Their love is portrayed to the audience, and their relationship is represented as hubristic. 'fast in fires', 'stars, start'. Jove is another name for the Roman god Jupiter (in Greek mythology, Zeus), chief of the gods. In addition, Iago is crafted here by Shakespeare to believe his own lies. ...How is Iago Presented In Act 1, Scene 1 Of “Othello” “Othello” was a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603.This play is a tragedy written in iambic pentameter, with a noble hero named Othello and a devious villain called Iago. The imagery of food is welcomed into this soliloquy by Iago stating that his ‘love’ could be ‘to diet’ his revenge. She discovers Othello as Desdemona’s murderer and uncovers her husband’s plot which she exposes; “I will not charm my tongue. Othello arrives and is overjoyed at being reunited with Desdemona. And then his subsequent lust and envy is portrayed: ‘Now, I do love her too, / Not out of absolute lust – though peradventure / I stand accountant for as great a sin – / But partly led to diet my revenge,’ (2:1:272-5). News arrives that the Turkish fleet has been badly damaged by the storms and the danger to Cyprus is over. Is his lechery so ‘great a sin’ that he is getting confused with who he wants, and why he wants them? CONTEXTUAL LINK: The way that Iago uses a direct mode of address to Emilia and Desdemona about “who they are” indicates that he is not afraid of their reaction. Enter Cassio. The beginning of Act 2, Scene 1 is no exception. 179–180]) and her terse fury after Othello strikes her (“I have not deserved this” [IV.i. Desdemona says: ‘our loves and comforts should increase, / Even as our days do grow.’ (2:1:186-7). In soliloquy, Iago suspects that Cassio loves Desdemona, whilst admitting that Othello is a devoted husband. While Cassio and Desdemona stand apart, Iago cynically interprets their body language as evidence of their mutual attraction and a sign that he can convince Othello of their adultery. Cassio arrives without Othello, then unexpectedly Desdemona and Iago also arrive. The play opens with two characters engaged in a dispute; from the very start of Othello the scene is set for conflict. Othello Analysis . Emilia’s role in Othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to Othello falling for Iago’s lies more fully. However can we, as the audience, really believe that he loves Desdemona? In fact, he tells Roderigo that she is in love with Cassio. This is prompted by Brabantio’s accusation that Othello has stolen his daughter, Desdemona, by use of spells and potions bought from charlatans. The second, in contrast, could be that Shakespeare used the tautology so that the ‘grow’ cancels out the ‘increase’, making their relationship unsustainable. The first is that the couple truly believe that their relationship is blossoming and improving with each ‘day’ that they live together, and their ‘days’ are never-ending. 3. Arguments that see Desdemona as stereotypically weak and submissive ignore the conviction and authority of her first speech (“My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty” [I.iii. Act 1: Scene 2 1. They are also flaunting their “love” in front of Iago, who is already representing the deadly sin of envy. Iago tells Othello that Desdemona’s father and Roderigo are pursuing him. This brings to light the idea that Iago has masked himself, and everyone else, so much that he simply cannot perceive who is who. The Turkish attack may have been quelled, but it also bodes badly for Othello's ship. In Act 2, scene 1, Iago's comment that Othello and Desdemona "are well tuned" is a metaphor of harmonic music in which he uses to indicate the current harmony of Othello's marriage. He instructs Roderigo to pick a quarrel with Cassio that night. What news does Cassio bring to Othello? The ‘little…web’ that Iago states could be representative of Iago’s plan, and the modesty embedded in to the word ‘little’, contrasted with the expanse of ‘web’ indicates that Iago’s plan will spread far across, like a ‘web’, to everyone involved, but only will he know why the ‘web’ is cast: very ‘little’ people will know of the plan. The fact that iago has convinced othello that strangaling his wife is just and he is planting the idea of murder in his mind demonstrates this. Lexis refers to the words or vocabulary of a text. In addition, the way that Desdemona uses the exclamative ‘Well praised!’ indicates a sense of mockery, as though she is finding amusement in hearing Iago’s precedents. Desdemona, in ambiguous hypotheticals – ‘How if she be black and witty?’ – bounces off of Iago and plays along with his derogatory language, and uses an interrogative sentence to feed Iago’s sexist views. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. CONTEXTUAL LINK: The declarative sentence at the end of the quotation above represents the idea of human nature and how it evolves. A herald announces that Othello plans revelry for the evening in celebration of Cyprus’s safety from the Turks, and also in celebration of his marriage to Desdemona. CONTEXTUAL LINK: The Seven Deadly Sins can be used as context here as the pride sin is intertwined into the hubristic nature of Othello and Desdemona. They wait for Othello. In Act 2, Scene 1 of Othello, Iago formulates his plan to drive Othello mad. 2. Othello: Act 2, Scene 1 – Summary & Analysis In Cyprus, the Cypriot governor Montano and two gentleman discuss whether the Turkish fleet could have surived a recent storm, and are informed by a third gentleman that the fleet was in fact destroyed. The idea that this mimics from Kastan is the idea that a tragedy always has to have ‘a fall from prosperity to wretchedness’. Strangle her in bed"* iagos manipulation furthers here in act 4 scene 1 and it is evident in how othellos mind has been poisoned. Desdemona is a lady of spirit and intelligence. State of disobedience to - and alienation from - God believed to have characterised human beings since the Fall of Adam and Eve. Iago, Desdemona and Emilia discuss the virtues and values of women, and Iago shows his disparagement of females. The location of Act I Scene 1 is significant. In soliloquy, Iago suspects that Cassio loves Desdemona, whilst admitting that Othello is a devoted husband. 2231 Words | 9 Pages. A storm has dispersed the Venetian fleet so that Cassio arrives first, anxious for Othello's safety. When he is with Othello he acts all respectful but with others he really shows his manipulative side. Pairs of lines which rhyme with each other. Shakespeare has begun to prepare us for the poisoning of Othello’s mind, which occurs in Act III. Iago sees Cassio take Desdemona’s hand, and he says in his aside: ‘He takes her by the palm. A messenger enters, and confirms that the Turkish fleet was broken apart by the storm, and that Cassio has arrived, though Othello is still at sea. Finally, his ship arrives and Desdemona is very relived. A mood of confusion and intrigue is established too. At the end of this scene, we are sitting on a hill of dramatic irony, deadly sins, lies, and prejudice. The beginning of Act 2, Scene 1 is no exception. The critic, Leavis, says that ‘Eloquence is a form of arrogance’. Act I Scene 1 Commentary Kiselev Andrey Valerevich/Shutterstock.com. Soon after this, Roderigo leaves the scene, leaving Iago to preach yet another soliloquy. Othello may be impressive on the battlefield, but his own personal insecurity leads to the tragic end of the story. Act 2, Scene 1 of Othello shows the arrival of Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia, and Cassio to the island of Cyprus after a dangerous storm. And, as a speculative idea, the nature-versus-nurture debate, formulated in 1869, could be seen in this quotation, even though it was not around in Shakespeare’s era. An undefined length of time has elapsed since the scenes in Act I, during which Othello has set sail for Cyprus in one ship, Cassio in another, and Iago, Emilia, and Desdemona in a third. It is night-time, and the two levels of the stage used (Brabantio at the window, Iago and Roderigo concealed in the darkness of … How does Iago present himself to Othello? For instance, Iago says: ”If she be fair and wise, fairness and wit, / The one’s for use, the other useth it.” (2:1:128-9). If you haven’t read through Act 1 yet, do that now: Scene 1; Scene 2,3. Iago changes the story for the worst as he causes Othello to commit suicide and murder his loyal wife because of his fatal flow which is jealousy. Iago uses riddles and rhyme to bemuse the audience and lead along the cast. The use of food imagery, with the verb ‘fed’ indicates that Desdemona is not being sexually satisfied by Othello, because he is ‘the devil’. Act 2, Scene 1 You thought there was going to be a battle scene. They wait for Othello. Now, when the Venetians come to Cyprus, they are the outsiders, so can Iago feel irritated at himself for being a Venetian in a population of Turks? ‘So shall you have a shorter journey to your desires by the means I shall then have to prefer them, and the impediment most profitably removed without the which there were no expectation of our prosperity.’ (2:1:259-62). They prepare a celebration. One critic has criticised the statement that Othello is presented as a tragic hero because ‘Othello is overly aware of his nobility’ (2). This reinforces the idea that he is not truly in love with Desdemona, but instead he has just added this idea to the number of cogs already working in the machine of revenge. But in fact, could we not argue that there is the ‘expectation’ that one will become ‘wretched’ from being ‘prosperous’? English Literature Student; obsessed with books. Cassio’s ship arrives in Cyprus first, then Iago and Desdemona join him. However the comment is then followed by Iago’s vow “to set down the pegs”, which show his intentions to disrupt the harmony between them. If you haven’t read through Act 1 yet, do that now: Scene 1; Scene 2,3. In Act 2, scene 1, Iago's comment that Othello and Desdemona "are well tuned" is a metaphor of harmonic music in which he uses to indicate the current harmony of Othello's marriage. He also lies, telling Othello that he challenged them: “Nay, but he prated, and spoke such scurvy and provoking terms against your honor that with the little godliness I have, I did full hard forbear him.” They prepare a celebration. Entirety of Act one is in darkness. Act 2 Scene 1: This scene begins ambiguously in contrast to the end of the first act, with a new character, Montano, introduced. Shakespeare uses ‘fair and wise’ as an anaphora as he then uses ‘fairness and wit’, to reinforce Iago’s view on women: a woman must be ‘fair’ and ‘wise’ and ‘witty’, and a woman uses these traits to get what she wants. Montano is the Governor of Cyprus, which sets the scene of the transition between Venice and Cyprus. If you are reading this blind, you may not understand: is it just Iago tying tens-of-thousands of knots around our brains? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This scene begins ambiguously in contrast to the end of the first act, with a new character, Montano, introduced. Othello Act 2 Scene 1 Extract analysis help Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The idea that nature ‘instructs’ one’s own emotions, and makes one ‘compelled’ to change one’s mind about other decisions and thoughts. A storm has caused delay and there's concern for the safety of Othello and the others. In act 1, scene 2, Othello’s first words are quite subtly yet Eloquent ‘Tis better as it is’. The idea that women are both ‘saints’ and ‘devils’ gives the idea that women can be good for some things, and bad for others. Lines 49 ( 295. The world of Shakespeare and the Metaphysical poets 1540-1660, The world of Victorian writers 1837 - 1901, Romantic poets, selected poems: context links, Thomas Hardy, selected poems: context links, Text specific further reading and resources, 1564 - 1582: William Shakespeare's Stratford Beginnings, 1582 - 1592: William Shakespeare's Marriage, Parenthood and Early Occupation, 1592 - 1594: William Shakespeare's Life In London, part 1, 1594 - 1611: William Shakespeare's Life In London, part 2, 1594 - 1611: William Shakespeare's Life In London, part 3, 1611 - 1616: William Shakespeare - Back to Stratford, The faith setting of Shakespeare’s plays, Symbolic structure – order and rebellion. It has destroyed the Turkish fleet and separated the Venetian ships. that the duke wants to see Othello, as there is some trouble with the cyprus colony. The further imagery of ‘gorge’ and ‘disrelish’ could also be symbolic of the way that Othello is not as good as anyone else, because he is a ‘Moor’. 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