Act 2

• Summary


  ● Cassio, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia disembark in Cyprus and are greeted by the governor. Thefriendshipandgoodwillbetween Cassio and Desdemona is apparent, and Iago will use this to hisadvantage.● Othello arrives and announces a night ofcelebrationsbecause the Turkish fleet was wrecked in a storm.● Iago begins his plan to manipulate Othello. He convinces Roderigo to pick afightwith thedrunk Cassioand in the midst of this the governor of Cyprus becomes injured.● OthellodismissesCassio from his service.●Feigning friendship, Iago advises Cassio to speak to Desdemona and enlist her help in seeking Othello’s forgiveness.● Iago delivers anothersoliloquy, telling the audience that his plan is going well so far.
• Key Quotes & Analysis

  Act II Scene I:‘With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio’Iago uses extensiveanimal imageryto describe Othello, but also refers to himself as aspider. This is a very fitting image for Iago’s character, and allows us tovisualisehis role in the play. He spins awide web of liesintended to“ensnare”and totrapmany of the characters, including Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, and Emilia. The image of Iago as a spider also attributes to him a degree ofauthorityover theplot. He is the character in charge of spinning the web and making the decisions that affect the other characters.
• Key Quotes & Analysis

  Act II Scene III:“Why, how now, ho! from whence ariseth this? / Are we turn'd Turks, and to ourselves do that / Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites? / For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl”This quote from Othello reveals theVenetian fearanddismissalofoutsiders. When they fight, they are compared to“Turks”, the very foreigners they are fighting against in the war. The Venetians clearly believe themselves to besuperiorandmore civilised. The fact that Othello speaks this line is noteworthy, and on the one hand this suggests that he does not consider himself as an outsider as he abruptly dismisses other outsiders. But on the other hand this creates a sense offorebodingas we are aware that Othello himself will be manipulated and ultimatelypurgedfrom Venetian society.
• Key Quotes & Analysis

  Act II Scene III:"Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost / my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of / myself, and what remains is bestial. My reputation, / Iago, my reputation!”Cassio isdistraughtat ruining hisreputation, and this quote reveals to us the importance of reputation throughout the play as a whole. Iago’s manipulations ruin the reputations of Cassio, Desdemona, and Othello, all whilst he builds up his ownfalse reputation of honesty.
• Key Quotes & Analysis

  Act II Scene III:“she’s framed as fruitful / As the free elements [...] As [...] 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.”This quote, spoken by Iago, is an interesting insight into his attitude towards Desdemona. This depiction of her issexually charged: she is“fruitful”, suggestingfertilityandproductivity, and has an“appetite”, i.e. a sexual appetite. In the early 17th century, Venice had a reputation as being a place offemale promiscuityandprostitution(even more so than other cities) - its liberality applied to sexuality as well as the diversity of its citizens. When Iago frames Desdemona as unfaithful, he draws on and utilises thesestereotypesof Venetian women. This quote also furthers our impression of Iago as amastermindorchestrating the entire plot - he explicitly claims to be making“the net/ That shall enmesh”the other characters.