"I greet thy love,
Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous,
And will upon the instant put thee to 't.
Within these three days let me hear thee say
That Cassio's not alive."
Act III, Scene iii, lines 470-474
Iago's plot to separate Othello and Desdemona starts to unravel in Act III. Iago has successfully convinced Othello that Cassio is having an affair with his wife and Othello wants Cassio dead.
The themes that we talked about earlier this week are definitely emerging into the plotline. First off the theme that Jealousy is a powerful, often destructive force has been evident since the beginning of the play. Iago is jealous of Cassio for being picked to be lieutenant. This is the driving action for the plot. Because Iago is jealous, he plans to betray Othello and Cassio and at some points he uses Roderigo to help him accomplish his plans. We see jealousy being a destructive force too because it's causing Iago to do all of these terrible things to ruin relationships and character's viewpoints on the other characters.
Another theme is that Appearance and reality are not always the same. This theme has been seen through Iago. He appears to be looking out for the good of others, while the audience knows that he is really only doing such actions to benefit himself. He acts as though he wants Othello to be warned that Desdemona may be having an affair with Cassio, but in reality, Iago wants to separate the two from one another and create conflict. All because he didn't get a job.
The benefit that Iago gets from creating his false reality is that he is able to seek revenge for not having what he wanted. He gets back at others to show them he will get what he wants, no matter what.
Iago is creating loads of drama and conflict at this point and I predict that there will be a breaking point in one of the next two acts. All of Iago's little plots will collide, causing everyone to go mad, and someone will probably die too.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Othello Act II
pg 1119, Question 3 "Are there any foil characters? What dramatic functions are served by the various minor characters? Do they shed light on the actions or motives of the major characters?"
"Come on, come on. You are pictures out of doors,
Bells in your parlors, wildcats in your kitchens,
Saints in your injuries, devils being offended,
Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds."
Act II, Scene i, lines 109-112
There are obvious tensions between the women and men so far in this play. An instance of this occurred when Iago, Iago's wife, Emilia, and Desdemona all had a conversation about women. Iago regards women as objects that are, "To suckle fools and chronicle small beer" (II, i, 159). Emilia's reaction to how her husband treats her is very quiet and submissive. She does not argue with what he has to say and we see the opposite reaction in Desdemona, who challenges Iago's words. Emilia and Desdemona are foil characters because their personalities contrast one another. Emilia is reserved and passive while Desdemona is aggressive and opinionated. These characters shine a light upon Iago's character: they reveal that Iago has a controlling attitude, because his wife Emilia quietly agrees with what Iago says. On the other hand, those who do not know Iago very well, like Desdemona, are appalled that a man could say such things about women. This conversation about ideal women portrays Iago's true character to the audience, without any need for a soliloquy. Iago is blunt, set in his ways, and he is not affected by what others may think. These qualities of Iago are possibly reasons for his plotting against Othello and Cassio.
Iago is very clever too and this is seen throughout Act II. He knows how to convince people into doing things they probably wouldn't otherwise do; for example, Iago was able to get Cassio drunk and he also was able to comfort Roderigo's worries that his money was almost spent (II, iii, 328) by saying that time would allow for the 'fruits to blossom.'
Seeing how Iago has managed to create mischief through manipulation thus far in the play leads me to believe even more serious plotting is to come...
"Come on, come on. You are pictures out of doors,
Bells in your parlors, wildcats in your kitchens,
Saints in your injuries, devils being offended,
Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds."
Act II, Scene i, lines 109-112
There are obvious tensions between the women and men so far in this play. An instance of this occurred when Iago, Iago's wife, Emilia, and Desdemona all had a conversation about women. Iago regards women as objects that are, "To suckle fools and chronicle small beer" (II, i, 159). Emilia's reaction to how her husband treats her is very quiet and submissive. She does not argue with what he has to say and we see the opposite reaction in Desdemona, who challenges Iago's words. Emilia and Desdemona are foil characters because their personalities contrast one another. Emilia is reserved and passive while Desdemona is aggressive and opinionated. These characters shine a light upon Iago's character: they reveal that Iago has a controlling attitude, because his wife Emilia quietly agrees with what Iago says. On the other hand, those who do not know Iago very well, like Desdemona, are appalled that a man could say such things about women. This conversation about ideal women portrays Iago's true character to the audience, without any need for a soliloquy. Iago is blunt, set in his ways, and he is not affected by what others may think. These qualities of Iago are possibly reasons for his plotting against Othello and Cassio.
Iago is very clever too and this is seen throughout Act II. He knows how to convince people into doing things they probably wouldn't otherwise do; for example, Iago was able to get Cassio drunk and he also was able to comfort Roderigo's worries that his money was almost spent (II, iii, 328) by saying that time would allow for the 'fruits to blossom.'
Seeing how Iago has managed to create mischief through manipulation thus far in the play leads me to believe even more serious plotting is to come...
Othello Act I
pg 1119 Question 3 "Identify the protagonist and antagonist."
"It is engendered. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light."
Act I, Scene iii, lines 383-384
The protagonist so far in Othello appears to be Othello, the Moor. He is the hero for his services done for the signiory (I, i, 18) or the state of Venice. He also has the characteristics of a protagonist; he is a brave soldier, calm in times of trouble, and he is also loyal to his work. He is respected by those in Venice as well. On the other hand, the antagonist seems to be Iago. Iago is a conniving, sneaky, manipulative character. This is seen through his manipulation of Roderigo, to "put money in thy purse" (I, iii, 330) which means he wants Roderigo to pay him money because they have a promise to one another. Iago has promised Roderigo that he will separate Desdemona from Othello if Roderigo will pay him. Though beneath this promise, Iago's motives are shown through his soliloquies. As Act I draws to a close Iago reveals his hatred of Othello for promoting Cassio to a position which Iago believed he deserved. He made a deal with Roderigo because he realized that he could basically kill two birds with one stone: he would be able to get money from Roderigo while at the same time watch Othello go down for what he did to him, thus allowing Roderigo to have his end of the deal too.
It's evident that Iago is a sly character by his different ways of speaking. On one hand, he speaks poetry in front of authorities. Meanwhile in front of Roderigo and the audience, he speaks in prose. This difference in speaking reveals the two-faced Iago. The poetry manner of speaking hides his true thoughts, feelings, and motivations for his actions. When he speaks in prose we see that he is plotting against the noble moor and Cassio and that he plans to betray them. So far, Iago is an intelligent thinker and he knows how to deceive people so that he can get what he wants.
"It is engendered. Hell and night
Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light."
Act I, Scene iii, lines 383-384
The protagonist so far in Othello appears to be Othello, the Moor. He is the hero for his services done for the signiory (I, i, 18) or the state of Venice. He also has the characteristics of a protagonist; he is a brave soldier, calm in times of trouble, and he is also loyal to his work. He is respected by those in Venice as well. On the other hand, the antagonist seems to be Iago. Iago is a conniving, sneaky, manipulative character. This is seen through his manipulation of Roderigo, to "put money in thy purse" (I, iii, 330) which means he wants Roderigo to pay him money because they have a promise to one another. Iago has promised Roderigo that he will separate Desdemona from Othello if Roderigo will pay him. Though beneath this promise, Iago's motives are shown through his soliloquies. As Act I draws to a close Iago reveals his hatred of Othello for promoting Cassio to a position which Iago believed he deserved. He made a deal with Roderigo because he realized that he could basically kill two birds with one stone: he would be able to get money from Roderigo while at the same time watch Othello go down for what he did to him, thus allowing Roderigo to have his end of the deal too.
It's evident that Iago is a sly character by his different ways of speaking. On one hand, he speaks poetry in front of authorities. Meanwhile in front of Roderigo and the audience, he speaks in prose. This difference in speaking reveals the two-faced Iago. The poetry manner of speaking hides his true thoughts, feelings, and motivations for his actions. When he speaks in prose we see that he is plotting against the noble moor and Cassio and that he plans to betray them. So far, Iago is an intelligent thinker and he knows how to deceive people so that he can get what he wants.
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