Iago makes a hasty exit as soon as his “poison” has taken effect. What reasons does Iago give
Roderigo for leaving him alone to face Brabantio (ll. 142–156)?
The poison is being referred to as Iago’s scheme to get back at Othello in anyway possible, since
he was passed over for a promotion to Cassio because he had more learning in theory than Iago.
Iago didn’t wanted to be seen with Roderigo because he was acting as if he didn’t have anything
to do with the reports made to the father. Iago says that he cannot stay since he may be called
as a witness against Othello and it could cost him his job.
What is Brabantio’s state of mind after he discovers that Desdemona is not in her chamber (ll. 157
ff.), and how does his speech convey this?
He was disgusted and filled with hatred. Reality and anger sets in when he says “This accident is
not unlike my dream: / Belief of it oppresses me already,” (1.1.139-140) and he later calls for a
search team. Brabantio is so distraught at this point that he questions whether his daughter’s
marriage to Othello is a dream or reality.
In 91 ff., we learn that Brabantio has emphatically rejected Roderigo as a possible suitor for his
daughter. Yet at the end of the scene he laments, “O would you had had her!” (l. 172). What are
the implications of Brabantio’s change of heart? What attitudes do the two Venetians share?
He is suggesting that even Roderigo would’ve been a more suitable choice and that he would
prefer anyone else to Othello to be his daughter’s husband. Both Brabantio and Roderigo have
similar attitudes and traits in racial discrimination.