What is he concerned with?
How might an actor interpret these lines?
[Aside] He takes her by the palm:
ay, well said,
whisper: with as little a web as
this will I
ensnare as great a fly as Cassio.
Ay, smile upon
her, do; I will gyve thee in thine
own courtship.
You say true; 'tis so, indeed: if
such tricks as
these strip you out of your
lieutenantry, it had
been better you had not kissed your
three fingers so
oft, which now again you are most
apt to play the
sir in. Very good; well kissed! an
excellent
courtesy! 'tis so, indeed. Yet again
your fingers
to your lips? would they were clyster-pipes for your sake!
What does Iago intent to do?
Why does he want to mess with Cassio?
1. ³he hath not yet made wanton the night with her; and
she is sport for Jove.² What does this quote mean?
What haven¹t they done?
Reputation
is an idle and most false
imposition:
oft got without merit, and lost without
deserving:
you have lost no reputation at all,
unless
you repute yourself such a loser.
Put the
passage in your own words.
Is it
true.
And what's he then that says I play the villain?
When this advice is free I give and honest,
Probal to thinking and indeed the course
To win the Moor again? For 'tis most easy
The inclining Desdemona to subdue
In any honest suit: she's framed as fruitful
As the free elements. And then for her
To win the Moor--were't to renounce his baptism,
All seals and symbols of redeemed sin,
His soul is so enfetter'd to her love,
That she may make, unmake, do what she list,
Even as her appetite shall play the god
With his weak function. How am I then a villain
To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,
Directly to his good? Divinity of hell!
When devils will the blackest
sins put on,
They do suggest at first with
heavenly shows,
As I do now: for whiles this honest fool
Plies Desdemona to repair his fortunes
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,
I'll pour this pestilence into his ear,
That she repeals him for her body's lust;
And by how much she strives to do him good,
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all.
Why did Iago send Cassio to beg from Desdemona?
What does the underlined phrase mean?
What bad things are happening for him now?
How might he be feeling this morning?
6.
Thought: Iago¹s
trap is falling into place.
Imagine a similar play in high school. How would it work?
1.
2.
1. When
Desdemona says ³I will do
All my abilities in thy behalf.² What does she mean?
2. How is Desdemona behaving a little badly here?
Is she making promises that she can¹t keep?
Why is Cassio going to her instead of to Othello?
3. Why doesn¹t Cassio stay?
4. Why won¹t Othello speak to Cassio tonight?
Why is it important that he was just speaking to Iago?
5. How could Desdemona¹s arguing be mis-interpreted?
6. When Othello says ³I will deny thee nothing² What might the actors do?
7. Put the phrase ³Excellent wretch² into your own words.
How might Othello say it?
How would Iago look when he does?
8. In the same vein, how might Iago play the word ³Indeed²?
9. What is the ³monster in his thought, too hideous to be shown.²
Why does everyone trust Iago?
10. Complete the quote: ³Men should be what ________________²
What does it mean?
Why is it Ironic coming from Iago.
1. Read the following passage:
Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands:
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
What does it mean?
Which is worse, loosing your name or your money?
Why won¹t he tell Othello what he thinks of Cassio?
Why is this wisdom suspect?
2. Who is the ³Green eyed monster>²
3. What instruction does he give Othello?
How does he insult Venice?
4. Read this passage:
She did deceive her father, marrying you;
And when she seem'd to shake and fear your looks,
She loved them most.
What is the point Iago is making?
Does Othello know his wife?
5. When Iago talks of race, whose race does he talk about?
16. When Othello says ³If she be false, O, then heaven mocks itself!
I'll not believe't.² What does he mean?
6. What does Desdemona leave?
Why does Emilia pick it up?
What is Iago going to do with it?
7. What does this passage mean:
³Avaunt! be gone! thou hast set me on the rack:
I swear 'tis better to be much abused
Than but to know't a little.
8. When Othello comes back, in a rage and says this,
³Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore,
Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof:
Or by the worth of man's eternal soul,
Thou hadst been better have been born a dog
Than answer my waked wrath!²
Should Iago be afraid?
Is his plan working?
9. What does Othello beg for?
9. Why does Iago keep suggesting that Othello be calm.
10. What has Iago sworn to do?
11. How is the last line of the scene ironic?