Lesson Five
Text A Twelve Angry Men
(Part One)
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Languages and Literature
Pu Dong-mei
Contents
1. Teaching objectives
2. Background Knowledge
3. Structure of the text
4. Language points
5. Comprehension questions
6. Writing techniques
Teaching objectives
 Introduction to American legal/judicial system
 Introduction to drama: types and elements
 Features of dramatic language:
 1) the loose use of pronouns;
 2) the context;
 3) the tone of certain remarks
Background Knowledge - About the author
Reginald Rose (1920- ) is a native New Yorker, best
known as a writer for television. The Twelve
Angry Men was written in 1954 based on his
experience as a juror. The play was turned into
a movie in 1957 with Henry Fonda starring as
No. 8. The present text is based on that movie,
with much abridgement. What distinguished
Rose’s teleplays was their direct preoccupation
(专注) with social and political issues.
Introduction-about the play
Twelve Angry Men, by the American playwright
Reginald Rose, was originally written for television,
and it was broadcast live on CBS's show Studio One in
1954. The fifty-minute television script can be found in
Rose's Six Television Plays, published in 1956 (out of
print in 2005). Rose expanded the play for the
stage, and a new version was published in 1955
(Dramatic Publishing Company; in print). Two years
later, in 1957, Rose wrote the screenplay for a film
version, which he coproduced with the actor Henry
Fonda. The play has subsequently been updated and
revived; for example, in a production at the American
Airlines Theater in New York City in 2004.
Introduction-about the play cont’d
 The play was inspired by Rose‘s own experience of
jury duty on a manslaughter (过失杀人)case in New
York City.
 At first, he had been reluctant to serve on a jury, but,
he wrote, "the moment I walked into the courtroom …
and found myself facing a strange man whose fate was
suddenly more or less in my hands, my entire attitude
changed."
 Rose was greatly impressed by the gravity of the
situation, the somber activity of the court, and the
"absolute finality" of the decision that he and his
fellow jurors would have to make.
Introduction-about the play cont’d
 He also thought that since no one other than the
jurors had any idea of what went on in a jury room, "a
play taking place entirely within a jury room might be
an exciting and possibly moving experience for an
audience" ("Author's Commentary" on Twelve Angry
Men in Six Television Plays).
 The result is a taut, engrossing drama in which eleven
jurors believe the defendant in a capital murder trial is
guilty, while one juror stands up courageously for what
he believes is justice and tries to persuade the others
to his way of thinking.
Twelve Angry Men
Twelve Angry Men
Plot
A Puerto Rican youth is on trial for murder, accused of
stabbing his father to death.
The twelve jurors retire to the jury room, having been
admonished that the defendant is innocent until
proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Eleven of the jurors vote for conviction, each for reasons
of his own.
The sole holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda. As
Fonda persuades the weary (疲倦的) jurors to reexamine the evidence, we learn the back-story of each
man.
Plot cont’d
Juror #3, a bullying self-made man, has estranged
himself from his own son.
Juror #7 has an ingrained mistrust of foreigners; so, to
a lesser extent, does Juror #6.
Jurors #10 and #11, so certain of the infallibility (绝对可
靠) of the Law, assume that if the boy was arrested,
he must be guilty.
Juror #4 is an advocate of dispassionate deductive
reasoning.
Juror #5, like the defendant a product of "the streets,"
hopes that his guilty vote will distance himself from his
past.
Juror #12, an advertising man, doesn't understand
anything that he can't package and market.
Plot cont’d
And Jurors #1, #2 and #9, anxious not to make waves,
"go with the flow."
The excruciatingly (unbearably) hot day drags into an
even hotter night; still, Fonda chips away at the guilty
verdict, insisting that his fellow jurors bear in mind
those words "reasonable doubt."
A pet project of Henry Fonda's, Twelve Angry Men was his
only foray into film production; the actor's partner in
this venture was Reginald Rose, who wrote the 1954
television play on which the film was based.
Characters-#1 Foreman
 The foreman is described in the author's notes to the play as
"a small, petty man who is impressed with the authority he
has."
 The foreman tries to run the meeting in an orderly fashion, but
in the film he is too sensitive and sulks when his attempt to
stick to the way they had agreed to proceed is questioned.
 His contribution to the deliberations comes when they are
discussing how long the killer would have taken to get
downstairs.
 The foreman points out that since the killer wiped his
fingerprints off the knife, he would also have done so off the
doorknob, which would have taken some time.
 He votes guilty several times, but in act 3 he switches his vote,
along with two others, to make the total nine to three for
acquittal.
Characters-Juror Two
 Juror Two is a quiet, meek figure who finds it difficult to
maintain an independent opinion.
 In the 1957 film, he is a bank clerk.
 Juror Two does, however, make one useful contribution to the
jury deliberations. He mentions that it seems awkward that
the defendant, who was six inches shorter than his father,
would stab him with a downward motion, as the fatal wound
indicates.
 Although this is not a conclusive point, it does jog (唤醒) Juror
Five’s memory of how a switchblade (弹簧小折刀) is used and
so helps to induce doubt in the minds of a number of jurors.
 Juror Two changes his vote to not guilty at the beginning of
act 3, along with Jurors Eleven and Six.
Characters-Juror Three
 Juror Three is a forceful, intolerant (偏执的) man who is also a
bully. In the 1957 film, he runs a messenger service called
Beck and Call.
 He believes that there is no point in discussing the case, since
the defendant‘s guilt is plain, and he is quick to insult and
browbeat (欺侮) anyone who suggests otherwise.
 At one point, Juror Three describes how he fell out (争吵) with
his son. He raised his son to be tough, but when the boy was
15, he hit his father in the face, and Juror Three has not seen
his son for 3 years. He condemns his son as ungrateful (忘恩负
义的).
 As the play develops, it becomes clear that Juror Three is the
principal antagonist (反面主角) of Juror Eight. This is brought
out visually when Juror Three demonstrates on Juror Eight
how he would use a knife to stab a taller man. His animosity
(敌意) to Juror Eight comes out in the aggressive way he
makes the demonstration, which shocks some of the jurors.
Characters-Juror Three cont’d
 Also, when Juror Eight calls him a sadist (虐待狂), Juror Three is
incensed (激怒) and threatens to kill him.
 Juror Three is the last to hold out for a guilty verdict. For a few
moments after it becomes apparent that he stands alone, he
sticks to his guns, saying there will be a hung jury, but he finally
gives in to the pressure and votes not guilty.
 In the film, he pulls out his wallet to produce some facts of the
case—perhaps notes he has made—and a photograph of himself
with his son falls out. He stares at it for a few moments and then
tears it up and begins to sob.
 He recognizes that his desire to convict and punish the defendant
is bound up with his feelings of anger and betrayal in regard to
his own son.
Characters - Juror Four
 Juror Four is described in the author's notes as seeming to be
"a man of wealth and position, and a practiced speaker who
presents himself well at all times."
 In the 1957 film, he is a stockbroker (股票经纪人), a welldressed man in an expensive suit who, unlike the others, does
not remove his jacket and shows no signs of distress in the
heat.
 He is an arch rationalist who insists that the jury should avoid
emotional arguments in deciding the case.
 He has a good grasp of the facts and an excellent memory,
and he presents the case for guilt as well as it can be done. He
is extremely skeptical of the defendant's story that he was at
the movies on the night of the murder.
Characters - Juror Four
 However, his pride in his memory is shaken when, under
questioning from Juror Eight, he discovers that he cannot
accurately recall the title of one of the movies he saw only a
few days ago, nor can he remember the names of the actors.

However, he still believes strongly in the defendant's guilt and
is the last juror but one to change his vote.
 This occurs when it is demonstrated that the piece of evidence
on which he places greatest value—the woman's eyewitness
testimony that she saw the murder take place—is undermined.
He then admits that he has a reasonable doubt.
Characters - Juror Five
 Juror Five is described in the author's notes as "a naive, very
frightened young man who takes his obligations in this case
very seriously but who finds it difficult to speak up when his
elders have the floor."
 When, at the beginning, jurors are asked to speak in turn,
Juror Five declines the opportunity. Later, he protests when
Jurors Four and Ten speak disparagingly (轻视) of kids from
slum backgrounds, saying that he has lived in a slum all his
life.
 Juror Five's main contribution is in pointing out that an
experienced knife fighter would use a switchblade underhand,
stabbing upward rather than down. He knows this because he
has witnessed such fights.
 Juror Five is the second juror to switch his vote to not guilty.
 He acquires a reasonable doubt when it is shown that,
because of the noise from the train, the old man could not
have heard the boy yell that he would kill his father.
Characters - Juror Six
 Juror Six is a housepainter, a man who is used to working with
his hands rather than analyzing with his brain. He is more of a
listener than a talker.
 In the film version, he suggests early in the debate that the
defendant had a motive to kill his father, because there was
testimony in the trial about an argument between father and
son earlier in the evening.
 But Juror Eight dismisses this as a possible motive.
 Juror Six stands up for (支持) Juror Nine when Juror Three
speaks rudely to him, threatening to strike Juror Three if he
says anything like that again.
 Juror Six also speaks up for himself when he changes his vote,
succinctly explaining why he did so.
 In the film version, he talks to Juror Eight in the washroom,
asking him how he would feel if he succeeded in getting the
defendant acquitted but later found out that he was guilty.
Characters - Juror Seven
 Juror Seven is a salesman. He assumes that the defendant is
guilty and has no interest in discussing it.
 His only concern is that the deliberations should be over
quickly, so that he does not miss the baseball game he has
tickets for.
 At no time does he make any serious contribution to the
debate, other than to point out that the defendant has a
record of arrests. In the film, he is a baseball fan and uses
baseball allusions in almost everything he says.
 At one point, he gets into an argument with Juror Eleven
about why Juror Eleven changed his vote, and he makes some
prejudiced remarks about immigrants.
 He favors declaring a hung jury, because that will mean he will
get out of the jury room quickly. Eventually, he changes his
vote to not guilty, for the same reason.
 In the film version, Juror Eleven harshly rebukes him for
caring only about ending the proceedings as quickly as
possible, rather than whether the man is guilty or not.
Characters - Juror Eight
 Juror Eight is a quiet, thoughtful man whose main concern is
that justice should be done. In the film, he is an architect.
Although he is usually gentle in his manner, he is also
prepared to be assertive in the search for truth.
 He is the only juror who, in the initial ballot, votes not guilty.
He does not argue that the man is innocent but says that he
cannot condemn a man to death without discussing the case
first.
 As he probes the evidence, he manages to cast reasonable
doubt on many aspects of the testimony given at the trial. He
is resolute in suggesting that although, on its face, the
evidence may suggest guilt, it is possible that there are other
explanations for what happened that night.
Characters - Juror Eight cont’d
 Juror Eight is a natural leader, and one by one he persuades
the other jurors to accept his arguments.
 A telling moment comes when he produces a knife from his
pocket that is exactly the same as the murder weapon; when
he says that he bought it cheaply in the neighborhood, he
disproves (驳斥) the jury's belief up to that point that the knife
is a very unusual one.
 Juror Eight remains calm throughout the deliberations. The
only times that he becomes heated is when he stops the game
of tic-tac-toe that Jurors Ten and Twelve have started and
when he calls Juror Three a sadist.
 The latter incident serves his purpose, however, because it
goads (刺激) Juror Three into saying that he will kill Juror Eight,
thus proving Juror Eight's earlier point that when such
expression are used, they are not always meant literally.
Characters - Juror Nine
 Juror Nine is an old man. In the author's notes, he is described as
"long since defeated by life."
 In the film version, however, he is given more strength and
dignity, and other jurors insist that he be heard.
 It is Juror Nine who is the first to switch his vote to not guilty,
saying that he wants a fuller discussion of the case, as Juror Eight
has requested.
 It is Juror Nine who offers an explanation of why the old man
might have lied about hearing the boy yell that he was going to
kill his father. Juror Nine's explanation is that, because the old
man has led an insignificant life and no one has ever taken any
notice of him, this is his one chance for recognition.
 Juror Nine is also extremely observant, and the film version
amplifies his role in the final discussion, when he is the one to
point out that the female witness at the trial, in an effort to look
younger, omitted to wear the glasses that she habitually wore, as
shown by the marks on either side of her nose. This is the key
point that results in the discrediting of the woman's testimony.
Characters - Juror Ten
 Juror Ten is described in the author's notes as "an angry, bitter
man—a man who antagonizes almost at sight. He is also a
bigot."
 He is automatically prejudiced against anyone who comes
from a slum.
 He believes strongly that the defendant is guilty, argues the
case forcefully, and is one of the last three to hold out for a
guilty verdict. But he loses credibility with the other jurors
when he makes a long speech near the end of the play that
reveals his bigotry in full.
 He insists that people from slums are drunks and liars who
fight all the time. The other jurors repudiate him, and Juror
Four tells him not to say another word; he does not, other
than to finally admit that there is a reasonable doubt in the
case.
Characters - Juror Eleven
 Juror Eleven is an immigrant from Europe, a refugee from
persecution. He is possibly Jewish, although this is not stated
explicitly. In the film, he is a watchmaker.
 Juror Eleven feels fortunate to be living in a country known for
its democracy, and he has great respect for the American
judicial system. He takes his responsibility as a juror very
seriously.
 He is one of three jurors who change their minds, to make the
vote split six to six. He further expresses reasonable doubt
about the old man's ability to recognize the boy in a dimly lit
tenement building.
 In the author's notes, he is described as "ashamed, humble,
almost subservient to the people around him," but in the film
his character is strengthened. He rebukes Juror Seven for not
taking the trial more seriously, and he is prepared to stand up
for what he believes. Also in the film version, he questions
whether the son would have returned to his father's house at
three o'clock in the morning if he had been the murderer.
Characters - Juror Twelve
 Juror Twelve works for an advertising agency. He is
clever, but as the author's notes point out, he "thinks
of human beings in terms of percentages, graphs and
polls, and has no real understanding of people.“
 When Juror Three presses him, near the end of the
play, to explain his not-guilty vote, he finds it very
hard to do so, since he does not, in fact, have strong
opinions one way or the other.
 He is reduced to mumbling about the complexity of
the evidence.
About the text itself
 The play centers on the jury deliberation (商议) in a murder trial.
A teenaged boy from the slums of the city stands accused of
killing his father. If convicted, the boy will receive a mandatory
(强制的) death sentence. The jury of 12 take a show of hands to
see who falls on the side of guilty and not guilty. While many are
expecting an open-and-shut (一目了然的) case, one lone juror
(C.L. Brown) votes not guilty.
 Incredulous (质疑的) scoffing follows, but once the man is given
the floor to speak, he begins chipping away (去除) at the
prosecution’s evidence. As holes are poked in the case, jurors
begin flip-flopping (逆转). Still a few stubborn men hold their
ground. Gridlock sets in, people reach their boiling points and
personal prejudices reveal themselves.
Themes –
The Triumph and the Fragility of Justice
 The play is, in one sense, a celebration of justice, showing the
workings of the American judicial system in a favorable light.
 Although initially the jury is inclined to wrongly convict a man
without any discussion of the case, the persistence of Juror Eight
ensures that the right verdict is reached in the end.
 The play is also a warning about the fragility of justice and the
forces of complacency, prejudice, and lack of civic responsibility
that would undermine it. Several jurors show that they are
virtually incapable of considering the matter fairly and listening to
opposing points of view.
 Whether the play is regarded as a celebration of justice or a
warning about how easily justice can be subverted depends on
one's views about the likelihood of a juror similar to Juror Eight
being present in every jury room.
About the text – jury trial system
 The jury consists of 12 jurors, selected at random,
agreed on by the lawyers of the two sides, who will,
after hearing all the evidence and cross-examination
and after careful deliberation, give a verdict of guilty
or not guilty. If the verdict is guilty, then the judge will
give the sentence. If the verdict is not guilty, then the
judge will have to acquit the accused no matter
whether he agrees with the verdict or not, and the
acquitted cannot be tried on the same charge with the
same evidence.
About the text–jury trial system cont’d
 For those poor people who cannot afford to hire their
own lawyer, the law says in the U.S. that a lawyer will
be provided for them by the government with public
money. However, that kind of lawyers usually do not
take their duty very seriously because there is no
incentive for them, no money, nor glory attached to it.
In fact lawyers usually try to avoid this kind of duty if
they can.
 Unanimous jury verdicts have been standard in Western law.
This standard was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1897, but
it was rejected in 1972 in two criminal cases.
 As of 1999 over 30 states had laws allowing less than
unanimity in civil cases, but Oregon and Louisiana are the only
states which have laws allowing less than unanimous jury
verdicts for criminal cases. When the required number of
jurors cannot agree on a verdict (a situation sometimes
referred to as a hung jury), a mistrial is declared, and the case
may be retried with a newly constituted jury. The practice
generally was that the jury rules only on questions of facts on
guilt; setting the penalty was reserved for the judge. This has
been changed by rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court such as in
Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 284 (2002), which found Arizona's
practice, having the judge (in a capital punishment trial by
jury) decide between life or death sentences, to be
unconstitutional, and reserved that decision for the jury.
 The judge can, however, overrule the jury and reduce the
penalty from death to life if he or she chooses, although this
has not yet occurred in an actual trial.
About the text – court system
The play gives insight into several aspects of the
American court system:
1) The accused is deemed innocent until and unless
proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt;
2) The burden of proof is on the prosecutor;
3) In most cases, to find a defendant guilty of a felony;
4) A trial does not aim at discovering who committed a
particular crime, but rather the innocence or guilt of
the accused.
 This system is valuable and has avoided many terrible
mistakes like in the case of this play, but it is not
infallible and can in fact be quite precarious.
About the text – court system cont’d
 What if No. 8 were a different sort of person, or if the
boy really had stabbed his father.
 The jurors are also people, and people make mistakes.
 A jury usually includes a range of characters from the
fair-minded to the bigoted like in this play.
 After all, any system is effective only to the degree of
the intelligence and moral standard of the people who
make it an operate it.
 Today we are talking about judicial reform in keeping
with our economic and social development.
 It is no doubt useful for us to see how the system
works in other countries.
About the text cont’d_西方的陪审员制度
 1801年托马斯·杰弗逊总统在其就职演讲中曾说过：“我认为陪审团制
度是一个政府赖以维护其宪法最高原则的基石，是人类迄今所能想象得
到的一个伟大发明。”要理解陪审员制度，先要了解两个概念。
 第一，假定无罪（Presumed innocent until proved guilty），
即被告在被证明有罪之前应被认为是无罪的。从理论上来说，“假定无
罪论”体现了对生命权的尊重，减少了冤假错案的机率；
 第二，合理疑点 (Reasonable doubt ), 即一个普通，公正，诚实，
理智并且谨慎的人是头脑里对被告的罪行产生的疑点。在法庭审判时，
检方若要指控被告有罪，一定要提出确凿可信的证据来证明被告的罪行。
陪审员们必须排除任何有理疑点才能确定被告的罪行。这个术语包含一
个极为重要的原则：由于刑事案人命关天，所以陪审团在裁决无罪时，
不一定非要确信被告清白无辜。只要检方呈庭证据破绽较多，没达到
“超越合理怀疑“的严格标准，尽管有很多迹象表明被告涉嫌犯罪，但
陪审团仍然可以判决被告无罪。然而在许多情况下，这两个原则也有助
于罪犯逃脱惩罚。
About the text cont’d_西方的陪审员制度
如果一个罪犯很有钱，他就能雇佣精通法律又愿意为了钱替任何人辩护的律师。
而这些巧舌如簧的律师则不难在证人的证词中挑出漏洞，使陪审员产生“合
理”疑点。
例如1995年轰动美国的“辛普森涉嫌杀妻案”，前橄榄球超级明星O.J.辛普森
腰缠万贯，不惜花费重金，聘请了号称天下无敌的“梦幻律师队”为自己开
脱罪名。这帮律师凭着利用美国社会的种族矛盾以及刑事诉讼程序中的漏洞，
把掌握着“如山血证“的检察官和警方证人驳得目瞪口呆，在舆论一致认为
辛普森有罪的情况下，由他的律师挑选的黑人占多数（9/12）的陪审团最终
却裁决他无罪开释。有人说，美国司法审判制度的一个重要特点是“宁可漏
网一千，不可错杀一人”。此语极为传神。
美国最高法院大法官道格拉斯(William O. Douglas，任期1939－1975)精辟
指出：“权利法案的绝大部分条款都与程序有关，这绝非毫无意义。正是程
序决定了法治与随心所欲或反复无常的人治之间的大部分差异。坚定地遵守
严格的法律程序，是我们赖以实现法律面前人人平等的主要保证。”
Written work-translation
 In some countries in the West, there is a principle guiding a
criminal court: the court must prove the accused person’s guilt
beyond reasonable doubt. In other words, the accused is
held innocent until proved guilty. Reasonable doubt refers
to the doubt that could arise in the mind of an ordinary,
impartial, honest, reasonable and cautious person with
reference to the accused’s guilt.
 In theory, the concept of holding the accused innocent until
proved guilty makes sure that a case is not misjudged and
that an innocent person is not unjustly treated. In the one-act
play Twelve Angry Men, Juror No. 8 uses this concept to save
the boy’s life. He raises one reasonable doubt after another
until the other jurors agree that there is no evidence to prove
that the boy is guilty.
Written work-translation cont’d
 However, in many other cases, this practice may also
help criminals to escape punishment. If a criminal is
very rich, he can hire very competent lawyers to
defend him. If his lawyers are experienced and
steeped (精通) in the law, and ready to defend anyone
for money, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to pick
holes in the testimony of the witnesses and raise
“reasonable” doubts. Moreover, a lawyer is trained to
ignore questions of right (正义) and wrong, guilt or
innocence, and try to find ways to keep his client out
of court and out of jail.
Text B _ Shot Actress - H.E. Bates
 In Shot Actress - A watchmaker's life is turned
upside-down by rumor and innuendo after he
finds his neighbor dead in her bathroom.
About the author _ H.E.Bates
 Bates, H. E. (Herbert Ernest Bates), 1905-74, English
author, b. Rushden, Northamptonshire.
 During World War II he served with the Royal Air Force.
A good storyteller, Bates had the ability to render the
sense of a particular place and time and was noted for
his descriptions of the English countryside.
 Among his many novels are Fair Stood the Wind for
France (1944), The Jacaranda Tree (1949), and The
Triple Echo (1970).
The Summary of Othello-shorter version
 This drama is one of the great tragedy themed plays by
William Shakespeare. Othello is a highly esteemed general
in the service of Venice. Iago is Othello‘s ambitious friend.
Othello promotes the Michael Cassio to the position of
personal lieutenant and Iago is deadly jealous. Iago begins an
evil and malicious campaign against the hero. Othello elopes
with Desdemona but Iago starts to plot against them. Othello
becomes jealous and suspicious of Desdemona. He confides in
Iago that he plans to poison Desdemona. Plots and murders
ensue and Othello returns to the castle to kill his innocent wife.
He eventually smothers her to death.
Emilia tells Othello the truth about the scheming (诡计多端的)
Iago. Othello wounds Iago, then kills himself. Iago kills Emilia.
Summary of Othello – longer version
In the opening scene, Iago complains to Roderigo that Othello, his
Commander, has passed him over to promote the handsome
young Cassio to be his Lieutenant. He vows to get revenge. Iago
first asks Roderigo to tell Desdemona's father, Brabantio, that his
daughter has left to marry Othello, a marriage Brabantio opposes
because Othello is a Moor. Brabantio confronts Othello, and they
take their argument to the Duke, who has summmoned Othello to
ask him to sail to Cyprus to stop a Turkish invasion. Convinced by
Othello and Desdemona that they love each other deeply despite
their differences, the Duke gives Desdemona permission to travel
with Othello. By the time they reach Cyprus the foreign threat has
gone.
Summary of Othello – longer version cont’d
 Iago manipulates Cassio to make him drunk and gets Roderigo
to draw him into a street fight. Iago has his revenge on Cassio
when Othello strips Cassio of his rank for misbehavior. Then
Iago decides to make Othello believe his wife is unfaithful. He
encourages Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with Othello to
be reinstated. Iago suggests to Othello that Desdemona is
Cassio's lover. Trusting Iago, and mad with jealousy, Othello
promotes Iago and asks Iago to help him kill Cassio and
Desdemona.
 Iago plants Desdemona's handkerchief in Cassio's room.
Cassio gives it to his mistress, Bianca. Othello believes
Bianca's possession of the handkerchief is proof that
Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. He verbally abuses his wife
in front of others, who are shocked at the change in the noble
and powerful man.
Summary of Othello – longer version cont’d
 Iago has manipulated Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio. The
attempt goes wrong, and Cassio wounds Roderigo; Iago stabs
Cassio in the leg. Othello hears Cassio cry out and thinks Iago has
killed him. He returns home, ready to kill Desdemona. Meanwhile,
Iago "finds" the wounded Cassio and accuses Bianca of causing
Cassio's injury. Iago quietly kills Roderigo and sends Emilia
(Iago's wife) to Desdemona with news of what has happened.
 Othello reaches the sleeping Desdemona first. He kisses her,
wakes her, and accuses her again. Over her protests that she
loves him and is innocent, he smothers her. Emilia enters and
Desdemona revives for a moment, declaring herself guiltless but
saying, as she dies, that Othello is innocent of her death. Iago
and others enter, and Emilia defends Desdemona's innocence,
recognizing that Iago is behind the tragedy. Othello sees the truth
and tries to kill Iago. Iago kills Emilia and flees; Othello
condemns himself and commits suicide. Iago is seized and taken
away.
Twelve Angry Men