Othello Quote Bank and Summary A* Grade Level (7712)

Othello



Themes:



Race

‘old black ram’ – Iago  deadly sin of gluttony, old husband w youg wife trad butt of comedy

… ‘is tupping your whte ewe’  race and purity, biblical denotations: purty and parable of sheep and
goats

‘barbary horse…cursers for cousins’  dereog extended metaphor  fear on unpure lineage

‘beast with two backs’  oth and des ‘unatural’  not created in image of god  against natural
order

‘gross clasps f lascivious moor’ Roderigo  grotesque exhaggeration  ‘moor’: lack of individuality
and personhood

‘o treason of blood’ Brabantio  highest crime  deceived lineage  against god  white purity

‘valiant moor’  valued and seen as asset yet red to race and not skill




Manipulation

Gender

‘send for the lady let her speak of me’  empowers des

‘do not learn of him emilia tho he is thy husband’  defies gender roles nf forehsaowd later
empowerment from emilia  dynamic: Othello initially empowers whereas iago reduces emilia




Jealousy



Love

‘soul to soul’  platonic love ROF  Othello and des share the perfect love overcoming social
barriers

‘cupid’  romantic idea of fate  later subverted to Prometheus

, ‘o my fair warrior’




Characters



Othello

‘gentle desdemona’

‘my parts, my title my soul shall manifest me rightly’  chrisitan ethos  rep not suffiecient

‘keep up your brigt swords’  bib all ‘those who live y th sword die by the sword

‘most potent’  overly obsequious  has to elevate self over usual standard of etiquette

‘rude am I in my speech’ ‘soft phrase of peace’  downplays self  the ‘good’ other

‘ I won his daughter’  des as a prize and achievement  fem interp Othello viewed des as a
possession from start

‘send for the lady let her speak of me’  empowers des’ autonomy and voice

‘even fall upon my lfe’  deep tryst des  ordained by god rem till death do us part

‘fair lady’s love’  ‘lady’  views des as a woman  credits her with intel and autonomy compared
to brabantios descript of innoc girl  ‘fair’ beauiul but also ref to skin tone??

‘story of my life’  cntrols perception and image

‘that heaven made her such a man’  subverts genesis  imp des has control over Othello

Act 2

‘o my fair warrior’  initial messianic imagery  oxymoronic  beautiful bt potentially fatal  ref
to skintone  des as embodiment of power

‘o my souls joy’  platonic love

‘after every tempest come such calms… Olympus high’

‘my soul hath her content so absolute’  poetic speech  varies from venice  true self around
des  poetic and metaphysicial  order within chaos (ironic)  rein iagos manip usurps idealic love

‘iago is most honest’  dramatic irony

‘come my dear love’

‘fruits are to ensue’  ref to genesis  Des virigity intact and dies pure

Act 3

‘sweet desdemon’