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Summary A Level Othello Revision
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This document includes a summary of the acts, critical quotes for each character, and the key quotes and the language analysis for these.
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Othello revision,SYNOPSIS
The plot of Shakespeare's tragedy revolves around the title character and his passionate love
for and marriage with Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator. Othello, a Moor and
valiant army general, has proven exceptional military abilities in the service of the maritime
power of Venice. But his life faces ruin once he is caught in the conniving tricks of his
ensign, Iago who is angered that he was not given the promotion he had anticipated.
Through shrewd and calculated deceit, Iago weaves a web of innuendoes, false accusations
and deliberate miscommunications that ultimately undermine Othello's love. Tricked into
believing the lie that his wife has been unfaithful to him, Othello begins to lose his
confidence in her and haunts her with his blind jealousy. Although Desdemona professes her
innocence in good faith, the trumped evidence provided by Iago inescapably pushes Othello
down the torturous slope of doubt, unbearable uncertainty and disbelief.
In the end Othello seeks a desperate escape from these mutual sufferings: he asks Desdemona
to say her last prayers and smothers her to death. When he realizes that he has murdered her
for falsified reasons, ultimately Othello takes his own life. The play concludes with the
unmasking of Iago and his punishment by execution for the heinous crimes he perpetrated.
The play begins in Venice, in the middle of the night. Iago and Roderigo are meeting to
discuss their hatred of Othello. Iago hates Othello because he promoted Cassio to lieutenant
over Iago, and Roderigo is a heartbroken, failed suitor of Desdemona’s. They decide to wake
up senator Brabantio with the news that his daughter, Desdemona, has secretly married
Othello, the general of the Venetian army and a Moor. Brabantio calls an emergency meeting
of the senate, where Othello and Desdemona make a case for their mutual love and defy the
objections of a marriage between a black man and white woman. The Duke of Venice sides
with Othello, who is then called to defend Venice from attacks of the Turkish fleet. The
action of the play then moves to Cyprus, where we learn Othello has just defeated the entire
Turkish fleet. Desdemona, Iago, and Emilia have just arrived in Cyprus as well. The
honeymoon phase doesn’t last long, as Iago doesn’t waste any time enacting his evil plan to
convince Othello that Desdemona is disloyal and having an affair with Cassio, bringing about
both of their downfalls. The more Othello trusts Iago, the more he distrusts Desdemona and
Cassio. His jealousy begins to rule him. Othello reaches his breaking point after Iago tell him
he has seen the handkerchief Othello had given Desdemona, claiming that Desdemona had
given Cassio the handkerchief as a token of her love. When Desdemona cannot produce the
handkerchief, Othello flies into a rage. After he leaves, Emilia suggests that Othello is
jealous, but Desdemona brushes this off, swearing he has nothing to be jealous about. In
actuality, Emilia has given Iago the handkerchief. To further seal Othello’s fate, Iago plans a
conversation with Cassio 7 while Othello hides to listen. Instead of discussing Desdemona, as
Othello believes, Iago asks Cassio about Bianca, the courtesan in love with him. Enraged by
what he hears, Othello asks Iago to kill Cassio and leaves to meet his wife. Instead of killing
Cassio himself, Iago tricks Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio, saying it is the only way
Roderigo can win Desdemona’s love. When both men are wounded, Iago enters and kills
Roderigo to hide the truth. Then, he pretends to mourn the death of his friend. Meanwhile,
Othello meets Desdemona in their bed chamber. Although Desdemona protests her
innocence, Othello’s jealousy has consumed him, and he smothers his wife. Emilia enters to
deliver news of Roderigo’s death, raising the alarm once she sees the murdered Desdemona.
Realizing what has happened, Emilia denounces Iago, and he stabs her and flees. Once Iago
,is brought back, the whole truth is revealed. Overwhelmed by his own guilt at what he has
done, Othello kills himself. Iago is arrested and taken away.
Act and scene study
Act I Scene 1
Shakespeare drops us straight into the action. We are intrigued from the start, wondering
why it is that Iago has had such access to Roderigo’s money.
Iago is telling Roderigo he hates Othello as Cassio has been promoted over Iago’s head,
despite Iago’s having far more military experience. Cassio is a Florentine: an outsider. This is
our first introduction to the idea of prejudice against ‘foreigners’. Othello is an outsider and
has chosen another outsider as his lieutenant and left Iago in the position of ensign or
‘ancient’. Christian and heathen are also mentioned, raising the issue of religious prejudice.
Iago seems on the one hand to accept the situation and see it as the way things are: ‘Why
there’s no remedy: ’tis the cures of service: / Preferment goes by letter and affection’. It
appears he understands that promotion is dependent on who you know rather than what
experience you have and where you stand in the hierarchy or ‘old gradation’. Seniority means
little nowadays, compared to favouritism and class.
However, he goes on to say that he has no reason to ‘love the Moor’, which shows that he is
far from accepting the situation.
There is an irony to Roderigo not realising that if Iago is only serving himself and is willing
to deceive and manipulate others if it suits him. Roderigo is unmoved by Iago’s ‘I am not
what I am’. Shakespeare’s audience would have recognised the biblical reference in ‘I am not
what I am’. God said to Moses, ‘I am what I am’, and by twisting God’s words, Iago shows
us that he is akin to a devil. Lucifer fell from heaven because he challenged God’s authority
when he, Lucifer, was not given the respect he felt he deserved.
Iago describes Othello as a ‘thick lips’, which would be insulting to a modern day audience
but not to Shakespeare’s audience.
Iago hides in the shadows and uses Roderigo to stir Desdemona’s father into a frenzy.
Bestial imagery shocks the audience along with Brabantio ‘an old black ram is tupping your
white ewe’.
Brabantio believes Rogerigo’s version of Desdemona and Othello’s elopement without
looking for any further evidence. Othello will behave in much the same way when Iago
poisons him against Desdemona.
Iago uses crude sexual imagery and plays on Brabantio’s fears by saying that mixed race
descendants will overrun Venice. At this stage, Othello is ‘the Moor’ rather than a named
person.
Brabantio doesn’t recognise them at first but eventually sees Roderigo offering to help
Brabantio find the married couple to ‘apprehend her and the Moor’. This is because Roderigo
wants to marry Desdemona himself.
, Act 1 Scene 2
Iago tells Othello that Brabantio knows about his marriage and ‘spoke such scurvy and
provoking terms against your honour’ but Othello dismisses this and says ‘let him do
his spite’. Cassio then arrives with a message from the Duke asking Othello to come to
the senate to talk about the war in Cyprus against the Turks.
Just as they’re about to leave, Brabantio and Roderigo arrive with soldiers to arrest
Othello for bewitching Desdemona. Othello refuses to hide from Brabantio and his men.
Othello’s simple words and honest manner mark him as a very different man to Iago: ’Tis
better as it is’. Othello does not fear anything because he knows he is in the right.
Othello refuses to be provoked and our first impression of him is wholly favourable. This is
in sharp contrast to what we have heard about him before we ever met him. He answers
unmannerly accusations with reason and dignity, reminding Brabantio that he is
worthy of respect and does not need to threaten him: ‘Good signor, you shall more
command with years than with your weapons.’. We can contrast his behaviour here with
that of Brabantio who was so easily stirred to rage by Iago’s manipulative ways.
Act 1 Scene 3
This scene holds the audience’s attention from the start. First, there is news of war and
Othello’s importance as the man who will defend the Venetian state is established.
Second, Othello’s tale of wooing Desdemona is a wonderful and exotic narrative.
While Othello is presented as a hero in this scene, there is also a hint of pride in the way he
describes himself: ‘She loved me for the dangers I had passed / And I loved her that she did
pity them.’ Here it seems that Othello was attracted by Desdemona’s admiration for him
rather than any attributes of her own!
Desdemona is called to the senate and confirms that she was won over by Othello’s tales
of bravery and suffering. Desdemona tells the senate that she married Othello for love
and states that her duty is now to him rather than her father. Desdemona asks to go
with Othello to Cyprus and Brabantio warns Othello ‘she has deceived her Father, and
may thee’. Othello asks Iago to bring his wife Emilia to Cyprus to ‘attend on’
Desdemona.
Iago persuades Roderigo to follow them all to Cyprus.
Iago sees Othello’s ‘free and open nature’ as a weakness and plans to exploit this. He
sneers that such men are easily led.
Iago scorns the love between Othello and Desdemona, saying it was born of a ‘violent
commencement’ and he assures Rodrigo that such hasty passions will soon cool. He
assumes their attraction is purely physical and that when Desdemona is ‘sated with his
body’ she will look for another man.
Alone, Iago tells the audience of his plan to make Othello believe Desdemona is being
unfaithful to him with Cassio ‘to get his place, and to plume up my will in double
knavery’. Iago also gives another possible motivation for his hatred of Othello: ‘it is though
abroad that, ‘twixt my sheets / He has done my office’. The suspicion of this is enough
for Iago.
The scene ends on a chillingly diabolical note, with Iago calling on ‘Hell and night’ to ‘bring
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