Othello quotes: Iago

Question	Answer
"I am not what i am"	Act 1 Scene 1: Reveals to the audience that he is duplicitous, drawing attention to how gullible the other characters are for not seeing through him
"how am i then a villain to counsel Cassio to this parallel course"	Act 2 scene 3 teases the audience with the acknowledgement of his complex duplicity
"when devils will their blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows"	Act 2 scene 3: full of diabolic imagery: hell, devils. Juxtaposition 'blackest of sins' vs 'heavenly shows' --> black and white contrast shown throughout the play
"black ram is topping your white ewe"	Act 1 scene 1: animalistic imagery, dehumanisation by Iago, on both Othello and Desdemona
"demand me nothing; what you know you know: From this time forth i never will speak a word"	Act 5, scene 2 His final enigmatic refusal to speak, emphasises the degree to which he and his motives have never been easy to pin down
"jealousy is the green eyed monster, that doth mocks the food it feeds upon"	Act 3 scene 3 personification of an emotion. Foreshadowing of tragic fate of Othello. Both warning him, and egging him on
"strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated"	Act 4 scene 4 shows Iago's desire to control every aspect about how this plan should unfold, reinforces the fact that he has complete control over Othello

Resource summary

	Created by Seyi Ogunbusola almost 5 years ago