Othello Acts Summary
2
1
4
5
3
Iago begins his plan to manipulate O. he convinces R to pick a fight with the drunk Cassio and in the midst of this the governor of Cyprus becomes injured
O arrives and announces a night of celebrations because the Turkish fleet was wrecked in a storm
B and O appear before the governing Duke of Venice , and O explains that D fell in love with him after hearing stories about his life.she is called to witnesss and confirms her genuine love for him
O is called to Cyprus to command a force against the Turks, and D accompanies him
Iago and Roderigo travel Brabantio's house, the father of Othello's newly wed, to tell him of his daughter's marriage to 'the Moor'. Brabantio is angered and orders O's arrest
in a moment alone with R again, Iago convinces him to follow them to Cyprus and tells the audience of his plan to convince O that D is having an affair with Cassio
at play opens, Iago is telling Rodrigo that he hates Othello because O promoted Cassio isnread of. him. Iago's hatred for Othello is obvious
O dismisses C from his service
feigning friendship, Iago advises C to speak yo D and enlist her help in seeking O's forgiveness
Iago delivers another soliloquoy, telling the audience that his plan is going well so far
Cassio, Iago, D, and E disembark in Cyprus and are greeted by the governor. the friendship and goodwill between Cassio and D is apparent, and I will use this to his advantage
D drops her handkerchief and E takes it, saying Iago asked her to steal it 'a hundred times' A3S3. O returns to Iago, angry that he let himself be swayed. he insists that Iago pride some 'ocular proof' A3S3 before he goes any further
Iago claims he has heard C sleepwalking about D, and that he has seen him using D's handkerchief. this is proof enough for O, and he decides that he will kill his wife and Iago will kill C
immediately after, Iago begins to convince O explicitly that there is something between C and D: 'Look to your wife; observe her well with C' A3.S3. O is nor thoroughly suspicious but has no proof
D is sympathetic with C's situation and promises to speak to O on his behalf. she wholeheartedly defends C to her husband, and ask him for a pardon
D is upset that she has lost the handkerchief as it was a gift from O. she again tries to convince her husband to forgive C, but this only hardens O' heart against her
D defends C once again and O hits her
E helps D prepare for bed and is concerned about O's behaviour, but D stays loyal to her husband
O's mental state worsens and he determines to kill That evening
E delivers a speech in which she blames men for not understanding that women have feelings just as men do
feigning supportiveness, Iago continues to talk to O about C and D. he stages a convo between himself and C for O to overhear; he asks C about his lover B, but tells O that they are discussing D
E enters and tells O that Iago was lying and that she took D's handkerchief and gave it to her husband. Iago stabs her, and O realises he has been tricked
O enters the bedchamber where D is sleeping. he urges her to confess and suffocates her when she will not admit guilt
Iago is arrested, and O stabs himself in grief
R attacks C, who stabs R in return. O overhears and thinks that Iago has killed C, as they agreed. Iago pretends to be enraged at R's actions and kills him
analysis
However Iago's true villainy, quickly becomes obvious and we are not sympathetic to him for long
knowing nothing of O's true character art this point so we easily believe Iago's depiction of him. not mentioned by nam but referred to as 'the Moor' Shakespeare already establishes that O will be defined by his race, repeats throughout the play
Iago and R first character introduces instead of O himself. creates anticipation, but also alters our opinion and interpretation of the titular character the fact we hear and meet Iago first sets us up to be sympathetic towards him and against O
A 1 is important in establishing characters and their backgrounds
D is strong and outspoken rather than passive. she defends her love for O and speaks to Duke directly using an imoerative: 'Most gracious Duke, / To my unfolding lend your prosperous ear A1 S3. through lang she demand that he listens to her
importance of Iago. he both opens and closes Act1 and this establishes him as a structurally dominant character who is integral to how the plot unfolds
analysis
S plays with dramatic irony throughtout. see this in Act2 first eg audience left with a sense of foreboding when C takes D's hands at the end of Scene 1. we can se that this innocent, which makes our knowledge that this moment will be twisted against the innocent characters even more horrific
when D enters the stage, after the brawl in S3, O ushers her off to bed again: 'alls well now, sweeting; come away to bed'. foreshadows next moment we will see D in bed in act5, when O strangles her. we will recall how rapidly their relationship deteriorated over a mere three acts of play
instead S sets up Iago's 'web' of control and manipulation; of much more interest than external factors such as war. by cutting off the external world, intensity of the play and of the characters' relationships increases because we focus more on them
Iago once again closes the act with a soliloquy. he is the character with the most on-stage time and he has more soliloquoies than O. S seems Moree interested in delving into Iago's psyche and motivations than O
after establishing characters and the setting first act, this is where S begins to zoom in on their relationships and motivations. the external threat of war with Cyprus is dismissed when we are told 'our wars are done' at the very beginning of Act 2
analysis
S3 draws a parallel with medieval morality plays in which Good and Evil are personified as characters who tempt the protagonist, or try to convince him to remain good. in O, Iago is the personification of evil whilst O tries to remain true to his values and conscience
we can think of plays structure on a hill: we clim up in Acts1 and 2, before reaching the summit of 3 and rapidly declines in 4and 5
S3 most important in whole play, as O is successfully convinced of his wife's infedility and decides he will kill her. he comes utterly convinced of D's guilt in a startlingly short space of time
this analogy can also be applied to O's mental state; this is the last act in which O is mentally stable and we will see this in the breakdown of his language
dramatic timing important in S: Iago manipulates the events but is able to convince O that they are natural, for example by hinting that C's exit is proof of his guilt
again S uses dramatic irony in the fact to increase the sense of tragedy. this. is the moment from which there is no going back and the audience knows that after O determines to kill D, they are both doomed. from now on, we are simply watching the inevitable play out
we learn. the full importance of the handkerchief as a symbol in this act. as a gift from O to D, it represents his non-Christian heritage (it was a gift from his mother), but it also comes to represent D's faithfulness. when O believes she has given it away, she has not only given away the love that they shared but also her own body
the centre point of the play, turning point for the tragic hero
S5 can be read a trial scene, in which O is the prosecutor and D's failure to produce the handkerchief becomes the evidence that seals her doom
analysis
D put on her wedding sheets on the bed that she is to sleep in. she will be murdered in this bed while she sleeps, so they become symbolic grave . this is fitting: the wedding sheets are used when the bride loses her virginity, and D is an innocent and faithful wife, so her dying in sheets symbolise this innocence
sheets can also symbolise their marriage, which was full of love when the first married but is noe sadly full of hate
arrival of Lodovico, messenger from Venice, in S1 broadens the scope of the play and reminds us of the external world. however we know that by this stage O has become too wrapped up in his own jealousy and confusion that he won't make it back to Venice
E delivers a famous speech on womanhood and marriage: 'Let husbands know / their wives have sense like them: they see and smell / and have their palates both for sweet and sour, / as husbands have' she speaks up for some of the unfairnesses that women faced in marriage, and defends their human rights . this is a strong moment for E's character, who the star in the play has only accidentally assissted Iago in framing D. it is a precursor to her confrontation of O in act 5, and her revealing Iago as a liar
O hits D in S1, strong reversal of the earlier love and affection that was so visible between couple in A 1 and 2
we witness O's mental and physical breakdowns as he is consumed by jealousy and anger. as is typical of a tragedy, the general law and order of society also breaks down a step tragic hero falls from grace
analysis
O now calls Iago a 'devil' and although his realisation comes too late, it does restore some sense of right to the play
E is a strong voice in final scene, defies husband on numerous occasions in order to speak truth: "No, I will speak as liberal as the north: / Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, / All, all, cry shame against me, yet I'll speak". She speaks out despite lago threatening her, and she eventually pays with her life when he stabs her. Despite the fact that Desdemona has been silenced, E becomes the final strong female voice of the play.
O kills himself to atone for his wrongdoings. suicide in the context of Jacobean England is even more tragic end for the protagonist since it was considered a mortal sin to take ones own life, akin to murder, rather than allowing God to carry out his judgement. this is a truly tragic and pitiful end for the once great O
Desdemona is an image of perfect innocence in this Act: she is sleeping in her white wedding sheets. As she is smothered, she begs to say "one prayer!" but she is denied this
Lodovico, one of the minor characters, speaks the final words of the play. there is no sense of justice or promise of future hope at the end of the tragedy, instead it ends in bleakness. Iago still lives, Gratiano seizes O's possessions, and Lodovico returns to Venice to share the sad news
O's soliloquy at the beginning of S2 is calm and composed, and remind us of his characterisation in A1 and 2. he is no longer raving and confused, but intstead deadly certain on his course of action. this heightens our sense of tragedy because ehe has been so far manipulated by iago, he almost resembles his old self, yet he is certain of his wife's guilt
theet is a final reference to sight in Lododvicos last words, a theme which has been so prevalent throughout the play. seeing O slumped against D's corpse 'potions sight'; it is too horrific to look at, so the curtains on the stage must be drawn
we see the minor characters' plot lines come to a close. R is killed by Iago and we realise just how futile his role in the play was: he was simply a pawn for Iago, and is killed when no longer useful