"Othello" Period 1 February 28 - March 3

Feb 28 – March 3

Period 1

March 1

Quote of the day:

“Put money in thy purse”

1.3.343 – 447

Questions for Close Reading of  1.3.343-447

Answer these questions about Othello 1.3.343-447

1. 347-52 – What is Roderigo threatening to do, and why?
2. 351-52 – What unusual metaphor does Roderigo use here?
3. 353-54 – How old is Iago?
4. 357 Start listing Iago’s Bestiary – the animals and birds Iago mentions in this scene, and watch for other animals he mentions throughout
5. 361-75 Try to paraphrase the essence of this long, difficult passage.  What evidence is there that Iago sees himself as in control of his life?  How does he regard love?
6. 426 Comment on Iago’s “I have professed me thy friend…”
7. 382 “Put money in thy purse” is a figurative expression meaning “You can count on it”  What literal meaning has it in this context?
8. 377-400 List the reasons Iago gives Roderigo for believing that the love of Othello and Desdemona cannot last?
9. 411 Iago uses the word “cuckold” for the first time.  Watch for this word- it is a very important one.  Look it up if you don’t know it’s meaning.
10. 411-12 Paraphrase “It thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport.”  What are the connotations of the word “sport” what does his use of it here reveal about Iago’s personality? 
11. 426 Paraphrase “Thus do I ever make my fool my purse.” 
12. 427-29 What are the two motives Iago gives here for hanging out with Roderigo?
13. – 429-31 Iago gives a new reason here for hating Othello.  What is it?  Do you remember what the first reasons was and when Iago stated it?
14. 431-33 How does he qualify this new reason in these lines?
15. 435 How long would you pause, as an actor, before and after saying, “Cassio’s a proper man.”  Be sure to look at the textual note explaining this use of the world “proper.”
16. 436-37 What are Iago’s stated objectives?
17. 438 – 39 What plan does Iago arrive at here? 
18. 440-41 Why will Othello believe that his wife is betraying him with Cassio?
19. 442-45 Why will Othello believe what Iago tells him?  (Also see lines 433-34)
20. 446 Iago uses the words, “hell” “night” and “light” here.  What for the repetition of these words and words associated with them throughout the play.

 

February 28:

Write-now:

Quote of the day:

“’Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus.  Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.”

Iago argues that the power of the will is stronger than the power nature.  Do you agree?

Act II will begin with the triumph of Nature over Society.  Is Shakespeare suggesting that Love is not a natural force, but a social one?  Or is jealousy more natural than love?  Did humans create love because jealousy is too terrible to endure?  Are children more naturally jealous or more naturally loving?  By the end of the play do we understand both Othello and Iago to be stand-ins for anybody?  Are we, to be human, made up of both logical and illogical parts that fight over our fates to the death?

AIM: What does Iago’s metaphor of “cats and blind puppies” mean in his final speech of Act I?

Close analysis of the first words of the play, Act I scene i and Act I scene iii, the final words of the act.

Why is it important to notice how Shakespeare organizes or “frames” the play?