Othello Act 5 Overview

Othello Act 5 Overview

1. CONCEPTS

   • POWER
   • GENDER ROLES
     • ROLE OF WOMEN
     • ROLE OF MEN
   • JEALOUSY
     • -"If Cassio do remain| He hath a daily beauty in his life| That makes me ugly."- Iago has an entrenched covetousness of Cassio, as Cassio's integrity uncloaks Iago's chicanery. 
   • LOVE|HATE
     • -"For, of my heart, those charms, thine eyes, are blotted."- Othello clearly loves Desdemona as here he is speaking of her enthralling qualities, but also of how he will not let his love blind him. 
   • APPEARANCE VS REALITY
     • -"The voice of Cassio: Iago keeps his word.""Oh, brave Iago, honest and just,| That hast such noble sense of thy friend’s wrong!"- Othello perceives Cassio's shreek to be an obvious sign that Iago has murdered him. From this he is assured that Iago is trustworthy and loyal. In actuality neither of these estimations are accurate as Cassio has remained in the land of the living and Iago did not assault him because he was getting justice for Othello, but because he was protecting himself. 
   • FIDELITY+BETRAYAL
     • -"Strumpet...Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust’s blood be spotted."- Othello is sure that Desdemona has been unfaithful in marriage, and the fact that he calls her a strumpet and that he mentions how she has tainted their chamber with her lechery, is evidence of this.  -Iago breaks his promises to Roderigo ("I'll be at thy elbow"), by conveniently stabbing him and calling him a "murderous slave", when really he has been tricked. 
   • DECEPTION+HONESTY+TRUST
     • -Roderigo is duped by Iago into murdering Iago, which portrays how much trust Roderigo had in him as he believed that Iago's tales came from honesty.  - The howl of Cassio dupes Othello into believing that Iago has been candid in his vow to have Cassio's heart stopped in three days-"O brave Iago, honest and just!". This also reassures Othello that Iago has been truthful about Desdemona's betrayal. 
   • REPUTATION
   • CONFLICT
   • VIOLENCE
     • - Iago's act of violence against Cassio is timorous and devious. -"Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust’s blood be spotted. "- This ugly image conveys just how brutal Othello is willing to be. 
   • REVENGE
     • -"If Cassio do remain| He hath a daily beauty in his life| That makes me ugly."- Iago is profoundly invidious of Cassio, and this may be one of the factors that drove Iago to create his plan, which he baptised a "monstrous birth", so he could acquire retribution for this. 
   • HUBRIS
   • HAMARTIA
   • NAIVETY+INNOCENCE
   • RACE
   • MISUNDERSTANDING
     • -The audience is dismayed as Othello believes that Cassio has been slain, as in reality he is still alive-"The voice of Cassio. Iago keeps his word."

2. AUDIENCE'S OMNISCIENT PERSPECTIVE

   • -The audience are gutted by the detrimental interpretations as they have witnessed all the events.  -" 'Tis heavy night,| These may be counterfeits."- Lodovico's suspicious observation heightens the feeling of tension as the audience are on edge to find out whether Iago will be found out.  -

3. IMAGERY

   • HEAVEN|HELL IMAGES
   • ANIMALISTIC IMAGES
   • HEINOUS + FOUL IMAGES
     • -"Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust’s blood be spotted."- The image of Desdemona being slain on the bed where she has only ever been loyal to Othello and on which she requested her pure white wedding sheets, is gut-wrenching and cruel. 
   • SYMBOLISM
   • BIBLICAL IMAGES

4. LANGUAGE

   • LACK OF COMMUNICATION..
     • - Iago does not want free and open conversations, as it would derail his plan and his veil of ambiguity, so he spurs Roderigo on to attack Cassio with haste so that they do not converse. 
   • CLUMSY LANGUAGE
   • COMMANDING LANGUAGE

5. CHARACTERS

   • OTHELLO
     • - Othello is inspired to action when he believes that Iago has kept his promise and taken Cassio's life. "Thou teachest me.". He sees murdering Desdemona, to be the only resolution, which conveys his decisive "war-like" nature.  -Othello uses derogatory language to refer to Desdemona. He calls her a " strumpet". -"For, of my heart, those charms, thine eyes, are blotted."- Othello's language is paradoxical as he acknowledges Desdemona's virtues, but also how he will banish them from his heart so they do not clear his judgement. 
   • CASSIO
     • - Cassio proves himself to be a good soldier as in battle with Roderigo he is able to defend himself despite Roderigo's rapid assault. "my coat is better than thou know'st;| I will make proof of thine." -
   • IAGO
     • -Iago instills a false sense of confidence in Roderigo by telling him, “I’ll be at thy elbow.”. -Iago’s skill of persuasion is portrayed when Roderigo mentions how Iago convinced him to murder Cassio even though he has no concrete reason to, “I have no great devotion to the deed;| And yet he has given me satisfying reasons:”.  -Iago doesn’t value human life and his immoral values are conveyed through his lack of care whether it is Cassio or Roderigo who prevails, as long as his false persona is not uncovered. “whether he kill Cassio,| Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other,| Every way makes my gain.” -"If Cassio do remain| He hath a daily beauty in his life| That makes me ugly."- Here Iago acknowledges how Cassio's goodness exposes Iago's lack thereof, and Iago has a deep-rooted envy because of this. 
     • -"there stand I in much| peril."- Iago cares for himself and only himself. He only values his own life as he is setting plans in place for the murder of Cassio or Roderigo, or maybe even both, so that his survival will be ensured.  -Iago's pusillanimous nature is evident when he stabs Cassio from behind as this is a cowardly act.  -"Who's there? whose noise is this that cries on murder?"- Iago is opportunistic and we see this in how he takes charge of the situation by acting innocent, and therefore directing any accusations away from him. 
     • - Iago pretends to be a hero by aiding an injured Cassio, but what the others do not know, is that the wound he is bandaging is one that has been inflicted by his own sword.
   • DESDEMONA
   • BIANCA
   • LODOVICO
   • EMILIA
   • RODERIGO
     • -Roderigo is morally weak, mentally foolish and he lacks a backbone. He will pay the ultimate  price for his gullibility as he is tricked into murder. “I have no great devotion to the deed;| And yet he has given me satisfying reasons:”- Roderigo acknowledges that he has no real motivation to slaughter Cassio, but due to Iago’s subterfuge he is persuaded.
   • GRATIANO
     • - Gratiano's perspective is non-bias as he has a normal vantage point and he voices neutral concerns. 

6. IRONY

   • SITUATIONAL IRONY
     • -"Oh, brave Iago, honest and just,| That hast such noble sense of thy friend’s wrong!"- Othello interprets the cry of Cassio to be a clear indication that Iago has been true to his word and he has murdered him, but actually he Cassio has not been slaughtered and Iago has not injured him on Othello's behalf, rather for his own benefit. 
   • VERBAL IRONY
     • -> “It makes us, or it mars us; think on that”- Iago's use of the word us is ironic as Roderigo is the only person who will lose.  -" Oh, brave Iago, honest and just,"- Othello describes Iago as sincere and decent, but he is neither of those things. His use of the word "brave" is comical, as the audience have previously witnessed Iago cunningly wounding Cassio from behind, an act which is rather the opposite of courageous. 
   • DRAMATIC IRONY
     • -As Iago commands Roderigo to hide and "stand behind this bulk", the audience feels an irony as Iago is instructing him to lurk in the shadows and pounce on his prey, which is exactly how Iago got them in this mess, by concealing himself and ceasing any opportunity to attack and cause conflict. 

7. FORESHADOWING

   • -Iago foreshadows how detrimental the actions that Roderigo will be, by saying “It makes us, or it mars us; think on that”. -"Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust’s blood be spotted."- This gruesome image solemnly forebodes the forthcoming events. 

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