Act 4

• Act 4

  • Scene 1 - Iago and Othello and Cassio + Cassio and Bianca + Othello is angry + Othello and Desdemona
  • Scene 2 - Othello and Desdemona + Iago and Desdemona and Emilia
  • Scene 3 - Desdemona and Emilia on men + Willow song
• Scene 1 - Iago and Othello and Cassio

  “Oh, devil!” - Othello

  • Change from interrogative sentences to repetitive exclamatory sentences displays that O fully believes Iago.
  • O’s mindset that changed

  Critic:

  • Leavis
  • ”Slips…readily into possessive jealousy because he is ‘self-centred”
• Scene 1 - Iago and Othello and Cassio

  “(Falls in a trance)” - Othello

  • His fit robs himself of his ability to speak, the trait that distinguishes humans and animals.
  • O is consumed with jealousy, without his honour, he’s become an animal that the prejudiced characters have described him as being
• Scene 1 - Iago and Othello and Cassio

  “Would you bear your fortune like a man!” - Iago

  • Exclamatory sentnce - uses gender stereotypes to provoke O, plays on his insecurities and questions his manhood.
• Scene 1 - Iago and Othello and Cassio

  “I marry her! What? A customer? Prithee bear some / charity to my wit. Do not think it so unwholesome. Ha / ha, ha!” - Cassio

  • The way the men talk about women suggests that women are second class.
  • Women are inferior to men

  Critic:

  • Newman
  • ”The aptly and ironically named Bianca (meaning white) is a cypher for Desdemona whose ‘blackened whiteness’ she embodies”
• Scene 1 - Cassio and Bianca

  “This is some minx’s token.” - Bianca

  • Bianca‘s jealousy provides a foil to O’s own, further convinces O that Iago is telling the truth
• Scene 1 - Cassio and Bianca

  “There, give it your hobby-horse. Wheresoever / you had it, I’ll take out no work on ‘t.“ - Bianca

  • Use of the horse is ironic as the handkerchief symbolises a message that was carried, a message of love
• Scene 1 - Cassio and Bianca

  “How now, my sweet Bianca!” - Cassio

  • Exclamatory sentence is ironic - the audience has already seen his opinion of B. He is two faced, just like most of the characters.
• Scene 1 - Othello is angry

  “But yet the pity of it, Iago! O Iago, the pity of it, Iago!” - Othello

  • Exclamatory - emotive. Alludes to pity and fear which are key themes in a tragedy.
• Scene 1 - Othello is angry

  “I will chop her into messes! Cuckold me?” - Othello

  • Angry/ Violent imagery
  • Changed from peaceful character from Act 1 scene 1 into an evil Moor that Iago and Rod described.

  Critic:

  • Phillips
  • ”A man of action, not a thinker‘
• Scene 1 - Othello is angry

  “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.” - Iago

  • Declarative sentences
  • Iago is confident in his hold over and this is pleasurable for Iago

  Critic

  • Honigmann
  • ”Dramatic perspective makes us the villain’s accomplices: he confides in us, so we watch his plot unfolding from his point of view”
• Scene 1 - Othello is angry

  “Good, good, the justice of it pleases! Very good!” - Othello

  • Repetition of ‘good’ - sickening pleasure
  • ‘Justice’ is dramatic irony - Des and Cass are innocent. Idea of justice is repeated throughout and as the play builds to a climax, making the tragedy even more devastating for audience.
• Scene 1 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Fire and brimstone!” - Othello

  • Hellish imagery - alludes to saying Des is the devil
• Scene 1 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Why, sweet Othello - “ - Desdemona

  • Adjective - demonstrates her view of him
  • Dramatic Irony - unaware of what O is plotting
• Scene 1 - Othello and Desdemona

  “(Striking her) Devil!” - Othello

  • Change in Othello’s character due to Iago’s machinations

  Critic:

  • Rymer
  • “Unbelievable”
• Scene 1 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Proceed you in your tears-“ (Private, talking to Des) “Concerning this, sir-“ (Public, talking to others) “-Oh well-painted passion!” - Othello

  • Switching between private and public life, shows his loss of control
• Scene 1 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Are his wits safe? Is he not light of brain?” - Lodovico

  • He thinks that O is deceitful, this is ironic as it is Iago who is fake.
  • Iago has turned everyone against O.

  Critic:

  • Katsan
  • ”Fall from prosperity to wretchedness”
• Scene 2 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Your wife, my lord. Your true and loyal wife.” - Desdemona

  • Arguably, most tragic line.
  • Des is bearing her soul but O’s mind has been too corrupted by Iago.
• Scene 2 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.” - Othello

  • Juxtaposition - shows the change in O.
  • Ironic - as Des is the one who has remained the same unlike O.
• Scene 2 - Othello and Desdemona

  “Oh ay, as summer flies are in the shambles” - Othello

  • Animalistic imagery
  • Flies aren’t loyal to one piece of meat, Des isn’t loyal to one man.
  • She is no more honourable than flies
• Scene 2 - Othello and Desdemona

  “I cry you mercy, then, / I took you for that cunning whore of Venice / that married with Othello“ - Othello

  • Speaking in third person - jealousy is driving him insane

  Critic:

  • Hodgson
  • ”[the handkerchief] is the emblem of her reputation“
• Scene 2 - Iago and Desdemona and Emilia

  “A beggar in his drink / could got have laid such terms upon his callet.” - Emilia

  • Em can’t believe that high standing O would say such as thing
• Scene 2 - Iago and Desdemona and Emilia

  “It is my wretched fortune.” - Desdemona

  • Possessive Pronoun ‘my’ - she is subservient to societal expectations

  Critic:

  • Jardine
  • ”Too-knowing, too-independent…becomes a stereotype of female passivity“
• Scene 2 - Iago and Desdemona and Emilia

  “Speak within door…You are a fool. Go to.” - Iago

  • Iago’s short sentences in response to Em shows his fear of Em. She’s more intelligent than he first imagined.
• Scene 2 - Iago and Desdemona and Emilia

  “Oh fie upon them!” - Emilia

  • Exclamatory and violent imagery - frightens Iago, so he covers himself by calling her a fool
• Scene 3 - Desdemona and Emilia on men

  “So would not I. My love doth so approve him / that even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns - / prithee, upin me - have grace and favour.” - Desdemona

  • Des’ devolution to O, even should it cost her her life, juxtaposes strongly with the misogynistic picture of female sexuality hat Iago has described throughout the play.
  • One can say that Des’ devotion has become a delusion

  Critic:

  • Johnson
  • ”Soft simplicity of Desdemona“
• Scene 3 - Desdemona and Emilia on men

  “I do not think there is any such woman.” - Desdemona

  • Naive, lack of knowledge about the world and relationships
  • Em presents Des with a world view that makes true love seem impossible.
• Scene 3 - Desdemona and Emilia on men

  “But I do think it is their husbands‘ fault / if wives do fall.” - Emilia

  • Atypical of women during the Jacobean era
  • Foreshadows her death as it’s Iago who kills her
• Scene 3 - Desdemona and Emilia on men

  “Let husbands know / their wives have sense like them.” - Emilia

  • Men and women are equal
  • Challenges the gender dynamics of the era
• Scene 3 - Desdemona and Emilia on men

  “The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.” - Emilia

  • View on female infidelity that would have been controversial in Jacobean society

  Critic:

  • Loomba
  • ”Where as female ‘openess’ was dangerous and immoral, political“
• Scene 3 - Willow Song

  “Willow”

  • Song is symbolic of sorrow and reflection
  • Have been historically used as a painkiller and could reflect Des wanting to numb the emotional pain that O caused her
• Scene 3 - Willow Song

  “(Singing)” - Desdemona

  • Dramatic Irony - singing before her approaching death
• Scene 3 - Willow Song

  “Willow, willow, willow” - Desdemona

  • Repetition - provides a rather pensive and gloomy atmosphere.
  • Foreshadows the tragedy in Act 5