Natural imagery

How does Shakespeare open Act 2 and what atmosphere does this exemplify?

nature is violent in disorder and this creates an atmosphere of instability before the arrival of Othello

What is the storm symbolic of in Act 2?

becomes a symbolic and dramatic force which destroys the external Turkish threat whilst anticipating the dangerous internal destruction that Iago will create

‘it is a high-wrought flood. I cannot ‘twixt the heaven and the main.’ Act 2.

the sea is personified as aggressive and monstrous while the boundary between the heavens and the main appears almost erased due to destruction

how does Shakespeare begin the Cyprus section in Act 2?

presenting a world in which ordinary boundaries have broken down which foreshadows the collapse of distinctions between truth, falsehood, love and jealousy’, loyalty and betrayal

‘‘What from cape can you discern at sea?’’ Act 2. What does Montano’s opening interrogative immediately establish? (1)

immediately establishes uncertainty and dependence upon sight. The verb ‘‘discern’’ suggests distinguishing, interpreting and correctly identifying something difficult to perceive

What is the significance of the verb ‘discern’ in Act 2? (2)

this is significant in ‘Othello’ because the tragedy asks whether characters cab accurately interpret what they see. Othello will later demand for ocular proof yet his tragedy emerges because he cannot distinguish between appearances and reality

In response to Montano’s interrogative, the reply is: ‘Nothing at all.’ (1)

bluntness of the statement immediately frustrates Montano’s attempt to gain knowledge. The absolute pronoun ‘Nothing’ conveys total emptiness and suggests that the storm has erased all reliable evidence. Shakespeare creates dramatic tension because characters know a military threat exists but cannot perceive its condition

What does the line, ‘Nothing at all.’ establish? (2)

epistemological uncertainty as events are happening but human beings cannot see or understand them

How does this analysis of ‘Nothing at all’ foreshadow later events that Othello constructs? (3)

Othello eventually constructs an enormous emotional certainty from almost nothing - insinuations, a misplaced handkerchief and Iago’s invented narratives. Characters honestly admit that they cannot see which creates a contrast with Othello as when he becomes dangerously certain about things for which he possesses insufficient evidence

What may Shakespeare be establishing from the beginning of the Cyprus action? (4)

a tragedy of failed interpretations from the beginning of the Cyprus action

‘‘It is a high-wrought flood.’’ Act 2. What does the compound adjective ‘high-wrought’ convey? (1)

extreme agitation and elevation. ‘Wrought’ suggests that something violently stirred which makes the sea appear almost artificially fashioned into a state of fury.

What does the flood become? (2)

a dynamic force with its own dramatic agency. Shakespeare makes nature itself seem active before Iago begins actively manipulating the human characters, which could be a foreshadow towards Iago’s nefarious intentions and the destruction he will bring in later acts.

What does the adjective ‘High’ create a sense of? (3)

unnatural vertical movement. The sea is no longer remaining within its proper horizontal boundary but appears to rise upward, anticipating the later imagery in which the waves assault both heavens and clouds. The spatial disorder symbolically reflects the disorder that will govern Cyprus as things will no longer remain in their proper place just as Othello’s love, judgment and military authority will become disordered

‘Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land.’ Act 2, Montano. Significance of the personification? (1)

the wind is personified through the verb ‘spoke’. Nature acquires a human voice and ‘spoke aloud’ is suggestive of a shout, warning or proclamation. The storm therefore seems to communicate something ominous even though its message cannot be fully interpreted, which contributes to the passage’s understanding that nature is announcing the disorder to come.

‘Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land’, significance of anthropomorphism? (2)

the anthropomorphism is effective because speech is one of the central instruments of power - Iago will destroy Othello primarily through language rather than physical force using suggestion, insinuation and fabricated evidence. The wind itself possesses a powerful voice capable of shaking fortifications, this may parallel Iago.

‘A fuller blast n’er shook our battlements.’ Act 2. Significance of the storm? (1)

the superlative quality establishes the storm as unprecedented. Montano is presumably experienced in Cyprus and its conditions yet even he has never witnessed a wind of comparable force. Shakespeare males the natural disturbance exceptional rather than ordinary, giving the arrival in Cyprus na almost aporcayptic atmosphere. The extremity of weather prepares the audience emotionally for the extremity of tragedy

‘A fuller blast ne’er shook our battlements.’ significance of the verb ‘shook’? (2)

conveys physical instability. Even the battlements, structures designed specifically to resist military attack are vulnerable to the storm. This is significant because Cyprus is prepared to withstand human enemies yet nature demonstrates that supposedly secure defensive structures can be destabilised. Symbolically, Othello may resemble these battlements: military formidable but psychologically vulnerable to a different form of assault

What does Shakespeare juxtapose with the quote: ‘A fuller blast ne’er shook our battlements’

juxtaposes human fortification with natural violence and makes human military architecture seem comparatively weak. The Turks appear to be the immediate danger yet the storm demonstrates that destruction can come from unexpected directions. Similarly Othello expects enemies to take the form of military opponents yet fails to recognise Iago’s imminent psychological threat.

‘‘If it hath ruffianed so upon the sea.’’Act 2, what is the significance of the verb ‘ruffianed’?

violently personifies the storm. A ruffian suggests a violent, lawless aggressor so he wind becomes almost a criminal attacking the sea. Shakespeare gives nature human brutality and aggression. The storm therefore resembles an assault rather than ordinary weather

‘‘If it hath ruffianed so upon the sea.’’ what is the parallel between the sea being attacked and characters in the play?

the sea is being attacked just as characters later attack one another psychologically and physically, therefore the natural environment anticipates the interpersonal brutality of the tragedy. What initially exists metaphorically eventually becomes literal in Othello’s murder of Desdemona

What atmosphere does ‘ruffianed’ create?

creates an atmosphere of lawlessness appropriate to Cyprus. Venice represents institutional order and senatorial authority whereas Cyprus becomes increasingly associated with drunken fighting, jealousy and murder. The storm that greets the characters therefore symbolically strips away stability before Iago begins dismantling the social order from within

‘‘What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them.’’ What is the significance of the metaphor and synecdoche in ‘Ribs of oak’?

it describes the wooden frames of ships through the anatomy of the human body. By giving ships ribs, Shakespeare makes them seem like vulnerable living creatures rather than indestructible military machines. This bodily imagery foreshadows the physical vulnerability of the human characters later in the play

What is the parallel between ‘Oak’ and Othello’s characteristics?

conventionally suggests hardness, endurance and strength. Naval vessels constructed from oak could symbolise military durability however Shakespeare intensifies the threat by presenting