Othello 8

"That death's unnatural that kills for loving" (Shakespeare 5.2: 42-43).

As the play nears the climax, it has become quite apparent what Othello is about to do. Desdemona is even aware of her fate. In this last sort of plea, she is pointing out to Othello that a death in the name of love would be against nature. This shows how Othello is going against what love is, instead of loving Desdemona in good times and bad, he has gone a jumped to a conclusion and pledged to bring on her demise. In the same way that their love may have gone against nature, so does Desdemona's death. It comes out of thin air. Nothing to back it up, deception, and unnaturalness, are all found both in their love, and her death. Desdemona's life in a way has come full circle.

Othello 7

"Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust's blood be spotted"(Shakespeare 5.1: 36-37).

At this point of the play, Othello believes that he knows all that is occurring under his nose, when in reality it is merely a figment of his imagination. In these lines, Othello is stating how he will use his bed for the murder of Desdemona. There is a certain irony in this because he believes that he would be killing Desdemona in a place where she emotionally killed him. The very bed that he believes the sins that corrupted his love were committed in, will be the very bed where the drops of blood are shed in payment. Othello is too blinded by his growing jealousy to see the reason and ridiculousness of this all.

Othello 6

"I have heard too much, and your words and performances are no kin together"(Shakespeare 4.2: 180-181).

Roderigo, possibly most easily duped of all the characters, is the first to see through Iago's honest shell, and into his true, manipulative inside. Finally, even if only for a minute, Iago is forced to be scrutinized, and have his plan near disaster. However, in true Iago fashion, he is able to use flattery and deception to distract Roderigo from his new discovery. By doing so, Iago proves that even spontaneously, he can concoct a web of lies to fit any situation presented to him. If Roderigo had simply stuck to his gut feeling, things would have ended differently.

Othello 5

"Is this the noble Moor whom our full senate call all in all sufficient? It this the nature passion could not shake? Whose solid virtue the shot of accident not dart of chance could neither graze nor pierce?"(Shakespeare 4.1 264-268).

This passage spoken by Lodovico speaks to the immense change that has visibly taken place within Othello. While before, even a rush of emotion could not have shaken Othello's judgement, his mind is now fabricating events and jumping to wrongful conclusions. From fair, to irrational, pensive, to acting on impulse, Othello has become a different person. Even during the brief time that Lodovico has seen him, he can see the changes. Jealousy has consumed Othello and altered his mind and life permanently.

Othello 4

"That the slave had forty thousand lives! One is too poor, too weak for my revenge"(Shakespeare 3.3 339-340).

As the monster that is jealousy is slowing corrupting Othello's judgement, his statements and decisions lessen in rationality. In this scene, he is vowing to punish Cassio so well, that even forty thousand lifetimes would not be enough to save him. Little does Othello realize, he is acting upon nothing more than a figment of his imagination. His own insecurities, mixed with emotion, and Iago's ever precise way of manipulating the trusting people around him, doom Othello to this jealous fate from the start. Cassio may be physically "too poor, too weak"(3.3 339), but Othello too is poor and weak, but in an emotional way. He is allowing his feelings to cloud his judgement, only stumbling further into Iago's trap.

Othello 3

"As if thou were some monster in my thought, too hideous to be shown"(Shakespeare 61).



Iago has successfully planted the seeds of doubt in Othello's mind. He is making him seriously doubt and contemplate the status of Cassio and Desdemona. Jealousy appears to be creeping into Othello's heart. He sees now that maybe something had been going on all along, and he was too blind to see. Has Cassio achieved everything that should be Othello's? Is Cassio working against him? These questions are beginning to enter into Othello's mind, hand in hand with the monster of jealousy. He cannot, however act on these, he has no real basis on which to make these assumptions, especially not against a friend. As the plot continues to unfold, Iago is able to frame Cassio further, causing unrest in Othello's mind. This feeling allows the green eyed monster to find refuge in Othello, changing his perspective permanently.

Othello 2

"They met so near with their lips that their breaths embraced together"(Shakespeare 39).

If the audience had not already figured out that Iago is the perfect opportunist who will take anything and spin it to benefit himself, his statement regarding the brief interaction between Desdemona and Cassio certainly allows his true colors to shine. His detailed and blatantly false description is a direct contradiction of the stage direction on the previous page which states that Cassio "takes Desdemona's hand"(36). With this ever so slight seeming change in actions, Iago is able to paint a picture that points to Cassio being in love with Desdemona. It is simply a matter of time before Iago changes everything into a web of lies that would give Othello reason to doubt his newly appointed lieutenant. From a "near kiss" to getting Cassio drunk Iago will stop at nothing to tear down the Innocent soldier. If Iago can take a meaningless action and blow it out of proportion we can only wonder what he will prove capable of down the road.

Othello 1

"For if such actions may have passage free, bondslaves and pagans shall out statesmen be"(Shakespeare 14).



This rather bold statement by Barbantio displays his feelings of urgency and frustration towards the situation regarding his daughter. He cannot be condemned for his rash actions and jump to conmclusions when he finds his daughter gone; it is the way most parents would react. However, his want to punish Othello so immediately is a bit much. In this line, he is basically saying that if the government will allow someone to go unpunished for what he has figured to be a grave crime, then the statesmen might as well be "bondslaves and pagans"(14). This is a pretty bad assumption, seeing as those were most likely two of the lowliest types of people in that era. This statement shows that Barbantio may in the future cause trouble with his temper, accusations, and impetuousness.