Othello Act 2

so·lil·o·quy

  [suh-lil-uh-kwee] 

noun, plural so·lil·o·quies.

1.

an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of oroblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermostthoughts): Hamlet's soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.”

2.

the act of talking while or as if alone.

1. Choose one of Iago's soliloquies (end of 2.1 or end of 2.3) and thoroughly analyze it.

            As you analyze think about the following questions:

                1. What is Iago saying?

                2. Figurative language?

                3. How is his rhetoric? His tone?

                4. What is he revealing? Revealing about himself?

In the end of 2.1, Iago has a very interesting soliloquy that shows a lot about why he is acting the way he is. He is saying that he is driven by revenge, and that he suspects that the Moor had an affair with his wife. He wants to get even with him for this, as well as the fact that the Moor is married to his "one true love," Desdemona. He is speaking figuratively of Cassio and Desdemona being in love though he has no real proof to justify this - it is simply a ruse to get her in trouble with her husband. "I love her too, not simply out of lust, but also to feed my revenge," is an example of this; it is personification as he cannot feed his revenge. Rhetorically speaking, Iago is fabricating happenings in his head to make his plan seem plausible, though he has no justification for any of it. His rhetoric is very persuasive as he explains his plan to take down Othello and tries to get the reader to believe it will work. He is revealing that his problems with the Moor go back farther than him being married to Desdemona - the Moor slept with his wife (so he suspects), and he wants to get even and bring him pain and suffering. His tone is one of bitterness and evilness, which fuel his desire to get even with the Moor.

2. In Act II Iago launches his plan to destroy Othello. What is his motive? Jealousy? Racism? Is he opportunistic? A sociopath? All of the above? None of the above? Use TEXTUAL SUPPORT.

 In Act II, Iago launches his plan to destroy Othello and he has more than one motive. The first motive, revenge, is revealed in a surprise twist at the end of Act II, Scene I. Iago is quoted as saying, "I love her too, not simply out of lust, but also to feed my revenge. I have a feeling the Moor slept with my wife. That thought keeps gnawing at me, eating me up inside. I won’t be satisfied until I get even with him, wife for wife." This shows that he is spiteful and wants to get revenge on the Moor for his affair with his wife. 

Jealousy is obviously another motive of Iago's, along with slight racism. "I’ve got a jug of wine, and these two Cyprus gentlemen want to drink a toast to the black Othello," shows that apparently, the color of Othello's skin matters to Iago, as he has pointed it out many times along with this one. Perhaps he is a bit racist and wonders why a beautiful young woman would be with a black man. "I can’t stand the Moor, but I have to admit that he’s a reliable, loving, and good-natured man. He’d probably be a good husband to Desdemona," shows that despite his hatred of the Moor, Iago is jealous of his good qualities and the fact that he could be a good husband to Desdemona.  

3. Choose another character (from film, books, etc) that reminds you of Iago. Explain.

 Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove is very much like Iago in the sense that she is conniving and manipulative. Much like Iago, she has one thing on her mind - taking over the throne/getting rid of Kuzco - and creates malicious plans to make her dream a reality with no regard to what happens as an outcome of her crazy schemes. 

President Snow in The Hunger Games Trilogy is very much like Iago, as well. Snow is a man of high authority and his only concern seems to be keeping the Hunger Games a tradition and keeping the people of the districts oppressed. He has many crazy schemes he forces Katniss into complying with, much like Iago does to the people around him. Both of the character are manipulative and conniving.

3. Create two discussion questions from Act II that you would like to discuss with the class.

• Do you think Iago's plan will work or is it just a crazy scheme?
• Are Iago's actions justifiable based on what he believes happened between the Moor and his wife?