Othello

1. Othello Act Three

2. Act three Scene I: Key Points • Cassio has not gone to bed this night and has decided to follow Iago’s suggestion that he speak to Emilia. • He hopes Emilia will arrange a meeting with Desdemona who will plead for his job to Othello. • Iago is happy to hear Cassio is doing as he hoped. • Emilia agrees to arrange a meeting between him and Desdemona.

3. An Expert Schemer: Iago is delighted his plan to have Cassio speak with Desdemona is now in motion. He promises Cassio he will keep Othello distracted as the meeting takes place. Iago now has the perfect opportunity to have Othello discover the meeting and sow the seeds of doubt about Desdemona’s fidelity. Iago

4. Cassio Noble: Cassio is obviously very upset at losing the position of lieutenant and disappointed by the fact that he let Othello, a man he greatly admires, down so badly. He hasn’t gone to bed and is desperate to do anything that will have Othello think well of him again. This includes talking to Desdemona, which plays right into Iago’s hands. Ladies’ Man: He seems confident that if he can speak to Emilia she will arrange a meeting with Desdemona. The fact that he chooses this route to get back on Othello’s good side shows he is confident in his ability to charm women.

5. Act three Scene II: Key Points • Othello sends Iago to deliver some letters.

6. Act three Scene III: Key Points • Desdemona promises Cassio she will do all she can to convince Othello to reinstate him. • Iago tries to make Othello suspicious about Desdemona and Cassio’s relationship. Drawing his attention to Cassio’s hurried departure. • Othello initially thinks nothing of it. • However, when Iago pretends to know something he is reluctant to tell and reminds Othello how Desdemona deceived her own father, Othello starts to suspect.

7. Act three Scene III: Key Points • Emilia finds Desdemona’s handkerchief but before she can return it Iago snatches it from her and plans to leave it in Cassio’s lodgings. • Othello’s mind becomes greatly agitated and he demands proof of the affair from Iago. • Iago says he heard Cassio speak of Desdemona in his sleep and saw him with Desdemona’s handkerchief. • Othello is so enraged his asks Iago to have Cassio killed. • Othello vows to kill Desdemona and appoints Iago lieutenant.

8. THINK ABOUT IT! Iago’s abilities as an actor: Iago is engaged in a brilliant ‘double pretence’ here. He pretends to know about a secret affair that is not actually taking place. He also pretends to be reluctant to discuss the ‘affair’ when he is actually eager to convince Othello that it is real.

9. Othello as a soldier: Othello has only ever known war and in this environment is most in control. However, when it comes to social games he is not at ease. He therefore places great trust in Iago’s knowledge of these matters. The qualities that make him a great leader are clear in this scene. His decisiveness and commitment to a course of action once his mind is made up. Dignified and Proud: Othello’s usual composed manner give way to agitation, anger and self-doubt in this scene. Iago maddens him by hinting at the affair. The suspicions Iago introduces start to torture him. His words and actions become increasingly brutal and violent. Othello • Othello’s Self-Doubt • For the first time in the play we see Othello’s vulnerabilities: • He wonders why he ever married. • He worries that he is not Venetian, old and unsophisticated. • He says he would rather be a toad than the husband of an unfaithful wife. • He seems to contemplate suicide. • Iago preys on all of these insecurities.

10. Othello’s trusting nature: His trusting nature is clear from the start of the scene. He finds nothing immediately suspicious about Cassio speaking to his wife or slipping away. When Iago suggests Cassio is ‘guilty-like’ Othello barely takes notice. He has faith in people. Unfortunately it is this trust that he places in Iago that leads Othello to doubt Desdemona. Iago insists repeatedly that he loves Othello. Yet Othello is not totally naïve, in a moment of rage he demands Iago prove that he is speaking the truth. However, Iago’s feigned horror at being misjudged is enough to convince Othello and by the end of the scene he places complete faith in Iago. His love for Desdemona: At the start of the scene we see how affectionately he treats his wife. He calls her ‘sweet’, is patient with her and reminds himself how much he loves her. However, the ‘poison’ that Iago pours in his ear is quick to corrupt his thoughts. In a very short period of time the woman he thought pure and innocent has become a ‘whore’ he wishes dead. Othello

11. Desdemona Decent Nature Desdemona’s kindness and decency are evident in this scene. She genuinely wants to do her best for Cassio. She tells him when she makes a promise to a friend she does everything she can to keep it.

12. EXPERT SCHEMER: • Uses the fact that Cassio slips away to fill Othello with doubts. • Plans to use Desdemona’s handkerchief to further discredit Cassio in Othello’s eyes. • He warns Othello to watch out for Desdemona, reminding him she is capable of deception. • MALICIOUS AND DESCTRUCTIVE: • Iago’s intense malice is most clearly seen in this scene. • He takes great pleasure in how Othello is consumed with jealousy. • He gloats that soon Othello will be past all help and he will never sleep again. • By the end of the scene he has practically driven Othello mad and Desdemona and Cassio’s lives are both at stake. Iago • MANIPULATIVE & PERSUASIVE • Iago is an expert at manipulating and persuading. At the start of the scene Othello has no suspicions whatsoever. By the end of the scene he is threatening the deaths of Desdemona and Cassio. • Iago gently leads Othello on this journey into suspicion, doubt and jealous rage by dropping hints and sowing seeds of doubt while letting Othello’s imagination do most of the work. • AN EXCELLENT ACTOR: • Convinces his wife Emilia that he is distraught at Cassio’s fall from grace. • Othello too has been taken in by him, considering him a very honest person. • Iago disguises his plots, repeatedly warning Othello not to be jealous though that’s exactly what he wants. • He convinces Othello that he is on his side and acts out of love.

13. Act Three Scene IV: Key Points • Desdemona sends for Cassio so he can make his case to Othello. • She wonders where she has misplaced her handkerchief and Emilia denies knowledge of its whereabouts. • Othello, in a state of jealousy and suspicion, takes Desdemona’s moist hand as a sign that she is filled with devilish lust. • He asks Desdemona for the handkerchief explaining its exotic background and when she can’t produce it, it enflames his suspicion of her infidelity.

14. Act Three Scene IV: Key Points • Cassio, at Iago’s urging once again asks Desdemona to plead with Othello on his behalf. Desdemona agrees though she notes it is unlikely to help as Othello is not himself. • Cassio has found the handkerchief where it was planted by Iago. He has no idea of the owner’s identity or its importance. • He encounters Bianca, a woman he is in a casual relationship with, and asks her to copy the handkerchief before its owner looks for its return.

15. Dignified and Proud: Despite his earlier dark mood when Othello initially meets Desdemona here he is composed. But as soon as Cassio’s name is mentioned that composure cracks. He immediately asks for the handkerchief becoming agitated when she will not produce it. Desdemona who has earlier reminded us of the Moor’s dignity and noble character is shocked at his tone. Although Othello loses his cool, he finds it hard to not be completely honest with Desdemona. He is presented as an honest man to whom lying does not come naturally. His love for Desdemona: Early in the scene the love Othello once felt for Desdemona seems to resurface. He refers to her affectionately as “chuck”. However, his mind has been poisoned by Iago and his view of Desdemona is no influenced by Iago’s general low opinion of women. He sees her as a promiscuous person who conceals affairs from her husband. Othello Othello’s trusting nature: Whereas Othello once trusted his wife completely, he is now filled with suspicion and doubt. In his mind her inability to produce her handkerchief is now central to her guilt. When she says she has not lost it but refuses to fetch it he is convinced of her betrayal.

16. Desdemona’s kindness and decency are evident in this scene. She genuinely wants to do her best for Cassio. She tells him when she makes a promise to a friend she does everything she can to keep it. When Othello presses her about the handkerchief, asking if it is lost, she lies and says no. Having just being informed it is a family heirloom with magical properties, it is unsurprising she lies, it is almost impossible for her to tell him now that it is lost. Desdemona

17. THINK ABOUT IT! Is Desdemona naïve and innocent?: Desdemona tells Emilia that her husband is incapable of jealousy and fails to register that he has become suspicious of her, even though he tells her that his mind is full of misgivings: “my mind misgives.” She also perseveres stating Cassio’s case when Othello is clearly upset about the handkerchief. Do you think Desdemona is naïve here? Should she have acted differently?

18. Iago • EXPERT SCHEMER: • Iago’s plotting is starting to bring misery to all around him, yet his schemes are far from complete: • He encourages Cassio to keep pressing Desdemona about the job. He stresses to Cassio that it is only hope where in fact he wishes to further convince Othello an affair is taking place. • If Desdemona continues to plead on his behalf it will persuade Othello that an affair is happening • He tells the others he will follow Othello to see what is wrong with him but really plans to further poison Othello’s mind. • MALICIOUS AND DESCTRUCTIVE: • In this scene Iago is only physically present for a brief moment. Yet his poison flows everywhere through it: • Othello, as a result of Iago’s lies, is tortured with jealousy and suspicion. • Cassio, also as a result of his plotting, is miserable as he tries to get his job back. • Desdemona too is wounded by his schemes and by the end of the scene she is filled with worry, doubt and confusion regarding her marriage.