Othello research paper

OTHELLO THE MOOR OF VENICE

William Shakespeare WITH RELATED READINGS

THE EMC MASTERPIECE SERIES

Access Editions

EMC/Paradigm Publishing St. Paul, Minnesota

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Cover image: Paul Robeson as Othello and Peggy Ashcroft as Desdemona in a stage production of Othello, London, 1930. © Bettmann/Corbis.

[back cover] Engraving of William Shakespeare from the First Folio, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616.

Othello : the Moor of Venice / by William Shakespeare ; with related readings.

p. cm. – (The EMC masterpiece series access editions)

ISBN 0-8219-2956-9

1. Othello (Fictitious character)—Drama. 2. Shakespeare, William, 1564- 1616. Othello. 3. Othello (Fictitious character) 4. Venice (Italy)—Drama. 5. Jealousy—Drama. 6. Muslims—Drama. 7. Cyprus—Drama. I. Title. II. Series.

PR2829.A1 2004

822.3’3—dc22

2004053207

ISBN 0-8219-2956-9

Copyright © 2005 by EMC Corporation

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be adapted, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without permission from the publisher.

Published by EMC/Paradigm Publishing 875 Montreal Way St. Paul, Minnesota 55102 800-328-1452 www.emcp.com E-mail: educate@emcp.com

Printed in the United States of America. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 xxx 10 09 08 07 06 05

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Table of Contents

The Life and Works of William Shakespeare . . . . . . . . . . . iv Time Line of Shakespeare’s Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Background and Historical Context for

Shakespeare’s Plays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Background and Historical Context for Othello,

the Moor of Venice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi Echoes: Famous Lines from Othello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi Illustrations: Performances of Othello . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii

Othello, the Moor of Venice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Dramatis Personae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Act I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Respond to the Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Act II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Respond to the Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Act III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Respond to the Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Act IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Respond to the Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Act V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Respond to the Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Plot Analysis of Othello, the Moor of Venice . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Related Readings

Source Material from Gli Hecatommithi by Giraldi Cinthio (1565) . . . 218 from The History and Description of Africa by Leo

Africanus (1526) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Criticism from “Othello: A Bloody Farce” by Thomas

Rymer (1693). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Notes on Othello by Samuel Taylor

Coleridge (c.1836–39) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 from Shakespearean Tragedy by A. C. Bradley (1904) . . 250 Contemporary Poetry “Against Jealousy” by Ben Jonson (pub. 1640) . . . . . 258

Creative Writing Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Critical Writing Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Glossary of Words for Everyday Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Glossary of Literary Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

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THE LIFE AND WORKS OF

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) may well be the greatest dramatist the world has ever known. Certainly he is the most famous writer in all of English literature. Today, nearly four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare’s plays are still being performed for audiences all over the world. As fellow poet Ben Jonson famously put it, Shakespeare’s art is “not of an age, but for all time.”

Little is known about Shakespeare’s early life. His mother, Mary Arden Shakespeare, was from a well-to-do, well-con- nected family. His father, John Shakespeare, was a prosperous glove maker and local politician. William’s exact birthdate is unknown, but he was baptized in his hometown of Stratford- upon-Avon on April 26, 1564, and tradition has assigned him a birthdate of April 23, which was also the day of his death and the feast day of Saint George, England’s patron saint.

iv OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

Engraving of William Shakespeare from the First Folio. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. Photo by Melissa Baker.

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Shakespeare attended the Stratford grammar school, where he likely studied classical literature in Latin and Greek, as was typical for students of that era. However, he did not go on to a university. At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior. At the time of their marriage, Anne was pregnant with their first child, a daughter whom they named Susanna. Several years later, in 1585, the couple had twins, Hamnet and Judith. There is no record of what Shakespeare did in the years after the twins were born. He may have worked for a while as a schoolteacher, as there are many references to teaching in his plays. However, it is clear that by 1592 he had moved to London, leaving his family behind while he pursued a life in the theater. Shakespeare continued to provide for his family and to expand his holdings in Stratford while living in London.

Shakespeare’s Professional Career Once in London, Shakespeare soon made himself known

as a successful actor and playwright. His history plays Henry the Sixth, Parts 1, 2, and 3 and The Tragedy of Richard the Third established him as a significant force in London the- ater. In 1593, however, all London theaters were forced to close due to an outbreak of the plague. During this time, Shakespeare turned to narrative poetry, producing Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both dedicated to a wealthy patron, the Earl of Southampton.

When the theaters reopened the following year, Shakespeare became a partner in a theater company known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The group soon became the most popular acting troupe in London and performed regularly at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1599, they were wealthy enough to build their own play- house, which they called “The Globe.” When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, Shakespeare’s company found a new patron in her successor King James I, and their name was changed to the King’s Men.

While Shakespeare acted in the troupe, writing the material soon became his primary vocation. In the span of twenty years he penned at least thirty-seven plays, includ- ing comedies such as The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and All’s Well That Ends Well; tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear; romances such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest; and histories such as The Tragedy of King Richard the Second.

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The last play Shakespeare wrote on his own was The Famous History of the Life of Henry the Eighth, which was performed in London in 1613. Later that same year, he col- laborated with John Fletcher on the romance The Two Noble Kinsmen. At that time Shakespeare was probably liv- ing again in Stratford, in a large house called New Place that he had bought in 1597. When he died at age 52, sur- vived by his wife and his two daughters, Shakespeare was a wealthy man. He was buried April 25, 1616 in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. The stone over his grave reads:

Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare, To digg the dust encloased heare: Blest be the man that spares thes stones And curst be he that moves my bones.

The Publication of Shakespeare’s Plays Shakespeare himself never sought to have his plays pub-

lished; however, many individual plays were published during his lifetime in unauthorized editions known as quartos. These quartos are quite unreliable. Although some may have been based on final manuscript versions produced by the author, others were probably put together from actors’ memories of the scripts, or reprinted from so- called prompter’s copies used in production of the plays.

In 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, his friends and fellow actors John Heminge and Henry Condell published a collected edition of thirty-five of Shakespeare’s plays. This collection is known to literary historians as the First Folio. In the centuries since 1623, and especially during the last century and a half, editors have worked diligently to compare the various early printed versions of Shakespeare’s works to determine which version or versions of each play best represent what Shakespeare intended. Editors have also updated Shakespeare’s spelling so that the the plays can be more easily understood by a modern audience. If you are inter- ested, you can view the texts of Shakespeare’s plays in their original spelling on the Internet.

vi OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

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The Authorship of Shakespeare’s Plays The fact that Shakespeare was a commoner and led,

according to the few facts we have, a rather ordinary life, has led many people to doubt that he could have written such great works of literature. Over the years it has been suggested that the true author could have been someone else—such as the Earl of Oxford, Christopher Marlowe, or Ben Jonson. While there is no way to conclusively prove or disprove such theories, there are good reasons to believe that Shakespeare was, indeed, the true author of the plays attributed to him. For one thing, the plays show an under- standing of the lives of people in all stations of life, from the lowliest peasants to men and women of the court. We know that Shakespeare came from a common background and later moved in court circles; this fact is consistent with his understanding of people from all walks of life. At the very least, a careful reader must conclude that the plays attributed to Shakespeare are the work of a single author, for they have a distinct voice not to be found in the work of any other dramatist of his day—a voice that has enriched our language as none other has ever done.

Shakespeare’s Language Shakespeare used one of the largest vocabularies ever

employed by an author. In fact, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Shakespeare actually introduced an esti- mated 3,000 new words into the English language, many of which are in common use today, including bedazzle, silli- ness, critical, obscene, hurry, and lonely. Numerous well-known phrases came from his plays, such as “wear my heart upon my sleeve” (Othello) and “the world is my oys- ter” (The Merry Wives of Windsor).

Shakespeare’s language tends to be dense, metaphorical, full of puns and wordplay, and yet natural, so that—to steal a line from Hamlet—it comes “trippingly off the tongue” of an actor. A scene of Shakespeare tears across the stage, riveting and dramatic, and yet it bears close reread- ing, revealing in that rereading astonishing depth and complexity.

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE vii

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Shakespeare’s Poetic Technique Shakespeare used in his plays a combination of prose,

rhymed poetry, and blank verse. Blank verse is unrhymed, or “blank,” poetry with a distinct rhythm known as iambic pentameter. Each line of iambic pentameter con- sists of five iambs, rhythmic units made up of a weakly stressed syllable followed by a strongly stressed one as in the word fŏrgét. A simpler way of describing this type of verse is to say that it contains ten syllables per line, and every other syllable is stressed. The following are some typ- ical lines:

� ´

� ´

� ´

� ´

� ´Her fa ther lov’d me, oft in vi ted me

� ´

� ´

� ´

� ´

� ´Still ques tion’d me the sto ry of my life

(Othello, act I, scene iii, lines 28–29)

In order to maintain the verse, the lines of two or more characters are often combined to create one ten-syllable line. This accounts for the unusual line numbering and formatting in Shakespeare’s plays. In the following exam- ple, the words spoken by Cassio and Iago are all counted as one line:

CASSIO. I do not understand.

IAGO. He’s married.

CASSIO. To who?

(Othello, act I, scene ii, line 52)

If you scan the dialogue in Othello, you will find most of it is written in blank verse, although with some variations in stress and syllable count. Shakespeare and other playwrights of his time favored the use of blank verse in drama because they believed it captured the natural rhythms of English speech, yet had a noble, heroic quality that would not be possible with ordinary prose. (You will notice that when Shakespeare does use prose, it is because the characters are speaking informally or are from the lower class.) Blank iambic pentameter can also be used in poetry, although it is more often rhymed, as in Shakespeare’s sonnets.

viii OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

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Reading Shakespeare Shakespeare wrote his plays about four hundred years

ago. Because the English language has changed consider- ably since then, you will find that reading Shakespeare presents some special challenges. Although the spelling has been modernized in this version of Othello, as in virtu- ally all contemporary editions of Shakespeare’s plays, there are still differences in style and vocabulary that could not be edited out without changing the flavor of the work. The editors of this text have provided footnotes to help you understand words and phrases that have changed in mean- ing or spelling since Shakespeare’s day. However, try not to get bogged down in the footnotes. Remember that a play is a dramatic action and should move quickly. Try first reading through each scene without looking at the foot- notes, so that you can get a general sense of what is happening. Then reread the scene, referring to the foot- notes to discern the details. If possible, you may want to listen to an audio version of the play, or better yet, view a production of the play on film or on stage. All drama comes alive when it is performed by actors and is best experienced in that way.

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ix

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Time Line of Shakespeare’s Life

William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon, to parents Mary Arden Shakespeare and John Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare is baptized.

William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway.

Shakespeare’s first daughter, Susanna, is born and christened.

Anne Hathaway Shakespeare gives birth to twins: a boy, Hamnet, and a girl, Judith.

Shakespeare’s first histories, Henry the Sixth, Parts 1 and 2, are produced.

The Tragedy of Richard the Third is produced. Not long afterward, the plague afflicts London and the theaters close. Shakespeare writes Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.

Shakespeare’s first comedy, The Comedy of Errors, is produced.

Shakespeare begins writing a series, or cycle, of sonnets.

The Taming of the Shrew is produced.

Love’s Labor’s Lost is produced.

The Tragedy of King Richard the Second is produced.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream are produced.

The Merchant of Venice and Henry the Fourth, Part 1, are produced.

Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, dies at age eleven.

Shakespeare acquires a fine home called New Place in Stratford- upon-Avon. He produces The Merry Wives of Windsor, possibly at the request of Queen Elizabeth I.

Shakespeare produces Henry the Fourth, Part 2.

Much Ado about Nothing is produced.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater opens. The Life of Henry the Fifth, The Tragedy of Julius Cæsar, and As You Like It are produced.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is produced.

x OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

April 23, 1564

April 26, 1564

1582

1583

1585

1589–1591

1592–1593

1592–1594

c. 1593

1593–1594

1594–1595

1595

1595–1596

1596–1597

1596

1597

1598

1598–1599

1599

1600–1601

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Twelfth Night, or What You Will and The History of Troilus and Cressida are produced.

All’s Well That Ends Well is produced.

Queen Elizabeth I dies. Shakespeare’s troupe, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, is renamed The King’s Men in honor of their new king and sponsor, James I.

Measure for Measure and The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice are produced.

The Tragedy of King Lear is produced.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is produced.

The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra is produced.

The Tragedy of Coriolanus and Pericles, Prince of Tyre are produced.

Cymbeline is produced.

The Winter’s Tale is produced.

The Tempest is produced.

The Famous History of the Life of Henry the Eighth is produced.

Shakespeare collaborates with John Fletcher to write The Two Noble Kinsmen. On June 19, the Globe Theater is burned to the ground in a fire caused by a cannon shot during a performance of Henry the Eighth. Shakespeare retires to his home in New Place.

The Globe Theater rebuilt.

Shakespeare dies and is buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford- upon-Avon.

TIME LINE OF SHAKESPEARE’S LIFE xi

1601–1602

1602–1603

1603

1604

1605

1606

1607

1607–1608

1609–1610

1610–1611

1611

1612–1613

1613

1614

April 23, 1616

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BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR

Shakespeare’s Plays

The Renaissance in England The word renaissance means “rebirth.” Historians use the

term to refer to the period between the fifteenth and early seventeenth centuries (1400s–1600s), when Europe was influenced by a rebirth of interest in Greek and Latin learn- ing and experienced a flowering of literature and the arts.

In England, the Renaissance did not truly begin until 1558, when Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne. Elizabeth was a great patron of the arts, and during her reign from 1558 to 1603—a period known as the Elizabethan Age—English literature reached what many people consider to be its zenith. Shakespeare wrote and produced his plays at the height of the Elizabethan period and throughout much of the Jacobean period, the period from 1603 to 1625 when James I ruled England.

Shakespeare’s writing is a good example of the spirit of the Renaissance—his plays often focus on memorable and complex characters, his plots often derive from classical sources, and his themes often involve challenges to author- ity. Although Shakespeare’s scholarly contemporary and fellow playwright Ben Jonson wrote of Shakespeare, “thou hadst small Latin, and less Greek,” Shakespeare knew far more of these languages than most people do today, and he probably read many of the classical works of Rome in their original Latin. He was inspired by classical works and by the history of Rome to write such plays as The Tragedy of Julius Cæsar and The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, and all of his works contain allusions to classical subjects.

Renaissance Drama The two most common types of drama during the

English Renaissance were comedies and tragedies. The key difference between comedies and tragedies is that the former have happy endings and the latter have unhappy ones. (It is only a slight exaggeration to say that comedies end with wedding bells and tragedies with funeral bells.)

A comedy is typically lighthearted, though it may touch on serious themes. Action in a comedy usually progresses from initial order to humorous misunderstanding or con-

xii OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. Courtesy the National Portrait Gallery of London.

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fusion and back to order again. Stock elements of comedy include mistaken identities, puns and word play, and coarse or exaggerated characters. Shakespeare’s comedies frequently end with one or more marriages.

A tragedy tells the story of the downfall of a person of high status. Often it celebrates the courage and dignity of its hero in the face of inevitable doom. The hero is typically neither completely good nor completely evil but lives and acts between these extremes. The hero’s fall may be brought about by some flaw in his or her character, known as a tragic flaw. In Macbeth that flaw was ambition; in Hamlet, indecisiveness. As you read this play, try to decide what tragic flaw, if any, you can find in the character of Othello.

Other kinds of plays produced during the period included histories—plays about events from the past—and romances—plays that contained highly fantastic elements, such as fairies and magic spells. Also popular were short plays called interludes, as well as elaborate entertainments, called masques, that featured acting, music, and dance.

Theater in Renaissance London In the late sixteenth century, London was a bustling city

of perhaps 150,000 people—the mercantile, political, and artistic center of England. The city proper was ruled by a mayor and alderman who frowned upon theater because it brought together large crowds of people, creating the potential for lawlessness and the spread of controversial ideas and disease. Many times, London city officials or Parliament ordered the theaters closed, once because they objected to the political content of a play called Isle of Dogs, and regularly because of outbreaks of plague. Parliament, which was dominated by Puritans, passed laws that made it possible for traveling actors and performers to be arrested as vagabonds and cruelly punished. For protec- tion, actors sought the patronage of members of the nobility. Actors would become, technically, servants of a famous lord, and troupes went by such names as The Lord Worcester’s Men.

Fortunately for actors and playwrights, Queen Elizabeth and other members of the nobility loved the theater and protected it. Elizabeth herself maintained two troupes of boy actors, connected to her royal chapels. In addition to such troupes, London boasted several professional troupes made up of men. In those days, women did not act, and women’s roles were played by men, a fact that further increased Puritan disapproval of the theaters. When the

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xiv OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

Puritans took control of England in 1642, theater was banned altogether.

The Renaissance Playhouse The first professional theater in England was built in 1576

by James Burbage. Burbage located his playhouse, which he called simply The Theater, just outside the northern bound- aries of the City of London, where he could avoid control by city authorities. Another professional theater, the Curtain, was built nearby shortly thereafter. In 1598, Burbage’s son Richard and other members of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men tore down the Theater and used its materials to build a new playhouse, called the Globe. One of the shareholders in this new venture was William Shakespeare.

The Globe Theater is described in one of Shakespeare’s plays as a “wooden O.” The theater was nearly circular. It had eight sides and was open in the middle. The stage jut- ted into the center of this open area. Poorer theatergoers called “groundlings,” who paid a penny apiece for admis- sion, stood around three sides of the stage. Wealthier playgoers could pay an additional penny or two to sit in one of the three galleries set in the walls of the theater.

The stage itself was partially covered by a canopy sup- ported by two pillars. Trapdoors in the stage floor made it possible for actors to appear or disappear. Backstage center was an area known as the “tiring house” in which actors could change costumes. This area could be opened for inte- rior scenes. A second-story playing area above the tiring

The Globe Theater.

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house could be used to represent a hilltop, a castle turret, or a balcony (perhaps used in the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet). On the third level, above this bal- cony, was an area for musicians and sound-effects technicians. A cannon shot from this area during a perfor- mance of Shakespeare’s Henry the Eighth in 1613 caused a fire that burned the Globe to the ground.

Because the playhouse was open to the air, plays were presented in the daytime, and there was little or no artifi- cial lighting. Scenery in the modern sense was nonexistent, and very few props, or properties, were used. Audiences had to use their imaginations to create the scenes, and play- wrights helped them do this by writing descriptions into their characters’ speeches.

The Renaissance Audience Audiences at the Globe and similar theaters were quite

heterogeneous, or mixed. They included people from all stations of society: laboring people from the lower classes, middle-class merchants, members of Parliament, and lords and ladies. Pickpockets mingled among the noisy, raucous groundlings crowded around the stage. Noble men and women sat on cushioned seats in the first-tier balcony. The fanfare of trumpets that signaled the beginning of a play was heard by some twenty-five hundred people, a cross- section of the Elizabethan world. As noted in the preface to the First Folio, Shakespeare’s plays were written for everyone, from “the most able, to him that can but spell.” That may explain why even today, they have such a uni- versal appeal.

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BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR

Othello, the Moor of Venice

Shakespeare probably wrote The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, in 1603 or 1604, since we know that it was first performed at court on November 1, 1604. A classic story of love, jealousy, and betrayal, Othello is considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. It tells the story of Othello, a Moorish (North African) general who marries a Venetian lady and then is cruelly tricked into believing that his wife is unfaithful.

The plot itself was taken from a novella by Italian writer Giraldi Cinthio, which was published in 1565. (See page 218 for a translation of this tale.) This should not be con- sidered plagiarism; in Shakespeare’s day, it was common for playwrights to borrow subjects and storylines from other works and then adapt them for the stage. Furthermore, although Shakespeare’s plot was not original, his gift for dialogue, characterization, and poetic imagery and phrasing transformed the story into something alto- gether his own.

Venice, Cyprus, and the Ottoman Empire The setting of Othello must have seemed very exotic to

Shakespeare’s audience in London. The first act of the play is set in Venice, a city-state in northern Italy, and the fol- lowing four acts in Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. (See the map on the facing page.)

Today, Venice is a part of the modern nation of Italy, but in the 1500s, it was a powerful seafaring empire ruled by a Duke, or doge, and a council of noblemen. Seated in a lagoon on the Adriatic Sea, Venice was a major trade port with control over strategic points in the Mediterranean such as the islands of Crete and Cyprus.

The Venetians’ main rivals were the Turks, or Ottomans, who controlled a vast empire stretching from the Persian Gulf in the East to Hungary in the West, including the ter- ritories of Greece and Egypt. The Ottoman Empire and Venice were constantly at war. The objective was power and land, of course, but religion entered into the equation as well. The Venetians were Christian, and the Turks were Muslim. To Venice and indeed to Shakespeare’s England, the Turks were the hated enemy whom Christians had fought during the Crusades. This conflict between

xvi OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

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Christian and Muslim, European and foreign, “civilized” and “barbarian,” is a major theme that runs throughout Othello.

In the play, Othello is sent to Cyprus to fend off a Turkish invasion of the island. This incident is probably inspired by an actual battle that took place in 1571. However, in real life the Turks were successful in capturing Cyprus, whereas in the play, they are held off by a storm. Although it has a small part in the plot, the battle at sea serves an important role, as it provides a backdrop and a mirror for the smaller conflict brewing between Iago and Othello. The play asks us to examine which man, the Christian European Iago, or the Muslim-born, “barbarian” foreigner Othello, is the true enemy of civilization.

There is no record of Shakespeare having traveled to Venice, so it is likely that he relied on books to help him cre- ate an accurate picture of Venetian life. One source he

BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR OTHELLO xvii

Map showing territories held by Venice and the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.

UKRAINE

POLAND

Aegean Sea

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

Black Sea (Pontus)

BARBARY (MAURETANIA)

CRETE CYPRUS

RHODES

EGYPT

GREECE

VENICE

O T T O M A N E M

P I R

E

ALEPPO

Territories held by Venice

Territories held by the Ottoman Empire

ITALY

Red Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

Adriatic Sea

Ionian Sea

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almost certainly used was The Commonwealth and Government of Venice (De magistratibus et republica Venetorum) by Italian author Gasparo Contarini, written in 1543 and translated into English by Lewis Lewkenor in 1599.

The Moors and Race in Othello The Moors were a Muslim people who lived on the

northern coast of Africa, an area the Europeans called Barbary. These people had a mixed heritage: they were descended from the Berbers (a Caucasian people native to north Africa) and the Arabs, who came from the east. In the eighth century, the Moors invaded Spain and brought it under Islamic rule, in the process bringing to Western Europe their vast knowledge of art, architecture, medicine,

xviii OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

Illustration of a Moor from Degli habiti antichi et moderni (1590) by Cesare Vecellio. By

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and science, much of which they inherited from the Arabs and ancient Greeks. The Moors ruled over various parts of Spain for several centuries. Today, Moorish architecture and art can be seen all over Spain, especially in the cities of Toledo, Cordoba, and Seville.

When Shakespeare wrote about “the Moor of Venice,” therefore, he was envisioning a north African man, well- educated, and raised in the Muslim faith (although baptized Christian as an adult). It is unclear, however, whether Shakespeare meant us to see Othello as a black man, or one more Arab in appearance. The Moors of Barbary were a dark- skinned people compared to Europeans, but they were not black. However, in Shakespeare’s day, the term Moor was often used broadly, to refer to any person with dark or black skin, including black Africans. Several references in the play seem to describe Othello as a black African. But no matter what the exact color of his skin, the important point is that Othello was an outsider in Venice, an exotic figure who, while being admired and valued for his military prowess, more often provoked curiosity, fear, and even hatred.

These same feelings toward Africans were probably shared by the members of Shakespeare’s audience. To the English of Shakespeare’s time, Africans were strange and foreign enemies of Christianity, given to heathen practices such as witchcraft and voodoo. In the literature of the time, they were invariably portrayed as villains. The Africans who came to England were viewed with suspicion and hostility. In 1596, Queen Elizabeth I issued an edict against these unlucky foreigners, reading as follows: “Her Majesty under- standing that several blackamoors have lately been brought into this realm, of which kind of people there are already too many here . . . her Majesty’s pleasure therefore is that those kind of people should be expelled from the land.” Considering this climate, it is rather suprising that Shakespeare should have written a play in which the hero was an African, and a very noble character at that.

To create the character of Othello, a man whose back- ground was so different from his own, Shakespeare again relied upon books. He may have consulted The History and Description of Africa, a book written in 1526 by Moorish author Leo Africanus. See page 231 for an excerpt from this work. You may also refer to the critical readings by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (page 245) and A. C. Bradley (page 250) for more discussion on the subject of Othello’s race.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR OTHELLO xix

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The Time Scheme of Othello As many critics have noted, the time scheme in Othello is

somewhat confusing. The events appear to take place in only a few days, but throughout the play, there are refer- ences that suggest much more time has passed. Shakespeare may have been torn between two objectives: on the one hand, increasing the dramatic tension by making the events take place in a short time frame, but on the other, allowing enough time to pass so that the plot would be believable. In using a short time frame, Shakespeare was probably follow- ing the model of the Greek dramatist Aristotle who advised playwrights to keep the action of a tragedy “within one rev- olution of the sun.” Shakespeare likely realized that his story could not take place in such a short time, but tried to limit the span of time as much as possible.

If the events actually did take place in only two or three days, there would not have been enough time for Desdemona to have been unfaithful, and the outcome of the play would have been unbelievable. Therefore, Shakespeare creates the illusion of more time having passed, even as, when we examine the scenes, the group has only been in Cyprus for two days.

As you read, decide whether Shakespeare’s “double time scheme” is effective, or whether it can be considered a flaw in the play.

Characters in Othello The names in Shakespeare’s plays are often symbolic, and

the names Othello and Desdemona may be seen as symbolic of the doom that befalls the characters in this tragedy. The name Desdemona (or Disdemona, as it was spelled by Giraldi Cinthio in the original story) is Greek for “unlucky.” Also, it may or may not be coincidental that Othello’s name con- tains the word hell and Desdemona’s name contains the word demon. As you read, look for other ways in which Shakespeare expands on the motif of hell and demons.

Shakespeare probably molded Iago, the villain in Othello, after the character of Vice in the medieval moral- ity plays. Vice was a villainous stock character who made his intent known through asides and soliloquies to the audience. In the morality plays, Vice’s role was to tempt the protagonist into doing something that would cause his own damnation. He did this purely for his own gratifica- tion and for no other purpose. As you read, decide whether Iago, like Vice, does evil for his own gratification or whether he has a real motive for wanting revenge.

xx OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

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Echoes:

Famous Lines from Othello

For when my outward action doth demonstrate The native act and figure of my heart In compliment extern, ’tis not long after But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

—Iago, act I, scene i

I saw Othello’s visage in his mind, And to his honour and his valiant parts Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.

—Desdemona, act I, scene iii

[N]oble signior, If virtue no delighted beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.

—The Duke of Venice, act I, scene iii

Look to her, Moor; have a quick eye to see. She has deceiv’d her father; may do thee!

—Brabantio, act I, 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, act II, scene iii

ECHOES xxi

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xxii OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee! and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again.

—Othello, act III, scene iii

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.

—Iago, act III, scene iii

But yet the pity of it, Iago! O Iago, the pity of it, Iago! —Othello, act IV, scene i

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well; Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought, Perplexed in the extreme . . .

—Othello, act V, scene ii

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Illustrations: Performances of Othello

Since it was first enacted at the court of Queen Elizabeth in 1604, Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice has been performed countless times on stages and in cin- emas all over the world. Here are a few glimpses.

ILLUSTRATIONS xxiii

Poster for an 1884 production of Othello starring American actor Thomas Keene. Keene was a white actor and played the title role in blackface, as was customary in the theater until the late 1900s.

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American actor Paul Robeson and British actor Peggy Ashcroft in a

production of Othello in London, 1930. The casting of a black actor in the role of Othello generated a great

deal of controversy, especially at home in the United States.

Note: replace with hi res photos

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xxiv OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

Actor/director Orson Welles stars

in the 1952 film adaptation of

Othello. Welles liked to take risks as a director, and his is an edgy film

with dramatic closeups and atmospheric

imagery.

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The 1995 film Othello, directed by Oliver Parker,

featured excellent performances by

Laurence Fishburne (as Othello) and

Kenneth Branagh (as Iago).

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Patrick Stewart as Othello and Patrice Johnson as Desdemona in

The Shakespeare Theatre’s 1997–1998 production of Othello, directed by Jude Kelly. Rather than play the character in blackface as

actors had done in the past, Stewart conceived the idea of a

“photo-negative Othello”—a white man in a black country. Ph

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OTHELLO THE MOOR OF VENICE

by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

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Dramatis Personae

DUKE OF VENICE

BRABANTIO, a senator

Other Senators

GRATIANO, brother to Brabantio

LODOVICO, kinsman to Brabantio

OTHELLO, a noble Moor in the service of the Venetian state

CASSIO, his lieutenant

IAGO, his ancient

RODERIGO, a Venetian gentleman

MONTANO, Othello’s predecessor in the government of Cyprus

CLOWN, servant to Othello

DESDEMONA, daughter to Brabantio and wife to Othello

EMILIA, wife to Iago

BIANCA, mistress to Cassio

Sailor, Messenger, Herald, Officers, Gentlemen, Musicians, and Attendants

Scene Venice; a Sea-port in Cyprus.

3

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4 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

ACT I, SCENE i 1. this. Othello’s marriage to Desdemona 2. ’Sblood. An oath, or curse, meaning “by God’s blood” 3. Off-capp’d. Took off their caps, in a gesture of pleading 4. bombast circumstance. A bombastic, or overblown, speech meant to

avoid the question. Circumstance here means circumlocution, a type of speech that is unecessarily wordy and has no point to it.

5. epithets of war. Terms having to do with war; military jargon 6. Nonsuits. Refuses; that is, turns down their suit 7. Certes. In truth; certainly 8. arithmetician. One who is schooled in military theory, but has no

practical experience on the battlefield. Mathematics were an important part of warfare then, as they are today. For instance, they could be used to calculate the trajectory and angle of a cannonball.

9. Florentine. From Florence 10. wife. Probably a mistake, since later in the play it is apparent Cassio is

not married. Shakespeare may have originally intended to have Cassio be a married man, but changed his mind later. Or, it may be a misprint for life or wise. 11. spinster. A housewife; one who spins 12. theoric. Theory 13. toged consuls. Senators in togas 14. propose. Speak 15. his. Othello’s 16. At Rhodes, at Cyprus . . . Christian and heathen. In the 1500s,

Venice was a powerful seafaring empire and controlled the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, both located in the eastern Mediterranean. Their main rivals were the Turks, who, as Muslims, were considered heathens by Christian Europe. Heathen here simply means “non-Christian.” 17. be-lee’d and calm’d. Had the wind taken out of his sails and made

calm 18. counter-caster. Accountant 19. ancient. An ancient, or ensign, was a low-ranking officer several steps

below a lieutenant. The ancient was responsible for carrying the flag, or standard, and usually stayed by the commander’s side during battle.

FOOTNOTES

ab • hor (əb ho. [ə]r´) vt., hate strongly; loathe. Dessa declared that she abhorred being bored.

suit (süt́ ) n., act or instance of seeking by entreaty: an appeal. Fiona’s suit to Dieter’s mercy fell on deaf ears.

prat • tle (prat´ əl) n., idle chatter; chattering noise. The prattle in the lunchroom sounded like the humming of bees in a hive.

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ACT I, SCENE i 5

What reason does Iago give for hating Othello? Who is Cassio?

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ACT I

SCENE i: Venice. A street.

Enter RODERIGO and IAGO.

RODERIGO. Tush! never tell me; I take it much unkindly

That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this.1

IAGO. ’Sblood,2 but you will not hear me: If ever I did dream of such a matter, Abhor me.

RODERIGO. Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate.

IAGO. Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,

In personal suit to make me his lieutenant, Off-capp’d3 to him: and, by the faith of man, I know my price, I am worth no worse a place: But he; as loving his own pride and purposes, Evades them, with a bombast circumstance4

Horribly stuff’d with epithets of war;5

And, in conclusion, Nonsuits6 my mediators; for, “Certes,”7 says he, “I have already chose my officer.” And what was he? Forsooth, a great arithmetician,8

One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,9

A fellow almost damn’d in a fair wife;10

That never set a squadron in the field, Nor the division of a battle knows More than a spinster;11 unless the bookish theoric,12

Wherein the toged consuls13 can propose14

As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practice, Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election: And I, of whom his15 eyes had seen the proof At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds Christian and heathen,16 must be be-lee’d and

calm’d17

By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,18

He, in good time, must his lieutenant be, And I—God bless the mark!—his Moorship’s

ancient.19

What position was Iago assigned?

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6 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

20. old gradation. Seniority 21. affined. Obligated 22. knave. A servant or man of humble position 23. doting on . . . bondage. Loving his own enslaved condition 24. provender. Animal feed 25. cashier’d. Rejected or dismissed from duty 26. trimm’d. Dressed up 27. lined their coats. That is, with money 28. native act and figure of my heart. My true feelings and intentions 29. compliment extern. Outward appearance 30. daws. Jackdaws, a type of bird. The entire line can be interpreted as,

“If I were to be so foolish as to show my true feelings and intentions to the world, then I might as well wear my heart on my sleeve for daws to peck at.” 31. owe. Own; possess 32. carry’t thus. Carry off this marriage 33. him. Othello

FOOTNOTES

ob • se • qui • ous (əb sē´ kwē əs) adj., showing an exaggerated desire to help or serve; fawning. Lew’s obsequious behavior led others to call him “teacher’s pet.”

vis • age (viz’ əj) n., appearance; face. The boy’s angelic visage concealed his mischievous nature.

in • cense (in sen[t]s´) vt., cause to become angry. News of the government scandal incensed the public.

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ACT I, SCENE i 7

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RODERIGO. By heaven, I rather would have been his hangman.

IAGO. Why, there’s no remedy; ’tis the curse of service,

Preferment goes by letter and affection, And not by old gradation,20 where each second Stood heir to the first. Now, sir, be judge yourself, Whether I in any just term am affined21

To love the Moor.

RODERIGO. I would not follow him then.

IAGO. O, sir, content you; I follow him to serve my turn upon him: We cannot all be masters, nor all masters Cannot be truly follow’d. You shall mark Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave,22

That, doting on his own obsequious bondage,23

Wears out his time, much like his master’s ass, For nought but provender,24 and when he’s old,

cashier’d:25

Whip me such honest knaves. Others there are Who, trimm’d26 in forms and visages of duty, Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves, And, throwing but shows of service on their lords, Do well thrive by them and when they have lined

their coats27

Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul;

And such a one do I profess myself. For, sir, It is as sure as you are Roderigo, Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago: In following him, I follow but myself; Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so, for my peculiar end: For when my outward action doth demonstrate The native act and figure of my heart28

In compliment extern,29 ’tis not long after But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws30 to peck at: I am not what I am.

RODERIGO. What a full fortune does the thicklips owe31

If he can carry’t thus!32

IAGO. Call up her father, Rouse him: make after him,33 poison his delight, Proclaim him in the streets; incense her kinsmen,

What two types of men does Iago describe? Which type does he profess himself to be?

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How does Iago plan to “poison [Othello’s] delight”?

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8 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

34. timorous accent. Tone of alarm 35. ’Zounds. An oath meaning “by God’s wounds” 36. snorting. Snoring 37. grandsire. Grandfather 38. distempering draughts. Intoxicating beverages 39. malicious bravery. Wicked boldness 40. start. Startle, alarm

FOOTNOTES

vex • a • tion (vek sā´ shən) n., state of being vexed, or irritated. I thought that the babysitting job would be easy, but the children were naughty and caused me much vexation.

dire (d �̄ [ə]ŕ ) adj., dreadful. Dire predictions were made at the end of the millennium, but few of these frightful visions came true.

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ACT I, SCENE i 9

How does Brabantio know Roderigo? What has he told Roderigo in the past?

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And, though he in a fertile climate dwell, Plague him with flies: though that his joy be joy, Yet throw such changes of vexation on’t, As it may lose some color.

RODERIGO. Here is her father’s house; I’ll call aloud.

IAGO. Do, with like timorous accent34 and dire yell As when, by night and negligence, the fire Is spied in populous cities.

RODERIGO. What, ho, Brabantio! Signior Brabantio, ho!

IAGO. Awake! what, ho, Brabantio! thieves! thieves! thieves!

Look to your house, your daughter and your bags! Thieves! thieves!

BRABANTIO appears above, at a window.

BRABANTIO. What is the reason of this terrible summons?

What is the matter there?

RODERIGO. Signior, is all your family within?

IAGO. Are your doors lock’d?

BRABANTIO. Why, wherefore ask you this?

IAGO. ’Zounds,35 sir, you’re robb’d; for shame, put on your gown;

Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul; Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is topping your white ewe. Arise, arise; Awake the snorting36 citizens with the bell, Or else the devil will make a grandsire37 of you: Arise, I say.

BRABANTIO. What, have you lost your wits?

RODERIGO. Most reverend signior, do you know my voice?

BRABANTIO. Not I; what are you?

RODERIGO. My name is Roderigo.

BRABANTIO. The worser welcome: I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors: In honest plainness thou hast heard me say My daughter is not for thee; and now, in madness, Being full of supper and distempering draughts,38

Upon malicious bravery,39 dost thou come To start40 my quiet.

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41. grange. Farmhouse or granary; i.e., a remote place where burglary would be more likely to occur 42. Barbary horse. A type of horse from Barbary, the northern coast of

Africa. Iago implies that Othello is no better than a stud horse. 43. you’ll have coursers . . . germans. You’ll have horses for relatives. A

courser is a spirited horse; a gennet (today spelled jennet) is a small Spanish horse. Cousins and germans both meant simply “relatives.” The reference to a horse from Spain might refer to the fact that the Moors occupied Spain for several centuries. 44. This thou shalt answer. You’ll be punished for this. 45. odd-even and dull watch. Time between day and night, that is,

around midnight, when nobody is around 46. gondolier. One who pilots a gondola, a type of boat used to transport

people through the canals of Venice 47. gross clasps. Vulgar or indecent embraces 48. from the sense of all civility. In violation of civility 49. reverence. Respect 50. extravagant and wheeling. Here, both words mean “wandering;

vagabond.”

FOOTNOTES

ruf • fi • an (rəf´ ē ən) n., bully. The ruffians taunted Okema and blocked his way.

pro • fane (pro fān´) adj., vulgar. The movie was rated PG-13 for its profane language.

las • civ • i • ous (lə siv´ ē əs) adj., lustful; obscene. The manager was fired for sexual harassment after making lascivious comments to an employee.

re • buke (ri byük´) n., expression of strong disapproval. The principal issued a strong rebuke to the students who had been caught vandalizing school property.

tri • fle (tr �̄ ´ fəl) vi., treat something or someone as unimportant. The knave cruelly trifled with the maiden’s feelings.

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ACT I, SCENE i 11

What has Desdemona done?

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RODERIGO. Sir, sir, sir,—

BRABANTIO. But thou must needs be sure My spirit and my place have in them power To make this bitter to thee.

RODERIGO. Patience, good sir.

BRABANTIO. What tell’st thou me of robbing? this is Venice;

My house is not a grange.41

RODERIGO. Most grave Brabantio, In simple and pure soul I come to you.

IAGO. ’Zounds, sir, you are one of those that will not serve God, if the devil bid you. Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse;42

you’ll have your nephews neigh to you; you’ll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans.43

BRABANTIO. What profane wretch art thou?

IAGO. I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.

BRABANTIO. Thou art a villain.

IAGO. You are—a senator.

BRABANTIO. This thou shalt answer;44 I know thee, Roderigo.

RODERIGO. Sir, I will answer any thing. But, I beseech you,

If’t be your pleasure and most wise consent, As partly I find it is, that your fair daughter, At this odd-even and dull watch45 o’ the night, Transported, with no worse nor better guard But with a knave of common hire, a gondolier,46

To the gross clasps47 of a lascivious Moor— If this be known to you and your allowance, We then have done you bold and saucy wrongs; But if you know not this, my manners tell me We have your wrong rebuke. Do not believe That, from the sense of all civility,48

I thus would play and trifle with your reverence:49

Your daughter, if you have not given her leave, I say again, hath made a gross revolt; Tying her duty, beauty, wit and fortunes In an extravagant and wheeling50 stranger

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51. Strike on the tinder. Light a match 52. taper. Candle 53. accident. Happening 54. meet. Appropriate 55. produced . . . against the Moor. Shown to be working against Othello 56. gall him with some cheque. Irritate him with some small

punishment. Eloping with a nobleman’s daughter would have been considered a punishable offense. 57. cast him. Dismiss him from service 58. Cyprus wars. Wars between Venice and Turkey over the island of

Cyprus, located south of Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea. At the time of this play, the Venetians controlled Cyprus and were defending it against the Turks. 59. even now stand in act. Are happening right now 60. fathom. Worth 61. Sagittary. An inn where the newlyweds are staying 62. raised search. A party of searchers who have been raised, or roused,

from their beds

FOOTNOTES

de • lude (di lüd´) vt., mislead; trick. The con artist deluded his victims into depositing their money into his bank account.

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ACT I, SCENE i 13

Why does the Venetian government need Othello?

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What does Brabantio say of his daughter’s possible marriage to Othello?

Of here and every where. Straight satisfy yourself: If she be in her chamber or your house, Let loose on me the justice of the state For thus deluding you.

BRABANTIO. Strike on the tinder,51 ho! Give me a taper!52 call up all my people! This accident53 is not unlike my dream: Belief of it oppresses me already. Light, I say! light!

Exit above.

IAGO. Farewell; for I must leave you: It seems not meet,54 nor wholesome to my place, To be produced—as, if I stay, I shall— Against the Moor:55 for, I do know, the state, However this may gall him with some cheque,56

Cannot with safety cast him,57 for he’s embark’d With such loud reason to the Cyprus wars,58

Which even now stand in act,59 that, for their souls, Another of his fathom60 they have none, To lead their business: in which regard, Though I do hate him as I do hell-pains, Yet, for necessity of present life, I must show out a flag and sign of love, Which is indeed but sign. That you shall surely find

him, Lead to the Sagittary61 the raised search;62

And there will I be with him. So, farewell.

Exit.

Enter, below, BRABANTIO, and SERVANTS with torches.

BRABANTIO. It is too true an evil: gone she is; And what’s to come of my despised time Is nought but bitterness. Now, Roderigo, Where didst thou see her? O unhappy girl! With the Moor, say’st thou? Who would be a father! How didst thou know ’twas she? O she deceives me Past thought! What said she to you? Get more tapers: Raise all my kindred. Are they married, think you?

RODERIGO. Truly, I think they are.

BRABANTIO. O heaven! How got she out? O treason of the blood!

Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters’ minds By what you see them act. Is there not charms By which the property of youth and maidhood

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14 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

63. deserve. Reward

ACT I, SCENE ii 1. contrived. Premeditated; intentional 2. yerk’d. Stabbed 3. prated. Chattered 4. scurvy. Despicable 5. I did full hard forbear him. I found it hard to keep myself from

hurting him. 6. fast. Securely 7. magnifico. Brabantio is a magnifico, or person of great standing in

Venice 8. Will give him cable. Will give him the power, or the means [to punish

Othello] 9. signiory. Venetian government

10. I fetch my life . . . royal siege. I am descended from royalty.

FOOTNOTES

ap • pre • hend (ap´ ri hənd´) vt., arrest; seize. The police officer apprehended the burglars at the scene of the crime.

in • iq • ui • ty (in ik´ wə tē) n., wickedness. The teens had no motive for attacking the homeless man; they did it out of sheer iniquity.

pro • vok • ing (prə vō´ kiŋ ) adj., causing anger or outrage. The politician’s provoking comments caused outrage in the community.

pro • mul • gate (präm´ əl gāt´, prō´ məl gāt´) vt., declare openly or make known; also, to spread (knowledge or ideas). The teachings of Socrates were largely promulgated by his foremost pupil, Plato.

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ACT I, SCENE ii 15

How does Brabantio feel about Roderigo now?

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What does Iago claim he wanted to do to Roderigo?

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May be abused? Have you not read, Roderigo, Of some such thing?

RODERIGO. Yes, sir, I have indeed.

BRABANTIO. Call up my brother. O, would you had had her!

Some one way, some another. Do you know Where we may apprehend her and the Moor?

RODERIGO. I think I can discover him, if you please, To get good guard and go along with me.

BRABANTIO. Pray you, lead on. At every house I’ll call; I may command at most. Get weapons, ho! And raise some special officers of night. On, good Roderigo: I’ll deserve63 your pains.

Exeunt.

SCENE ii: Another street.

Enter OTHELLO, IAGO, and ATTENDANTS with torches.

IAGO. Though in the trade of war I have slain men, Yet do I hold it very stuff o’ the conscience To do no contrived1 murder: I lack iniquity Sometimes to do me service: nine or ten times I had thought to have yerk’d2 him here under the

ribs.

OTHELLO. ’Tis better as it is.

IAGO. Nay, but he prated,3

And spoke such scurvy4 and provoking terms Against your honor That, with the little godliness I have, I did full hard forbear him.5 But, I pray you, sir, Are you fast6 married? Be assured of this, That the magnifico7 is much beloved, And hath in his effect a voice potential As double as the duke’s: he will divorce you; Or put upon you what restraint and grievance The law, with all his might to enforce it on, Will give him cable.8

OTHELLO. Let him do his spite: My services which I have done the signiory9

Shall out-tongue his complaints. ’Tis yet to know,— Which, when I know that boasting is an honor, I shall promulgate—I fetch my life and being From men of royal siege,10 and my demerits

What might Brabantio have the power to do?

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16 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

11. my demerits . . . reach’d. My merits, in all modesty, are equal to those of Desdemona’s family. By unbonneted, he means “with my hat off,” a gesture of courtesy and humility. He may doff his hat when speaking this line. 12. But that I. If I did not 13. circumscription. Restriction; limits 14. the sea’s worth. All the treasure in the sea 15. Janus. The two-faced god of the Romans [see illustration below], an

appropriate idol for the “two-faced” Iago 16. heat. Urgency 17. galleys. Long, low ships used for war and trade in the Mediterranean

Sea from the Middle Ages to the 19th century 18. what makes he here? What is Othello doing here at the inn? 19. carack. Treasure ship

FOOTNOTES

Janus, the Roman god of doorways, was depicted with two faces and thus is an appropriate idol for the “two-faced” Iago.

© B

et tm

an n/

C or

bi s

man • i • fest (man´ ə fest) vt., show. Shakespeare’s dramatic works manifest his extraordinary ear for dialogue.

di • vine (də v�̄n´) vt., discover intuitively; infer. From the bits of conversation I overheard, I was able to divine that there was some trouble afoot.

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ACT I, SCENE ii 17

Who comes to find Othello at the inn? What news do they have for him?

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May speak unbonneted to as proud a fortune As this that I have reach’d:11 for know, Iago, But that I12 love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition Put into circumscription13 and confine For the sea’s worth.14 But, look! what lights come

yond?

IAGO. Those are the raised father and his friends: You were best go in.

OTHELLO. Not I, I must be found: My parts, my title and my perfect soul Shall manifest me rightly. Is it they?

IAGO. By Janus,15 I think no.

Enter CASSIO, and certain OFFICERS with torches.

OTHELLO. The servants of the duke, and my lieutenant.

The goodness of the night upon you, friends! What is the news?

CASSIO. The duke does greet you, general, And he requires your haste-post-haste appearance, Even on the instant.

OTHELLO. What is the matter, think you?

CASSIO. Something from Cyprus as I may divine: It is a business of some heat:16 the galleys17

Have sent a dozen sequent messengers This very night at one another’s heels, And many of the consuls, raised and met, Are at the duke’s already: you have been hotly call’d

for; When, being not at your lodging to be found, The senate hath sent about three several guests To search you out.

OTHELLO. ’Tis well I am found by you. I will but spend a word here in the house, And go with you.

Exit.

CASSIO. Ancient, what makes he here?18

IAGO. ’Faith, he to-night hath boarded a land carack:19

If it prove lawful prize, he’s made for ever.

CASSIO. I do not understand.

IAGO. He’s married.

To what does Iago compare Desdemona?

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18 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

20. Marry. Indeed (originally an oath using the name of the Virgin Mary), with a pun on his previous line. 21. Have with you. I’ll go with you. 22. I am for you. I will fight you. 23. Keep up. Keep sheathed 24. opposite to. Opposed to 25. guardage. Guardianship 26. sooty. Black 27. gross in sense. Obvious 28. motion. The senses or mental powers 29. disputed on. Argued in the court of law 30. attach thee / For an abuser of the world. Arrest you as a corrupter of

the community. Apprehend and attach both mean “arrest.” 31. inhibited and out of warrant. Prohibited and unjustifiable

FOOTNOTES

sub • due (səb dü´) vt., bring under control; conquer. The dictator sent his army to subdue rebel forces.

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ACT I, SCENE ii 19

How does Othello respond to the threat of violence?

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CASSIO. To who?

Re-enter OTHELLO.

IAGO. Marry,20 to—Come, captain, will you go?

OTHELLO. Have with you.21

CASSIO. Here comes another troop to seek for you.

IAGO. It is Brabantio. General, be advised; He comes to bad intent.

Enter BRABANTIO, RODERIGO, and OFFICERS with torches and weapons.

OTHELLO. Holla! stand there!

RODERIGO. Signior, it is the Moor.

BRABANTIO. Down with him, thief!

They draw on both sides.

IAGO. You, Roderigo! Come, sir, I am for you.22

OTHELLO. Keep up23 your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.

Good signior, you shall more command with years Than with your weapons.

BRABANTIO. O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow’d my daughter?

Damn’d as thou art, thou hast enchanted her; For I’ll refer me to all things of sense, If she in chains of magic were not bound, Whether a maid so tender, fair and happy, So opposite to24 marriage that she shunned The wealthy curled darlings of our nation, Would ever have, to incur a general mock, Run from her guardage25 to the sooty26 bosom Of such a thing as thou, to fear, not to delight. Judge me the world, if ’tis not gross in sense27

That thou hast practiced on her with foul charms, Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals That weaken motion:28 I’ll have’t disputed on;29

’Tis probable and palpable to thinking. I therefore apprehend and do attach thee For an abuser of the world,30 a practicer Of arts inhibited and out of warrant.31

Lay hold upon him: if he do resist, Subdue him at his peril.

OTHELLO. Hold your hands, Both you of my inclining, and the rest:

Of what does Brabantio accuse Othello?

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20 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

32. course of direct session. Proper channels of justice 33. idle. Unworthy, lacking in merit 34. have passage free. Be freely allowed

ACT I, SCENE iii 1. composition. Consistency 2. gives them credit. Makes them believable 3. disproportion’d. Contradictory 4. they jump not on a just account. They do not agree on an exact

number

FOOTNOTES

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ACT I, SCENE iii 21

What do all the scouts’ reports confirm?

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Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it Without a prompter. Where will you that I go To answer this your charge?

BRABANTIO. To prison, till fit time Of law and course of direct session32

Call thee to answer.

OTHELLO. What if I do obey? How may the duke be therewith satisfied, Whose messengers are here about my side, Upon some present business of the state To bring me to him?

FIRST OFFICER. ’Tis true, most worthy signior; The duke’s in council and your noble self, I am sure, is sent for.

BRABANTIO. How! the duke in council! In this time of the night! Bring him away: Mine’s not an idle33 cause: the duke himself, Or any of my brothers of the state, Cannot but feel this wrong as ’twere their own; For if such actions may have passage free,34

Bond-slaves and pagans shall our statesmen be.

Exeunt.

SCENE iii: A council-chamber.

The DUKE and SENATORS sitting at a table; OFFICERS attending.

DUKE OF VENICE. There is no composition1 in these news

That gives them credit.2

FIRST SENATOR. Indeed, they are disproportion’d;3

My letters say a hundred and seven galleys.

DUKE OF VENICE. And mine, a hundred and forty.

SECOND SENATOR. And mine, two hundred:

But though they jump not on a just account,4— As in these cases, where the aim reports, ’Tis oft with difference—yet do they all confirm A Turkish fleet, and bearing up to Cyprus.

DUKE OF VENICE. Nay, it is possible enough to judgment:

I do not so secure me in the error, But the main article I do approve In fearful sense.

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22 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

5. Turkish preparation . . . Rhodes. The Turkish fleet is heading for the island of Rhodes, which at the time of the play was controlled by the Venetians.

6. assay of reason. Test of reason 7. ’tis a pageant . . . false gaze. It is a mere show meant to distract us. 8. as it . . . bear it. The Turks are more interested in Cyprus than in

Rhodes, and have a much better chance of capturing it besides. 9. warlike brace . . . abilities. Military readiness; that is, Cyprus does not

have the same military defense that Rhodes does. Brace literally means “armor.” 10. wake. Risk 11. for. Headed for, or aiming for 12. Ottomites. Another name for the Turks. Turkey at that time was at the

heart of the great Ottoman Empire, which had control of many regions including Syria, Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Israel, and parts of Russia and Hungary. The phrase “reverend and gracious” does not refer to the Ottomites, but to the senators and Duke whom the messenger is addressing. 13. injointed . . . after fleet. Joined up with a second fleet 14. restem / Their backward course. Re-steer, or change course

FOOTNOTES

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ACT I, SCENE iii 23

Why are the Turks heading for Rhodes? Why would they not attack Rhodes, according to the First Senator?

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SAILOR. [Within] What, ho! what, ho! what, ho!

FIRST OFFICER. A messenger from the galleys.

Enter a SAILOR.

DUKE OF VENICE. Now, what’s the business?

SAILOR. The Turkish preparation makes for Rhodes;5

So was I bid report here to the state By Signior Angelo.

DUKE OF VENICE. How say you by this change?

FIRST SENATOR. This cannot be, By no assay of reason:6 ’tis a pageant, To keep us in false gaze.7 When we consider The importancy of Cyprus to the Turk, And let ourselves again but understand, That as it more concerns the Turk than Rhodes, So may he with more facile question bear it,8

For that it stands not in such warlike brace, But altogether lacks the abilities9

That Rhodes is dress’d in: if we make thought of this, We must not think the Turk is so unskilful To leave that latest which concerns him first, Neglecting an attempt of ease and gain, To wake10 and wage a danger profitless.

DUKE OF VENICE. Nay, in all confidence, he’s not for11 Rhodes.

FIRST OFFICER. Here is more news.

Enter a MESSENGER.

MESSENGER. The Ottomites,12 reverend and gracious, Steering with due course towards the isle of Rhodes, Have there injointed them with an after fleet.13

FIRST SENATOR. Ay, so I thought. How many, as you guess?

MESSENGER. Of thirty sail: and now they do restem Their backward course,14 bearing with frank

appearance Their purposes toward Cyprus. Signior Montano, Your trusty and most valiant servitor, With his free duty recommends you thus, And prays you to believe him.

DUKE OF VENICE. ’Tis certain, then, for Cyprus. Marcus Luccicos, is not he in town?

FIRST SENATOR. He’s now in Florence.

How are the First Senator’s suspicions proved correct? What are the Turks doing?

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24 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

15. aught. Anything 16. engluts. Swallows 17. mountebanks. People who sell quack medicines 18. the bloody book of law . . . your own sense. You can read the law

to this criminal yourself. The making of love-potions was against the law in Venice. 19. though our proper son / Stood in your action. Even if it were my

own son who you were accusing [you would get justice].

FOOTNOTES

sans (sanz´) adj., without. We found ourselves lost in the jungle, sans map and sans compass.

be • guile (bə g �̄ l’) vt., lead astray by means of tricks or deception. The Pied Piper beguiled all the children of Hamelin town, leading them into a mountain and then shutting them inside.

man • date (man´ dāt́ ) n., formal order. Everyone had to obey the queen’s mandate.

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ACT I, SCENE iii 25

What does Brabantio say has happened to his daughter? How does the Duke respond?

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DUKE OF VENICE. Write from us to him; post-post- haste dispatch.

FIRST SENATOR. Here comes Brabantio and the valiant Moor.

Enter BRABANTIO, OTHELLO, IAGO, RODERIGO, and OFFICERS.

DUKE OF VENICE. Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you

Against the general enemy Ottoman.

[To BRABANTIO.]

I did not see you; welcome, gentle signior; We lack’d your counsel and your help tonight.

BRABANTIO. So did I yours. Good your grace, pardon me;

Neither my place nor aught15 I heard of business Hath raised me from my bed, nor doth the general

care Take hold on me, for my particular grief Is of so flood-gate and o’erbearing nature That it engluts16 and swallows other sorrows And it is still itself.

DUKE OF VENICE. Why, what’s the matter?

BRABANTIO. My daughter! O, my daughter!

DUKE OF VENICE. Dead?

BRABANTIO. Ay, to me; She is abused, stol’n from me, and corrupted By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks;17

For nature so preposterously to err, Being not deficient, blind, or lame of sense, Sans witchcraft could not.

DUKE OF VENICE. Whoe’er he be that in this foul proceeding

Hath thus beguiled your daughter of herself And you of her, the bloody book of law You shall yourself read in the bitter letter After your own sense,18 yea, though our proper son Stood in your action.19

BRABANTIO. Humbly I thank your grace. Here is the man, this Moor, whom now, it seems, Your special mandate for the state-affairs Hath hither brought.

DUKE OF VENICE. We are very sorry for’t.

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26 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

20. since . . . seven years’ pith . . . tented field. Since my arms had the pith, or strength, of seven years, I have used them on the battleground. In other words, Othello has been a soldier since he was seven years old. 21. unvarnish’d. Plain, unembellished 22. withal. With 23. her motion / Blush’d at herself. She blushed at any stirring of

emotion. 24. vouch. Claim; swear to be true 25. dram. A measure of fluid; a small portion of drink 26. thin habits. Thin clothing; that is, superficial appearances 27. modern seeming. Everyday assumptions

FOOTNOTES

con • jur • a • tion (kän´ jü rā´ shən) n., magic spell or trick. The children were entranced by the magician’s conjurations.

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ACT I, SCENE iii 27

How does Othello show modesty in his response?

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DUKE OF VENICE. [To OTHELLO] What, in your own part, can you say to this?

BRABANTIO. Nothing, but this is so.

OTHELLO. Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors, My very noble and approved good masters, That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter, It is most true; true, I have married her: The very head and front of my offending Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech, And little bless’d with the soft phrase of peace: For since these arms of mine had seven years’ pith, Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used Their dearest action in the tented field,20

And little of this great world can I speak, More than pertains to feats of broil and battle, And therefore little shall I grace my cause In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience, I will a round unvarnish’d21 tale deliver Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms, What conjuration and what mighty magic, For such proceeding I am charged withal,22

I won his daughter.

BRABANTIO. A maiden never bold; Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion Blush’d at herself;23 and she, in spite of nature, Of years, of country, credit, every thing, To fall in love with what she fear’d to look on! It is a judgment maim’d and most imperfect That will confess perfection so could err Against all rules of nature, and must be driven To find out practices of cunning hell, Why this should be. I therefore vouch24 again That with some mixtures powerful o’er the blood, Or with some dram25 conjured to this effect, He wrought upon her.

DUKE OF VENICE. To vouch this, is no proof, Without more wider and more overt test Than these thin habits26 and poor likelihoods Of modern seeming27 do prefer against him.

FIRST SENATOR. But, Othello, speak: Did you by indirect and forced courses Subdue and poison this young maid’s affections? Or came it by request and such fair question As soul to soul affordeth?

How does Brabantio describe his daughter? Why does he continue to claim that Othello must have given Desdemona “mixtures powerful o’er the blood”?

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28 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

28. Still. Always 29. spake. Spoke 30. scapes. Escapes 31. breach. A gap in the wall of a fort, caused by enemy fire 32. portance. Behavior 33. antres. Caverns (from the Latin antrum) 34. idle. Barren; empty 35. Anthropophagi. Man-eaters; cannibals 36. men whose heads / Do grow beneath their shoulders. One of the

outlandish stories told by ancient travelers. See the picture below. This tribe of people was mentioned by Roman historian Pliny the Elder in his encyclopedic work Naturalis Historia (first published in AD 77). Pliny described them as “a tribe who are without necks, and have eyes in their shoulders.” The story was repeated by writers and explorers in later centuries, including the medieval writer Sir John Mandeville and travelers to the Americas such as Sir Walter Raleigh. Pliny also wrote about the Anthropophagi, the cannibal tribe, whom he claimed lived north of the Black Sea. 37. This to hear . . . incline. Desdemona was inclined, or drawn, to these

tales. 38. But still . . . draw her thence. But very often Desdemona could not

stay to hear the tales, being called away to resolve some household affairs. 39. Which ever . . . with haste dispatch. Whenever she could take care of

these matters hastily enough 40. She’ld. Contraction of she would 41. pliant. Convenient

FOOTNOTES

“Men Whose Heads Do Grow Beneath Their Shoulders.” Woodcut illustration from The Voyages and Travels of Sir John Mandeville (1582). Mandeville’s book first appeared around 1371, and was filled with outlandish tales, many of them borrowed from ancient sources such as Roman historian Pliny the Elder.

dis • course (dis´ kō[ə]rs´) n., conversation; verbal expression or exchange of ideas. The two friends talked frequently, and their discourse was always lively and open.

Bo dl

ei an

L ib

ra ry

, U ni

ve rs

ity o

f O xf

or d.

D ou

ce M

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89 .

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ACT I, SCENE iii 29

Whom does Othello wish to speak on his behalf?

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OTHELLO. I do beseech you, Send for the lady to the Sagittary, And let her speak of me before her father: If you do find me foul in her report, The trust, the office I do hold of you, Not only take away, but let your sentence Even fall upon my life.

DUKE OF VENICE. Fetch Desdemona hither.

OTHELLO. Ancient, conduct them: you best know the place.

Exeunt IAGO and ATTENDANTS.

And, till she come, as truly as to heaven I do confess the vices of my blood, So justly to your grave ears I’ll present How I did thrive in this fair lady’s love, And she in mine.

DUKE OF VENICE. Say it, Othello.

OTHELLO. Her father loved me; oft invited me; Still28 question’d me the story of my life, From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes, That I have passed. I ran it through, even from my boyish days, To the very moment that he bade me tell it; Wherein I spake29 of most disastrous chances, Of moving accidents by flood and field Of hair-breadth scapes30 i’ the imminent deadly

breach,31

Of being taken by the insolent foe And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence And portance32 in my travels’ history: Wherein of antres33 vast and deserts idle,34

Rough quarries, rocks and hills whose heads touch heaven

It was my hint to speak,—such was the process; And of the Cannibals that each other eat, The Anthropophagi35 and men whose heads Do grow beneath their shoulders.36 This to hear Would Desdemona seriously incline:37

But still the house-affairs would draw her thence:38

Which ever as she could with haste dispatch,39

She’ld40 come again, and with a greedy ear Devour up my discourse: which I observing, Took once a pliant41 hour, and found good means To draw from her a prayer of earnest heart

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30 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

42. dilate. Tell at length 43. by parcels. In pieces 44. intentively. Attentively; with full attention 45. passing. Exceptionally; surpassingly 46. she wish’d . . . heaven had made her such a man. Some critics have

taken this to mean that Desdemona wished she herself had been born a man, and had the adventures Othello had. Or, it could simply mean that she wished she had a man like Othello. 47. hitherto. Until now

FOOTNOTES

pil • gri • mage (pil´ grə mij) n., long journey, often made for religious purposes. Many Muslims, at some time in their lives, make a pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca.

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ACT I, SCENE iii 31

What hint did Desdemona give Othello?

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That I would all my pilgrimage dilate,42

Whereof by parcels43 she had something heard, But not intentively:44 I did consent, And often did beguile her of her tears, When I did speak of some distressful stroke That my youth suffer’d. My story being done, She gave me for my pains a world of sighs: She swore, in faith, ’twas strange, ’twas passing45

strange, ’Twas pitiful, ’twas wondrous pitiful: She wish’d she had not heard it, yet she wish’d That heaven had made her such a man:46 she

thank’d me, And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her, I should but teach him how to tell my story. And that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake: She loved me for the dangers I had pass’d, And I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used: Here comes the lady; let her witness it.

Enter DESDEMONA, IAGO, and ATTENDANTS.

DUKE OF VENICE. I think this tale would win my daughter too.

Good Brabantio, Take up this mangled matter at the best: Men do their broken weapons rather use Than their bare hands.

BRABANTIO. I pray you, hear her speak: If she confess that she was half the wooer, Destruction on my head, if my bad blame Light on the man! Come hither, gentle mistress: Do you perceive in all this noble company Where most you owe obedience?

DESDEMONA. My noble father, I do perceive here a divided duty: To you I am bound for life and education; My life and education both do learn me How to respect you; you are the lord of duty; I am hitherto47 your daughter: but here’s my husband, And so much duty as my mother show’d To you, preferring you before her father, So much I challenge that I may profess Due to the Moor my lord.

BRABANTIO. God be wi’ you! I have done.

Why, according to Othello, did Desdemona fall in love with him, and he with her?

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Whom does Desdemona say she must obey?

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32 OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

48. get it. Beget it. In other words, Brabantio wishes he had adopted a child instead of having one of his own. 49. clogs. Blocks of wood hung on criminals to keep them from escaping 50. lay a sentence. Repeat a saying, or proverb 51. grise. Step 52. Patience . . . makes. If you bear your injury with patience, you take

away its power to hurt you. 53. bootless. Vain; pointless 54. us beguile. Steal from us 55. he bears . . . poor patience borrow. The proverb sounds good to a

person who is in a position to be comforted by it; but for one like myself, who is in the midst of grief, it doesn’t help. (In other words, he is telling the Duke, “That’s easy for you to say.”) 56. These sentences . . . equivocal. These proverbs are just about as

irritating as they are comforting. Equivocal here means “equal.” 57. I never yet . . . ear. Words have no power to hurt (or heal) a person’s

heart. Pierced is sometimes read as pieced, in the sense of “to mend, to piece together.” 58. fortitude. Military fortifications 59. substitute. Referring to Montano, the governor of Cyprus 60. opinion . . . more safer voice on you. The general opinion is that

you, Othello, would be the safer choice. (In other words, Othello will take Montano’s place as governor and defender of Cyprus.) 61. slubber. Sully; ruin 62. thrice-driven. Sifted through three times, to leave only the softest

feathers 63. agnise. Acknowledge

FOOTNOTES

tyr • an • ny (tir´ ə nē) n., state of being a tyrant, a ruler who exercises absolute power brutally and oppressively. The tyranny of the dictator was intolerable, and many citizens tried to flee.

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ACT I, SCENE iii 33

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Please it your grace, on to the state-affairs: I had rather to adopt a child than get it.48

Come hither, Moor: I here do give thee that with all my heart Which, but thou hast already, with all my heart I would keep from thee. For your sake, jewel, I am glad at soul I have no other child: For thy escape would teach me tyranny, To hang clogs49 on them. I have done, my lord.

DUKE OF VENICE. Let me speak like yourself, and lay a sentence,50

Which, as a grise51 or step, may help these lovers Into your favor. When remedies are past, the griefs are ended By seeing the worst, which late on hopes depended. To mourn a mischief that is past and gone Is the next way to draw new mischief on. What cannot be preserved when fortune takes Patience her injury a mockery makes.52

The robb’d that smiles steals something from the thief;

He robs himself that spends a bootless53 grief.

BRABANTIO. So let the Turk of Cyprus us beguile;54

We lose it not, so long as we can smile. He bears the sentence well that nothing bears But the free comfort which from thence he hears, But he bears both the sentence and the sorrow That, to pay grief, must of poor patience borrow.55

These sentences, to sugar, or to gall, Being strong on both sides, are equivocal:56

But words are words; I never yet did hear That the bruised heart was pierced through the ear.57

I humbly beseech you, proceed to the affairs of state.

DUKE OF VENICE. The Turk with a most mighty preparation makes for Cyprus. Othello, the fortitude58 of the place is best known to you; and though we have there a substitute59 of most allowed sufficiency, yet opinion, a sovereign mistress of effects, throws a more safer voice on you:60 you must therefore be content to slubber61 the gloss of your new fortunes with this more stubborn and boisterous expedition.

OTHELLO. The tyrant custom, most grave senators, Hath made the flinty and steel couch of war My thrice-driven62 bed of down: I do agnise63

What advice does the Duke give Brabantio? Does Brabantio appreciate the advice?

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What expedition must Othello undertake?

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64. natural . . . hardness. I have a natural willingness to endure hardness, or hardship [but my wife does not]. 65. fit disposition. Suitable accommodations 66. reference of place and exhibition. Place to stay and an allowance of

money 67. besort . . . breeding. Suitable company for someone of her breeding,

or status 68. To my unfolding lend your prosperous ear. Lend a sympathetic ear

to what I am about to say. 69. charter . . . assist my simpleness. Do me the honor of speaking for

me, as I am simple, or unskilled, at stating my case. 70. My downright violence and storm of fortunes. My aggressive action

in taking my fortune by storm 71. my heart’s subdued / Even to the very quality of my lord. My heart

is in perfect agreement with every quality of my husband. 72. I saw . . . in his mind. I saw Othello’s beauty in his mind, not in his

face. 73. parts. Qualities 74. moth of peace. An idle creature who feeds off peace without having

worked for it. 75. Vouch. Swear 76. Nor to comply with heat . . . defunct. Not because I want to fulfill

my lust—since I’m too old now to have those youthful urges 77. But . . . bounteous to her mind. But because I want to be generous to

Desdemona’s wishes 78. scant. Neglect 79. when light-wing’d toys . . . instruments. When love and lust get in

the way of my senses 80. disports. Sports or frolics

FOOTNOTES

a • lac • ri • ty (ə lak´ rət ē) n., promptness; cheerful readiness. The plumber responded with alacrity when I called to report a flood in my basement.

con • se • crate (kän´ sək rāt́ ) vt., dedicate, as to a sacred purpose. A portion of land outside the village was consecrated for use as a Catholic cemetery.

be • reft (bi reft́ ) adj., deprived or robbed (usually used with of). A terrible accident left the children bereft of their parents.

in • ter • im (int´ ə rəm) n., intervening time; time in between. During the interim between semesters, Sandra took a part-time job.

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A natural and prompt alacrity I find in hardness,64 and do undertake These present wars against the Ottomites. Most humbly therefore bending to your state, I crave fit disposition65 for my wife. Due reference of place and exhibition,66

With such accommodation and besort As levels with her breeding.67

DUKE OF VENICE. If you please, Be’t at her father’s.

BRABANTIO. I’ll not have it so.

OTHELLO. Nor I.

DESDEMONA. Nor I; I would not there reside, To put my father in impatient thoughts By being in his eye. Most gracious duke, To my unfolding lend your prosperous ear;68

And let me find a charter in your voice, To assist my simpleness.69

DUKE OF VENICE. What would you, Desdemona?

DESDEMONA. That I did love the Moor to live with him,

My downright violence and storm of fortunes70

May trumpet to the world: my heart’s subdued Even to the very quality of my lord:71

I saw Othello’s visage in his mind,72

And to his honor and his valiant parts73

Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. So that, dear lords, if I be left behind, A moth of peace,74 and he go to the war, The rites for which I love him are bereft me, And I a heavy interim shall support By his dear absence. Let me go with him.

OTHELLO. Let her have your voices. Vouch75 with me, heaven, I therefore beg it not To please the palate of my appetite, Nor to comply with heat—the young affects In me defunct76—and proper satisfaction; But to be free and bounteous to her mind:77

And heaven defend your good souls, that you think I will your serious and great business scant78

For she is with me: no, when light-wing’d toys Of feather’d Cupid seal with wanton dullness My speculative and officed instruments,79

That my disports80 corrupt and taint my business,

What does Desdemona ask of the Duke?

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81. helm. Helmet 82. indign and base adversities. Unworthy and evil opponents 83. Make head against my estimation. Raise an armed force against my

reputation 84. commission. Assignment 85. import. Concern 86. ancient. Iago 87. To his conveyance . . . wife. Iago will take care of conveying, or

bringing, Desdemona to Cyprus. 88. If virtue no delighted beauty lack. If virtue can be said to have

beauty 89. My life upon her faith! I’d bet my life on her faithfulness. 90. prithee. Pray thee 91. we must obey the time. We must hurry, as we have not much time.

FOOTNOTES

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Let housewives make a skillet of my helm,81

And all indign and base adversities82

Make head against my estimation!83

DUKE OF VENICE. Be it as you shall privately determine,

Either for her stay or going: the affair cries haste, And speed must answer it.

FIRST SENATOR. You must away to-night.

DESDEMONA. To-night, my lord?

DUKE OF VENICE. This night.

OTHELLO. With all my heart.

DUKE OF VENICE. At nine i’ the morning here we’ll meet again.

Othello, leave some officer behind, And he shall our commission84 bring to you; With such things else of quality and respect As doth import85 you.

OTHELLO. So please your grace, my ancient;86

A man he is of honest and trust: To his conveyance I assign my wife,87

With what else needful your good grace shall think To be sent after me.

DUKE OF VENICE. Let it be so. Good night to every one.

[To BRABANTIO]

And, noble signior, If virtue no delighted beauty lack,88

Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.

FIRST SENATOR. Adieu, brave Moor, use Desdemona well.

BRABANTIO. Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: She has deceived her father, and may thee.