Love Quotes-Act 1

Love Quotes-Act 1

1. Scene 1

   • Brabantio
     • "What a full fortune does the thick-lips owe"
       • Brabantio clearly believes that Desdemona has been seduced by Othello’s wealth, an idea that will re-emerge later. His sneer about his rival’s appearance suggests he cannot contemplate Desdemona’s genuine physical attraction to Othello.
       • Physcial love
       • Material Love
     • "O treason of the Blood!"
       • Family Love
       • Betryal
     • "Is there not charms By which the property of youth and maidhood May be abused?"
       • Brabantio believes Desdemona must have been enchanted or bewitched to fall for Othello. Many at the turn of the seventeenth century believed in the reality of witchcraft, including the king, James I
       • false Love
   • Iago
     • "old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe … covered with a Barbary horse "
       • ago demonstrates his own depravity by portraying Othello’s marriage as bestial mating, also emphasising the darkness (physical and potentially moral) of the perpetrator.
       • Lust
       • Primitive
     • "the devil will make a grandsire of you"
       • It was commonly believed that witches had sex with the devil. By describing Othello as Satan, Iago is also implicitly condemning Brabantio’s daughter and potential grandchildren
       • forbidden Love
     • "your daughter and the Moor are noe making the beast with two backs"
       • Heavy anamalistic and sexual undertones
         • Hints their love is just sex based
       • Lust
   • Roderigo
     • "a gross revolt"
       • Roderigo shares the contemporary popular sentiment that inter-racial marriage was against the laws of nature.
       • Forebidden Love

2. Scene 2

   • Othello
     • "But that I love ..For the sea’s worth"
       • Othello clearly shows here that his love for Desdemona is genuine and deep
       • True Love
   • Iago
     • "Faith .. boarded a land-carrack"
       • Another cynical reference by Iago to Othello’s marriage. The ‘land-carrack’ reference has sexual connotations.
       • Lust
       • Unrealistic/Cynical
   • Brabantio
     • "Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her"
       • False Love
       • Brabantio here voices the opinion of many that Othello could only have attracted Desdemona by witchcraft. He also insults Othello concerning his skin colour and his social position.
     • "Abused her delicat Youth with drugs or minerals That weakens motion"
       • Othello Taking control and manipulating her

3. Scene Three

   • Desdemona
     • "You are Lord of all my duty...But here's my husband"
       • Desdemona here is showing the traditional transfer of allegiance from her father to her husband when she marries. The Bible makes it clear that children were to obey their parents in the Ten Commandments, but also instructed wives to treat their husbands as their head, to whom they should submit.
       • Familiy love