Summary

• Act 1 scene 1; the play opens with Iago telling Roderigo that he hates Othello as he promoted Cassio to Lieutenant over him
• Act 1 scene 1; Iago and Roderigo tell Brabrantio that Othello has "stolen" Desdemona
• Act 1; Othello tells the Duke of Venice that Desdemona "loved (him) for the dangers (he) had passed"
• Act 1; Othello and Desdemona leave for Cyprus to lead a force against the "Turks"
• Act 1; Iago instructs Roderigo to "fill thy purse" and follow Othello to Cyprus to aid him in carrying out his revenge on him
• The storm that destroys the "Turkish fleet" acts as foreshadowing for the metaphorical storm to come for the protagonists of the play creating further dramatic irony for the audience
• Act 2; Cassio is dismissed from his service as Lieutenant due to his drunken fighting
• Act 3; Desdemona defends Cassio to Othello, causing Iago to make him suspect the two are having an affair warning him to "observe her well with Cassio" however Othello will not fully believe him until he has "ocular proof"
• Act 3; Desdemona drops he handkerchief and Emilia steals it to please Iago as he has asked her to steal it "a hundred times" this goes on to provide the "ocular proof" Othello needed to convince him of Desdemona's affair with Cassio
• Act 3; Desdemona is upset she has lost the Handkerchief that was a gift from Othello yet still continues to beg him to forgive Cassio which only goes to grow the "green eyed monster" of jealousy within him
• Act 4; Feigning supportiveness, Iago continues to speak to Othello about Desdemona's fabricated affair, staging a conversation between himself and Cassio about his lover Bianca which Othello overhears and believes they are speaking of Desdemona
• Act 5; Roderigo attacks Cassio, Iago pretends to be enraged and kills Roderigo in return
• Act 5; othello enters Dedemona's bedchamber and suffocates her
• Act 5; Emilia reveals Iago to be a "villain" he then stabs her and Othello stabs himself
• The play opening with Iago and Roderigo instead of Othello, having us meet 3 characters in the opening scene but not him, alters the audience's interpretation of him as it builds suspense around his identity
• In the first scene of the play, othello is not referred to by name but simply "The Moor" showing to the audience that he identifiable primarily by his race
• Desdemona subverts the audience's expectations of how a woman should behave in the first act, she is outspoken, demanding the duke "lend (his) prosperous ear" and listen to why she loves Othello
• There is a reoccurring motif of zoomorphic imagery when describing Othello, especially when regarding sex, "Old black ram tupping your white ewe" "barbary horse" "making the beast with two backs" to create a feeling in the audience that his relationship is seen by the other characters in the play as morally wrong
• Iago declaring "I am not what I am" shows the audience his intentions as a Machiavellian villain creating dramatic irony as the audience knows his intentions but not the protagonists of the play
• The motif of witchcraft with Othello being accused of having "enchanted" Desdemona casts him as an outsider to the other characters in the play
• Othello is accepted within Venetian society as Branbantio "Loved" him and "oft invited him" until he becomes integrated into their society to a point those around him are not comfortable with
• Othello's experiences are presented through anaphora "of moving accidents ... of hair-breadth escapes ... of being taken" to present how they pile up and are cumulative
• It could be perceived that desdemona is not completely innocent and pure as she gives into sin via listening to othello with a "greedy ear"
• Othello is presented as religiously pure as he describes his journey as his "pilgrimage"
• Desdemona is clearly in love with Othello due to who he really is as his words are the "only witchcraft (he) has used"
• Iago may "hate the moor" due to rumours of his affair with Emilia "Twixt my sheets he has done my office" however this is a mere "suspicion" that may just act as an excuse for his hatred of Othello
• The war with Cyprus is declared "done" at the start of act II
• in act II Iago sets up the metaphorical "Web" he plans to catch Othello, his prey, in as revenge
• In act III Iago plans to "ensnare a greater fly as Cassio" with "as little as a web" displaying how he sees him as small, insignificant, and easy to manipulate
• In act II Cassio "lost (his) reputation" as his distress is shown through the repetitive phrase "Reputation, reputation, reputation!" due to his drunken fighting showing the importance of reputation as a theme in the play
• Iago describes desdemona sexually as "fruitful" and having an "appetite" feeding the theme of female sexual promiscuity through the play
• Act III is the turning point for Othello as a tragic hero
• Desdemona chose to be with Othello despite how his race made him different from everyone else "she had eyes and chose me"
• Emilia is "glad (she) has found (the) napkin" as Iago has "woo'd (her) to steal it" creating dramatic irony within the play as the audience knows Iago's intentions are impure but Emilia does not
• Othello asks Iago to "prove (his) love a whore" with "ocular proof"
• Eventually Othello falls for Iago's lies and seeks "Black vengeance" as he is led to believe Desdemona has a soul "black as mine own face" with the reoccurring motif of "black" imagery reflecting the belief of the time that purity correlates with race
• Othello hitting Desdemona in act V is a stark contrast from the "love" he had for her for showing "pity" for the "dangers he had passed" symbolising the change in their relationship through the course of the play
• the "wedding sheets" desdemona is killed in are symbolic of her innocence as she has done nothing wrong through the play
• Emilia delivers a speech on the unfairness women face in marriage as women are dehumanised as their husbands do not realise they are human and can "see and smell" like they do; this is a turning point for Emilia who up to this point has merely been a puppet manipulated by Iago to destroy Othello
• Othello's mental breakdown is symbolised by his language breakdown, speaking in iambic pentameter in act I however by act IV this breaks down to short exclamatives and clauses "Lie with her! we say lie on her when they belie her. Lie with her! That's fulsome. -- The Handkerchief -- confessions -- handkerchief! -- o devil"