ACT 1 SCENE 3

“This cannot be, by no assay of reason”

• about the Turkish fleets moving toward Rhodes

• Parallel to Othello and Desdemona’s position with Iago and Roderigo

• Iago has been running a “pageant” manipulating both Othello and Roderigo to conflicts in order to advance himself

“valiant moor” “Valiant Othello”

• rank is acknowledged

• Racism contrasts bravery

“She is abused, stolen from me, and corrupted By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks”

• AO3: a “mountebank” is a witch doctor

• Motif of poison and medicine

• References to witchcraft

• AO2: “stolen” suggests un consensually and also has patriarchal connotations of her belonging to her father

“Most potent, grave and reverend signors”

• the Othello music - establishes his good oratory and high status through his ability to speak well at the start of the play

• AO2: triplet, shows he is calm and dignified

• Polite and doesn’t defend himself straight away to show he respects the senators and Brabantio (flattering)

“That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter”

• AO2: “old” is subtly trying to remind Brabantio that he’s a senator whilst simultaneously undermining him

“It is most true; true I have married her”

• semi colon makes a pause which emphasises true

• He indirectly denies that he’s stolen

“I will a round unvarnished tale deliver Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms… I won his daughter”

• frames their relationship as an archetypal chivalric yet meaningful and loving one

• he vows to tell the imperfect and plain story of their love

• AO2: “drugs… charms” motif of poison, an ironic use of Brabantio’s language which plays on racial stereotypes

• AO2: “won” objectifies Desdemona which contrasts the idea that she chose to be with him - it’s rare that we see Othello objectify her this early in the play, this could be a sarcastic and ironic use of Brabantio’s assumption - if so it’s an ironic twist of his words and makes Brabantio seem a fool

“Against all rules of nature… practices of cunning hell”

• suggests un-naturality of their relationship

• AO3: this is an indirect reference to the devil which at this time were black

“Her father loved me”

• speaks on Desdemona’s behalf

• Opens Brabantio to complicity

“The battles, sieges, fortunes, that I have passed

• reminds the senators of his honourable past with his battle scars

• A symbol of his importance in society

“Sold to slavery”

• shows racism → Othello has witnessed tragic and traumatising things due to slavery. This draws sympathy from the senators showing how he uses his oratory to persuade others

“My noble father”

• Desdemona is respectful of patriarchal norms

“And so much duty as my mother showed To you, preferring you before her father”

• she’s saying that her mother came to Brabantio in the same situation for love, and put him over her own father

• Appealing to the patriarchal norms → she’s clever and good at speaking, cautiously leaving out some details of their relationship to appeal to her father

“I had rather adopt a child than get it”

• he’s saying there’s no point in having children because they’ll break your heart → expressing his upset at Desdemona’s decision

• “adopt” wouldn’t reflect in the bloodline, showing deep rooted racism

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

• AO4: Iago is listening here and will later remind Othello of this, in order to manipulate Othello into thinking Desdemona has deceived him

• AO2: “see” → motif of sight and seeing, ironic since Othello will be unable to see that Desdemona hasn’t deceived him, not that she has

• AO2: foreboding of her deceiving of Othello (or how he sees her)

“My life upon her faith”

• tragic downfall in that he will put his life on her faith and it won’t work out

• Foreboding

“Virtue? A fig. ‘Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus.”

• AO2: Switch to prose from when Othello and Desdemona leave, it’s now just Roderigo and Iago → sneaky conversation, manipulative

• Insignificance → he says that virtue is worthless in the long run

• Iago suggest that humans have the ability to control their own passions

“Come, be a man. Drown thyself? Drown cats and blind puppies.”

• Iago saying Roderigo’s death would be pointless as no one would gain anything

• Ironic since Iago will later kill Roderigo to help his plan to manipulate Othello

“Put money in thy purse”

• AO2: imperative, repetition

• AO2: a phrase that is easily imbedded into the prose

• AO2: Literally → tells Roderigo to build his wealth to woo Desdemona, Metaphorically → using Roderigo’s funds to fuel his own agenda

• AO2: repetition plays on Roderigo’s desperation to direct him to help Iagos plan

• Motif of wealth shows how to Iago, humans have no inherent value outside of how they can be exploited

“There are many events in the womb of time, which will be delivered.”

• AO2: “womb of time” is a metaphor, and an allusion to fate (classic tragic feature)

“But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor,”

• AO2: “sport and profit” is a Machiavellian characteristic

• AO2: caesuras emphasise Iago’s tone and the line, the anger that he feels toward Othello controls him

“He’s done my office”

• AO2: “my” is possessive and an indirect referral which shows their cold relationship

• AO2: “office” is a formality → shows doesn’t care about his wife but more about hating Othello

“Cassio’s a proper man”

• AO2: Cassio is high class and handsome → suggestions of this being another reason of jealousy for Iago

• AO4: Iago is going to use this virtue as a part of his plan, shows his Machiavellian and manipulative tactics

• Dramatic irony as he embroils the audience in the plan

“I have’s. It is endangered. Hell and night Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.”

• reference to the plan → as if he’s thought of the plan on the spot, a dramatic technique

• AO2: “it is endangered” is present tense

• AO2: “monstrous birth” → diabolic language and imagery shows evility of his plan, a metaphor for the plan which includes the motif of monsters

• AO2: rhyming couplet to emphasise the line, as the last line of the act to get the audience to remember it