iago arrives with Desdemona, Iago demeans women in front of her. Othello arrives. The Turkish fleet was destroyed in a storm.
5)Iago gets Cassio drunk. Cassio chases Roderigo and gets stopped by Montano; Casio kills Montano, gets demoted.
6)Iago tells Cassio to get into the Moor’s good graces through Desdemona
7)Iago sets up a time where Cassio can talk to Desdomona alone. Cassio walks away without greeting Othello when he walks into the room with Desdemona and Cassio. Iago uses this moment to plant doubt by saying Cassio would not steal away so guiltily.
8)Iago suggests that Desdemona and Cassio are in an affair. Desdemona begins asking for Cassio’s reinstatement.
9)Emilia gives Iago the handkerchief that Dedemona had dropped. Iago is ecstatic.
10)When Othello demands ocular proof that his wife is unfaithful, Iago tells him that he saw Cassio wipe his beard with the handkerchief.
11)Othello vows to take vengeance on both of them; Iago vows to help.
12)Othello asks Desdemona where the cloth is, and she says she does not know and continues to convince him to reinstate Cassio. Othello flies into a rage.
13)Cassio is wondering about the cloth in his chamber and asks Bianca to copy the embroidery for him.
14)Othello has a fit of epilepsy from his stress. Iago comes in and tells him of a meeting he has arranged with Cassio and tells Othello to hide behind a pillar while he and Cassio talk about Cassio’s experience with Desdemona.
15)Othello is completely convinced, topped when Bianca comes in, reprimanding Cassio for having her copy another woman’s token of love. When Ledovico walks in and tells Othello that he is being sent back and Cassio will be his replacement on Cyprus, Othello hits Desdemona and storms off.
16)In the bedroom, Othello accuses Desdemona of being a whore. She and Emilia deny it. Emilia says that it will blow over. Othello ominously tells Desdemona to wait in bed and to send Emilia away.
17)Iago tells Roderigo that to have Desdemona, he must kill Cassio. Roderigo fails, ending up getting wounded by Cassio. Iago wounds Cassio and runs away before anybody notices. Iago comes back in a “rage” and kills Roderigo out of his “anger”.
18)When Othello hears Cassio’s cry, he thinks that Iago killed Cassio as he said he would. Othello smothers Desdemona.
19)Emilia enters with news that Roderigo is dead. Othello is dismayed when he hears that Cassio is not dead. He tells Emilia that he killed Desdemona out of her infidelity.
20)Montano, Granzio, and Iago enter the room. Emilia realizes what happened and spills the whole story. Iago kills her. Othello is crushed, and tries to kill Iago but is stopped. Othello kills himself with a personal knife after saying how he would be remembered. Iago is ordered to be executed.
Character Summary:
Othello:
Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice and Cyprus. However, he is very well respected and depended upon, as shown by the board in Venice who send him to defend Cyprus. People seem to be drawn to him, maybe because of his exotic qualities. Brabanzio asked Othello over many times to hear his stories, and Desdemona is drawn to him because of it. Othello is self-conscious, as seen when he says he is coarse in his speech, which he is not. It is the tension between Othello’s victimization at the hands of a foreign culture and his own willingness to torment himself that makes him a tragic figure rather than simply Iago’s ridiculous puppet… also meaning that othello’s own insecurity and isolation from the culture of Cyprus make him tragic.
Iago:
Iago is a heinous villain, who is even more evil because of the lack of convincing motivation for his action. It is not explained why Iago really wants to ruin Othello so much. He is willing to take revenge on anyone, including Emilia, Desdemona, Roderigo, and Cassio, and seems to enjoy it, as seen in his almost smiling talks to the audience about his plans. Though the most inveterate liar, Iago inspires all of the play’s characters the trait that is most lethal to Othello: trust. It is Iago’s talent for manipulating the characters around him that makes him so powerful: when he takes the handkerchief from Emilia and knows she won’t question him, and he knows Othello won’t doubt him.
Desdemona:
Desdemona is a very independent person at the beginning of the play. She defends her marriage to her father and the court, and decides to risk her life going to Cyprus with Othello after the suggestion to stay home. She is furious when Othello strikes her. However, she is also a submissive character, as shown when she takes responsibility for her death, saying she did it, and forgiving Othello for killing her. She was aware of her imminent murder, as shown how she asks for her wedding sheets and tells Emilia to bury her in them. The suffocation is symbolic for her suffocation under the demands put on her fidelity. It is also symbolic in the way that it stifled the speech that make Desdemona so powerful.
Cassio:
Cassio is a minor character, a tool for Iago to use. Cassio is a young soldier whose rank is much despised by Iago. He is truly devoted to Othello, and ashamed for his drunken brawl. Iago uses this and his friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities.
Emilia
Wife of Iago, and caretaker of Desdemona. She and Desdemona are close. Emilia is a cynical and worldly person, as shown in her conversation with Desdemona saying that she would cheat in order to have the whole world.
Bianca:
Cassio’s prostitute, who is teased by Cassio with prospects of marriage.
Brabanzio: Desdemona’s father, a somewhat self-important figure who feels betrayed when Othello marries his daughter in secret.
Lodovico: One of Brabanzio’s kinsmen, a messenger between Venice and Cyprus. He brings the news of Othello’s replacement with Cassio.
Clown: Othello’s servant. He is in only two short scenes, and he puns on the word “lie”.
Settings:
1)Cyprus: A small, desirable island with an interconnected society.
2)Venice: A bustling sea city, where the seat of power in the play is.
Symbols:
The Handkerchief: symbolizes Desdemona’s love to Othello: Desdemona keeps it and when Othello finds it missing, he assumes it means she no longer loves him.
The Song “Willow”: The song’ lyrics suggest that both men and women are unfaithful to each other. Represents a resigned and melancholy acceptance of her betrayal by Othello.
Motifs:
Plants: Iago often refers to plants in his speeches. Iago calls himself a good garndener, of himself and others. Refers to Iago’s nature of manipulation.
Animals: There are many references to animals by many different characters in Othello, conveying a sense that the laws of nature, not humans, control the turning of events. Also used in reference to Othello in racist comments.
Themes:
Jealousy has the power to destroy.
- It destroys both Iago and Othello.
All things are not what they seem.
-In the beginning of the play, Othello seems strong and self-determined. By the end of the play, he is confused and jealous and weak. In the play, Iago gives the impression of being trustworthy. As the play goes on, he is found to be a disloyal and evil man.
Bad things happen to good people.
-Desdemona, the picture of honesty and innocence, is murdered by her husband. Othello, an otherwise strong and honest man, is driven to insanity by an evil man. Chance, character flaws, evil, can all work against happy endings.