Othello Quotes

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“I know my price, I am worth no worse a place.”

Iago says he knows his own worth and believes he deserves to be promoted.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“One Michael Cassio, a Florentine, a fellow almost damned in a fair wife, That never set a squadron in the field Nor the division of a battle knows.”

Iago speaks scornfully and jealousy of Cassio, pointing out that he is from Florence, not Venice, and that he is a womaniser with no experience of the battlefield. At the time, Florence and Venice were separate city states, so Iago is disgusted that a man he considers a foreigner has been promoted above him.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“I follow him to serve my turn upon him.”

Iago tells Roderigo that he only serves Othello in order to take advantage of him when the opportunity arises.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“Were I the Moor I would not be Iago. In following him I follow but myself.”

Iago may mean to say that if he were a general, like Othello, he would not want to be a lowly man like Iago, or he may mean that if he were an honest and good man like Othello, he wouldn't be himself.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“You'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you”

Iago is punning on the word 'coursers' and 'corsairs'. Corsairs were pirates from the North-west of Africa or those parts of Spain occupied by people from north-west Africa. In other words, Moors.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“I am not what I am.”

This is a very important quote. Iago tells Roderigo that he is not what he seems to be and cannot be trusted. It is a perversion of the line in the Bible in which God tells Moses 'I am that I am'. Thus, Iago is linked with evil. Shakespeare's audience would have been aware of the connection

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 1)

“Though I do hate him as I do hell pains yet for necessity of present life I must show out a flag and sign of love, Which is indeed but sign”

Iago tells Roderigo that it is necessary for his livelihood that he presents an outward show of loyalty, which is nothing but a pretence. Therefore, he must leave Roderigo and go to Othello before Brabantio’s search party arrives at the Sagittary Inn, where Othello and Desdemona are lodging.

(Othello, Act 1 Scene 2)

“But that I love the gentle Desdemona I would not my unhoused free condition Put into circumscription and confine For the seas’ worth.”

Othello tells Iago that only his great love for Desdemona could have made him give up his freedom and his bachelor life, which he would not otherwise have given up for all the treasure in the seas.

(Othello, Act 1 Scene 2)

Othello tells Iago that he refuses to hide from Brabantio and his search party. He, Othello, says that his qualities, his legal rights as a husband and a Venetian general, and his clear conscience will show his accusers the truth of who he really is.

(Othello, Act 1 Scene 3)

“She loved me for the dangers I had passed, And I loved her that she did pity them.”

Othello tells the Duke and senators that Desdemona loved him for all his brave adventures, and he, in turn, was attracted by her admiration of him.

(Othello, Act 1 Scene 3)

“That I did love the Moor to live with him, My downright violence and storm of fortunes May trumpet to the world.”

Desdemona tells the Duke that she loves Othello and wants to live with him, which can be seen in her rebelling against her father and not caring about the consequences. She wants the Duke to allow her to accompany Othello to Cyprus.

(Brabantio, Act 1 Scene 3)

“Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee.”

Brabantio warns Othello that Desdemona deceived her father and may well do the same to him in time. Brabantio’s words are an indication of the trouble that is to come between Othello and Desdemona.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 3)

“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse”

Iago gloats that he has always made money from fools like Roderigo.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 3)

“The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so, And will as tenderly be led by th’nose As asses are.”

Iago scornfully says that Othello is such an honest and trusting man that he does not suspect others of things he would not do. Therefore, Iago believes, he is easily fooled and manipulated.

(Iago, Act 1 Scene 3)

“Hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.”

Iago has come up with his evil plan to bring about Cassio and Othello’s downfall.

(Iago, Act 2 Scene 1)

“You are pictures out of doors, Bells in your parlours; wildcats in your kitchens, Saints in your injuries; devils being offended, Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds.”

Iago shares his cynical and misogynistic view of women with Desdemona and Emilia, claiming they are deceitful and that their public and private selves are very different.

(Cassio, Act 2 Scene 1)

“He’s had most favourable and happy speed.”

Cassio tells Montano that Iago has been fortunate enough to have a good voyage, despite the terrible storm. This foreshadows Iago’s plots going well later in the play while the other characters are caught up in an emotional storm which Iago has brought about.

(Iago, Act 2 Scene 1)

“With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio.”

Iago says that he will take advantage of Cassio’s courtesy, foreshadowing the trouble he’ll put him in later on.

(Iago, Act 2 Scene 1)

Iago’s reasons for scheming against Othello are not really credible. He sees the real love Othello has for Desdemona while Iago shows contempt for goodness in others he seems a little envious and indulges in wistful thinking. He admits to the goodness in others and envies them. He desires to be even with Othello, not for any secret affair with Emilia, but simply because Othello has what Iago can never have - a relationship of deep and mutual love.

(Othello, Act 2 Scene 3)

“My blood begins my safer guides to rule”

Othello shows that he has a temper and that he can be ruled by emotions rather than logic. He is particularly angry to have been called from his bed because it meant leaving Desdemona, even though he assured the Duke and senators that her presence would not affect his ability to do his job. Iago will use Othello’s passionate nature against him.

(Cassio, Act 2 Scene 3)

“Reputation, reputation, reputation - O, I ha’ lost my reputation, I ha’ lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial!”

Cassio is devastated to have lost his good reputation as a result of his drunken brawling. He considers it to be the part of himself that elevates him above an animal. Most people at the time would have considered the soul more important, but the importance Cassio places on his reputation will make him easy prey for Iago who will lure him with the promise of helping him to win it back.

(Iago, Act 2 Scene 3)

“So will I turn her virtue into pitch, and out of her own goodness make the net That shall enmesh them all.”

Iago shows the depths of evil as he plots to use Desdemona’s goodness against her, turning it into something as black and foul as tar that will trap Othello, Desdemona and Cassio.

(Cassio, Act 3 Scene 1)

“I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest.”

Cassio sas that even among his own countrymen in Florence , he never met anyone as kind and honest as Iago. Neither Cassio nor Othello are Venetian: both are outsiders. This quote serves to remind us of that fact, and it is also an excellent example of dramatic irony. The audience knows that Iago is neither kind nor honest.

(Desdemona, Act 3 Scene 3)

“Therefore be merry, Cassio, For thy solicitor shall rather die Than give thy cause away.”

Desdemona likens herself to a lawyer arguing Cassio’s case, and she says she would rather die than abandon his cause. Ironically, her words will come true when Othello, believing Iago’s poisonous lies about Desdemona and Cassio, kills his wife in a jealous rage.

(Iago, Act 3 Scene 3)

“O beware, my lord, of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.”

Iago warns Othello against jealousy, saying it destroys a person like a monster making a fool of its victim as it eats him. Again, there is great irony here, as it is Iago who is tempting Othello to suspect Desdemona of infidelity. It also foreshadows the dehumanisation of Othello and how ghastly folly it’ll look.

(Othello, Act 3 Scene 3)

“This fellow’s of exceeding honesty,”

He believes in Iago’s honesty. He looks within himself for reasons Desdemona should be unfaithful to him. Othello’s soliloquy shows the moral damage Iago has done.

(Iago, Act 3 Scene 3)

“Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys,”

Iago degrades every sexual act to sheer lust.

(Othello, Act 3 Scene 3)

“Arise, black vengeance, from the hollow hell.”

Othello loses his trust for Cassio and his belief in his wife’s fidelity. His language becomes increasingly violent. He adopts some of the diabolical imagery that characterises Iago’s soliloquies. He is becoming like Iago and is torn between love, jealousy and a desire for vengeance.

(Desdemona, Act 3 Scene 4)

“My noble Moor Is true of mind, and made of no such baseness As jealous creatures are,”

Desdemona tells Emilia that Othello is incapable of jealousy. There is great irony in this, of course, as the audience knows that Desdemona has seriously misjudged her husband and that he is, in fact, in a jealous rage and will take the loss of her handkerchief as proof of Desdemona’s infidelity.

(Emilia, Act 3 Scene 4)

“They are all but stomachs, and we all but food. They eat us hungrily, and when they are full, They belch us.”

Emilia’s rather cynical view of men is that they are entirely motivated by their appetites, and will show their true selves sooner or later. They use women and when they are satisfied, have no more time for them.

(Emilia, Act 3 Scene 4)

“It is a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.”

Emilia tells Desdemona that jealousy needs no cause. It feeds on itself and jealousy breeds more jealousy.

(Iago, Act 4 Scene 1)

“Thus credulous fools are caught, And many worthy and chaste dames even thus, All guiltless, meet reproach”

Iago is elated by his own success and enjoys absolute power over Othello. While Othello is in a trance brought about by his jealous rage, Iago gloats about how easy it is to trap gullible fools and bring shame upon innocent women

(Othello, Act 4 Scene 1)

“Ay, let her rot and perish, and be damned tonight, for she shall not live. No, my heart is turned to stone;”

“O, the world hath not a sweeter creature! She might lie by an emperor’s side, and command his tasks.”

Othello is tortured by his conflicting feelings about Desdemona. On the one hand, he denounces her and says she will die that night, but on the other hand he praises her loveliness, saying she could persuade an emperor to do whatever she wanted.

(Othello, Act 4 Scene 1)

“I will chop her into messes.”

He is out of his mind with the torture. The clear graphic and vulgar language shows us that this isn’t the Othello who was initially described at the start.

(Desdemona, Act 4 Scene 1)

“I will not stay to offend you.”

She shows no resentment or desire for revenge. She retains her dignity even in this crisis. The outrage upon her brings the private tragedy to public knowledge.

(Othello, Act 4 Scene 2)

“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice”

Othello concludes that his wronged innocent wife is a “whore” who has betrayed him.

(Desdemona, Act 4 Scene 3)

“My love doth so approve him That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns … have grace and favour in them.”

Desdemona tells Emilia that she loves Othello so much that even when he mistreats her, she sees the good in him.

(Emilia, Act 4 Scene 3)

“But I do think it is their husbands’ faults If wives do fall.”

Emilia tells Desdemona that if women are unfaithful, it is their husbands’ fault.

(Othello, Act 5 Scene 1)

“O brave Iago, honest and just”

Othello calls Iago honest and just which is a clear example of irony.

(Roderigo, Act 5 Scene 1)

“O damned Iago! O inhuman dog!”

Roderigo is the first person in the play to see Iago for what he really is.

(Othello, Act 5 Scene 2)

Othello justifies his killing of Desdemona by saying that if he does not do it, she will go on to betray other men just as she betrayed him. The audience is also reminded of Brabantio’s words in Act 1 Scene 3 when he warned Othello: ‘Look to her Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee.’

(Desdemona, Act 5 Scene 2)

“Nobody, I myself. Farewell. Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell!”

Even as she lies dying, Desdemona remains loving and loyal. She tries to ensure Othello is not blamed for her death by saying she killed herself.

(Othello, Act 5 Scene 2)

“That’s he that was Othello. Here I am”.

Othello realises the gravity of what he’s done and implies that he is no longer worthy of his name — which had connotations with bravery and steadiness (which he didn’t have)

(Lodovico, Act 5 Scene 2)

“O thou Othello, that was once so good, Fall’n in the practice of a cursed slave,”

Othello’s tragic fall from grace is encapsulated here.

(Othello, Act 5 Scene 2)

“Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well”

Othello wants to be remembered as someone who loved his wife so passionately that he allowed himself to make a terrible mistake.