Othello Act V Scene ii Marc Trudelle, Mustafa Siddiqi, Jeanie Kim, Gordon Cui, Navid Noroozi

Plot & Character Development In this scene, we are exposed to a weaker side of Othello Othello submits to his thoughts and feelings of inadequacy as a partner for Desdemona, and plots with Iago to kill both her and Cassio Iago has used his manipulative abilities to deceive everyone but, at the end, doesn’t explain himself Iago is found out by Emilia and Othello, but it is too late Desdemona and Roderigo are already slain Refuses to speak anymore regarding his actions Is only truly honest with the audience, he has deceived every other character

Plot & Character Development Desdemona reveals to the audience how much she cares for Othello Even though he kills her, she still says that she is to blame for all of it Does not betray Othello because she does not want him to face consequence for killing her Emilia speaks up against Iago for the first time in the play

Timeline of play This is the final scene in the play, all of Iago’s endeavours lead to Desdemona’s death Strategic use of Cassio’s actions Manipulation of Othello Previous acts in the play create suspense for a more dramatic conclusion Act III scene iii has an especially tense mood Othello is under the impression that Cassio and Desdemona love each other Iago’s plan and deception are exposed to all of the characters Lied to Othello about Desdemona’s affair with Cassio

Timeline of Play It is rational that Iago had been caught at the end of the play True to his genre of Shakespearean tragedies, 5 characters are killed at the end of the play, 3 of which are main characters Their deaths were also logical, and are appropriate considering the timeline of the play and their character development

Dramatic Techniques Othello claims that he is not easily jealous, but in this scene kills Desdemona simply because he was jealous Throughout the play, Othello claimed that Iago was trustworthy, calling him ‘Honest Iago’, but in this scene calls him a villain, after realising that he was deceived Othello had reason to trust him, but changed his mind upon discovering how deceitful Iago really was

Dramatic Techniques Othello refers to himself in the third person, a way of justifying killing Desdemona Entire final scene is full of dramatic irony Othello finally uncovers what the audience has known the whole time

Symbolism and Literary Devices “Then must you speak of one that not lov’d wisely, but too well; one of not easily jealous but, being wrought, perplexed to the extreme; of one whose hand, like the base Indian, threw a pearl away Richer than all his tribe” (V, ii) Metaphor- “Threw a pearl away Richer than all his tribe” represents Othello’s grief and regret for killing Desdemona. He simply wasted a beautiful wife over a false rumor. Othello is even implying that Desdemona was too good for him, that she was the best thing he ever had. “Had all his hairs been lives, my great revenge had stomach for them all” (V, ii) Personification- Othello is giving the comparison to hairs to actual human life Expressing his frustrating hatred for Cassio

Issues for Discussion Othello is informed that Desdemona, his wife, is allegedly cheating on him with his best friend, Cassio in previous scenes (III, iii) Through Iago’s manipulation, Othello is persuaded to kill Desdemona Othello’s jealousy drives him to make rash decisions and thoughtlessly murders his wife It is also through Othello’s low self-esteem at this point that he ends up thinking irrationally about about what Iago says

Issues for Discussion Iago repeats to Emilia that she’d best stay quiet while she is explaining to the other characters what Iago’s plan had been “With Cassio, mistress. Go to, charm your tongue” (V.ii.182) Despite having had all of his weapons confiscated, Othello was able to kill himself with another weapon Who provided him with a weapon and at what moment during this scene? Theorized that it was Cassio, but can be interpreted otherwise

Discusion Questions When Othello was killing Desdemona, why would he choose to strangle her? Why Wouldn’t Desdemona try to run away from Othello when Othello was threatening to kill her? Why would Emilia sing Desdemona’s “Willow” song in her dying breath? How might have this scene differed if Cassio was slain instead of Roderigo?