OTHELLO
ACT I
ACT I, SCENE I
SUMMARY:
Roderigo & Iago are going to tell Barbanzio that his
daughter – Desdemona – married Othello.
Rodrigo is angry with Iago because he has been
paying him to help secure Desdemona’s hand in
marriage.
Iago ensures him he despises Othello.
SUMMARY
• Iago (very vulgarly) tells Barbanzio that Otello has
married his daughter. Saying they are making ‘the
beast with two backs’ (I.i. 118).
• Iago hides and so neither Othello nor Barbanzio
know he was involved.
IMPORTANCE OF ANONYMITY
• Shakespeare withholds Othello and Desdemona’s
names.
• We are introduced to Othello through the slurs of a
disgruntled employee & Desdemona is referred to
as her father’s possession by Iago.
APPEARANCE VS. REALITY
• Appearance:
Othello – A Moor.
In Venetian Society ‘makes him no better than a
beast.’
Reality:
An accomplished General and war hero.
APPEARANCE VS. REALITY
• Appearance:
Desdemona – An unwed woman.
In Venetian society ‘she is merely an extension of her
father’s property.
Reality:
‘The virtuous daughter of a Venetian senator.’
APPEARANCE VS. REALITY
• In Act I, Scene 3 (when they speak), we learn the
reality of them as characters.
IAGO & RODERIGO
• We learn instantly that the relationship was strictly
financial & rather strange.
• Iago is a man ‘who has had [his] purse/As if the
strings were [his].’ (2-3)
• The purpose of which being to help Roderigo win
Desdemona’s heart.
RODERIGO
• A Pawn:
• He is easily manipulated by Iago and Iago remains
on the payroll.
• In many ways he is merely a puppet.
• His lack of concern when Iago tells him: ‘I am not
what I am.’ (65). Show us not only that he is a poor
judge of character but that he lacks intelligence.
IAGO
• A two-faced villain. Known in Shakespeare’s time as
a ‘Machiavel’ after Machiavelli.
• He is cunning and manipulative. We see this in the
way that he uses Roderigo.
• His lies and manipulation are clear from the
beginning.
• The way he speaks to Barbantio shows his wit and
quickness of speech.
• How does Iago manipulate Roderigo in this scene?
Find details in the text.
LIGHT & DARKNESS
• First incident is here in the reference to Othello as
‘the old black ram’ as oppose to her as a ‘white
ewe’.
• The significance being light & dark, innocence &
evil, purity and corruption.
ANIMALISTIC & SEXUAL IMAGERY
• Othello as:
• An ‘old, black ram’
• A ‘Barbary horse’
Finishing finally in their union described as ‘the beast
with two backs’.
‘UNAUTHORISED’ UNION
• Roderigo describes their union as filled with ‘bold
and saucy wrongs’ and as a ‘gross revolt’.
• The fact that Desdemona would marry the husband
of her choosing (as oppose to the one picked to for
her) shows Barbantio’s lack of success as a father.
OTHELLO: THE OUTSIDER
• As a Moor he was not a good candidate for
Desdemona (in her father’s eyes).
• She has tied ‘her duty…of here and everywhere.
(135-137).
BARBANTIO
• Rails against his daughter and advises all fathers to
beware of the deceitful nature of women (169-174).
• ESSENTIAL FOR THE THEME OF APPEARANCE VS
REALITY.
BARBANTIO
• Not strong relationship with Desdemona – she snuck
away and married without his knowledge.
• Distaste for the ‘Moors’ – Racist views?
• Despite not liking Roderigo as a husband for his
daughter he mirrors him: Rich but not very bright.
• He is initially sympathetic; however when we see
how he views Desdemona (property that has been
stolen) we loose all sympathy for him.
ACT I
SCENE II
OTHELLO
• We see him & hear him for the first time.
• His confidence in how his past acts will protect him
are clear (17-24). He doesn’t see himself as an
outsider.
• We see his clear love for Desdemona in lines (24-28)
and indeed his bravery.
• All of this shows us that he is not the character
described to us earlier in any way!
OTHELLO
• Cassio’s worries of war suggest Othello is preoccupied with
personal affairs at this time.
• Othello is civilised and refined in this scene – again in contrast
to ‘the moor’ of scene I. He rejects the fight.
• Could Shakespeare be comparing Othello to Christ?
• Betrayed by a friend (Iago-Judas) who pretends to be on his
side when the violence and torches ensue. (John I8: I-11).
• However Christ is calm due to his acceptance of his state
whereas Othello because of his own sense of authority.
BARBANTIO
• Assumes Othello used magic to win his daughter. There
are references to his ‘sooty bosom’ for example (62-81)
• His moves and dependence on violence also paints him
as being below Othello.
• Sexism. He views his daughter as a possession. Calls
Othello a ‘foul thief’ (62)
• He is faced with a lifetime of shame due to Desdemona's
marriage.
• Sees himself as above Othello but his lack of knowledge
of the duke’s actions shows this to be untrue.
LIGHT AND DARKNESS
• Othello suggests that his purity (32) will show him his
true gallant light.
• Ironically considering his decent into darkness as the
play progresses.
IAGO
• Comes across as loyal and steadfast once again.
(I, ii, 1-10).
• Iago uses an economic reference to tell Cassio
about the marriage suggesting Othello has
‘boarded a land carack’ suggesting his obsession
with money.
• He is clearly the most well-informed character
ironically considering he is of the lowest position.
OTHELLO
• ‘In the opening scenes of the play Shakespeare
masterfully plays with appearance and reality in
terms of the character of Othello.’ Discuss.
ACT I, SCENE 3
SUMMARY
• The Duke discusses the imminent war with the Turks
and the Cyprus invasion.
• Barbantio enters to protest his daughter’s marriage
to Othello, claiming witchcraft is to blame.
• Othello convinces the Duke and other’s that he
loves Desdemona.
• Desdemona supports Othello’s claims and love.
ACT I, SCENE 3
SUMMARY
• Othello is sent to Cyprus to defend it from the Turks.
Desdemona wishes to travel with him.
• We see Rodrigo once again finding himself in Iago’s
pocket.
• Iago explains to the audience how he’ll attempt to
rip apart Othello’s life.
DOMESTIC VS POLITICAL
• The play is primarily concerned with domestic
affairs:
• Othello’s marriage.
• Barbantio’s hatred of the wedding.
• Desdemona betraying her father.
POLITICAL SPHERE
• Here we see the political sphere come into focus.
• To what extent could the war be seen as a mirror
image of the play’s domestic exploration?
• Think about:
• Covert tactics
• Ambushes
• Alliances.
DOMESTIC & POLITICAL
• Military Struggle – could reflect Iago’s quest for
revenge or Barbantio’s desire for justice.
• Othello’s ignorance – how is an accomplished
general unable to see a foe before him in the
domestic sphere.
• The Duke downplays it at the expense of the
political shere. (227). This turns out to be very wrong.
The war is uneventful, the marriage is not.
THE DUKE
• He sees Othello as an important military man at this
time. His greeting ‘Valiant Othello’ tells us this (4849).
• He sees Barbantio as less important and so his
greeting is more of an afterthought (50).
• He is clearly on Othello – the outsider’s – side.
BARBANTIO
• He’s portrayed as being impotent in the melodramatic
way that he mourns his daughter’s marriage (59).
• Desdemona is clearly a piece of property to him and
witchcraft was the reason she was taken from him. Lines
(60-64) are particularly telling of this.
• Paints his daughter as passive and modest (94-98) – after
he had already disowned her for the marriage!
• He is a man clearly ruled by emotion – a female trait –
instead of by reason – a exemplary male trait.
PLAY’S THEME: JUSTICE
• ‘The Duke’s flip-flopping on helping Barbantio use
‘the bloody book of law’ (67) to supporting Othello
shows how fickle justice can be’. Discuss.
OTHELLO’S SPEECH
• It’s the longest uninterrupted speech in the play
showing its importance.
• He quickly wins the crowd by appealing to their
egos and emotions (76-94 & 128-170).
• Can you find any examples of this in the speeches?
OTHELLO’S SPEECH
• Othello’s ‘rude…in my speech’ firstly sets up Othello
as modest (81-82). However is also ironic in the fact
that of all the men in the meeting he’s the most
articulate.
• Othello paints himself as a warrior…fighting from the
age of seven until nine months before the scene is
set.
DESDEMONA’S SPEECH
• It is culturally very unusual that Desdemona speaks
out like she does & that Othello asks her to.
• Women that spoke out in Shakespeare's time were
considered liars or shrewish and quarrelsome.
• The fact that Othello called her gives us a clear
sense of trust in the marriage.
• Desdemona acts on her desires (marrying Othello).
DESDEMONA’S SPEECH
• She is clearly strong and active, not weak and passive
like women often were at the time.
• This would have taken the audience back somewhat.
• She is strong from the opening (181) and shows a real
strength and rhetorical ability (a masculine trait).
• We are supposed to empathise with her.
• Her father’s suggestion of betrayal (292-293) will become
very important in Acts IV & V.
THEIR LOVE
• Is Desdemona more in love with his stories and
places he’s been then the man that it’s made him?
• Is Othello more interested in Desdemona’s pity &
ego-stroking than anything else?
• However, if not Othello then it’s likely that she’d be
married off to a political ally.
OTHELLO
• The fact that he is willing to go to war hours after his
marriage show both his country & his necessity to
the war effort.
• ‘your son-in-law is far more fair then black’ (290).
• What is the significance of this line to the character
of Othello?
IAGO & RODERIGO
• Roderigo is eager to drown himself for love.
• Iago says he would prefer to be a baboon than want a
woman’s love (314-316).
• He cannot understand love and sees it as weakness. This
contrasts greatly with Othello and suggests that Iago
and not Othello is the base character.
• Iago keeps changing his allegiances showing us very
clearly that he’s not a man to be trusted.
IAGO & RODERIGO
• We see after Roderigo leaves (385) that Iago often
befriends a fool that he can use and manipulate.
• Iago realises that Othello holds him in high esteem which
he aims to use (392).
• At the end of the act (405-406) it becomes clear that
Iago happily allies himself with evil and ironically images
of sorcery.
• He aligns himself with evil and doesn’t care about the
immorality of what he will do.