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Iago sets Roderigo to pick a fight with Cassio. He, in the meantime, plies Cassio with alcohol and gets
him thoroughly drunk. When Roderigo sets upon him later, therefore, Cassio loses his temper.
Montano gets involved, tries to separate the two combatants but gets injured in the process. The
commotion disturbs Othello, and he is so angry with Cassio that he demotes him. Thereafter Iago
promises Cassio that he will work to restore him with Othello's favour.
IAGO'S CUNNING PLAN
Iago does not have an overall plan. He improvises as he goes along.
He appears to know that Michael Cassio has a short temper and will react violently if someone insults him.
He therefore sets Roderigo to pick a quarrel which will of course cause a disturbance on the very night
on which Othello is celebrating the festivities of his marriage, and his first night with his wife.
The plan has an advantage in that Cassio does not know Roderigo. Indeed, Roderigo is a stranger to
everyone on Cyprus and will therefore not be recognised or brought to book for his role.
Events work in Iago's favour. Othello has proclaimed an evening of festivities. Cassio, who does not hold
his alcohol very well, has already drunk a cup of wine before he meets Iago. He is easily persuaded to
have another, and then another.
Very soon he is drunk and is accosted by Roderigo in the dark. Roderigo provokes him into a fight. No
one gets hurts in the ensuing brawl except Montano who attempts to separate the two combatants.
The noise, however, disturbs Othello -- which, of course, is the plan. He personally intervenes and then
demands to know of Iago who is responsible for the brawl.
Iago, while supposedly attempting to remain neutral, places the blame firmly on Cassio whom Othello
promptly demotes from his rank as lieutenant, not even bothering to investigate any further.
Iago thereupon initiates the next plan. He persuades Cassio to approach Desdemona to intervene on his
behalf.
He, in the meantime, will poison Othello's ear but putting him on his guard to watch for an adulterous affair
between Desdemona and Cassio. Othello has merely to watch for Desdemona's extravagant pleading
of Cassio's cause.
All very cunning indeed!
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
Cassio strikes Roderigo.
MONTANO: Nay, good lieutenant; I pray you, sir, hold your hand.
CASSIO: Let me go, sir, or I'll knock you o'er the mazzard.
MONTANO: Come, come, you're drunk.
CASSIO: Drunk!
- Why does Cassio strike Roderigo? (4)
[Need help?]
The plan was for Roderigo to insult Cassio in some way. A drunken person is no longer in control of his
emotions and so would retaliate swiftly.
We the audience do not see or hear what Roderigo has done or said off-stage but it has clearly angered
Cassio, who strikes him.
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- How does Montano intervene? How do you know? (4)
[Need help?]
It would appear that Montano has grabbed Cassio and is holding him back, preventing his possibly striking
out at Roderigo with his sword.
Cassio's words, "Let me go, sir", tell us that Montano is holding him.
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- Why are Montago's words -- "Come, come, you're drunk." -- the worst thing that he could say
to Cassio? (4)
[Need help?]
Drunken people seldom admit that they are drunk. Indeed, Cassio has already stated that he is not drunk.
When Montano therefore accuses Cassio of being drunk, it angers him immensely because it places him
in the wrong -- both for being drunk while on duty and for attacking Roderigo while he is in a drunken state.
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"Away, I say; go out, and cry a mutiny.
(Exit Roderigo)
Nay, good lieutenant, -- alas, gentlemen!
Help, ho! Lieutenant! Sir! Montano! Sir!
Help, masters! Here's a goodly watch indeed!
(A bell rings)
Who's that which rings the bell? Diablo, ho!
The town will rise: God's will, lieutenant, hold!
You will be shamed for ever.
- Why does Iago need Roderigo to go away quickly? (4)
[Need help?]
Possibly Iago needs Roderigo to remain incognito. Perhaps he wants to move the entire centre of conflict
from Roderigo to Montano and therefore wants Roderigo to get out of the way.
In any case, should Roderigo stay, he might be killed by Cassio.
Furthermore, Iago needs the alarm bell to be rung immediately so as to bring Othello running while Cassio
is still very drunk and is now fighting Montano.
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- What action does Iago appear to be taking? (4)
[Need help?]
Iago would appear to be taking command, organising for the fight to end. At the same time, his words
keep telling everyone that it was Cassio who started all this mayhem.
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- Why does Iago say to Cassio, "You will be shamed for ever"? (2)
[Need help?]
Iago is perfectly correct. Cassio is making a fool of himself and it is highly unlikely now that he will escape
Othello's censure.
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- How does this fracas end? (4)
[Need help?]
The fracas ends with Cassio striking Montano with his sword. How serious is the injury? Montano tells
everyone that he is dying but that might merely be the wine talking. No-one else, however, appears to be
taking Montano's injury very seriously.
Othello is aroused and storms in angrily to find out what the disturbance is all about. He demands to know
from Iago who it was that started the fight and eventually strips Cassio of his rank.
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"He that stirs next to carve for his own rage
Holds his soul light; he dies upon his motion.
Silence that dreadful bell."
- What does Othello mean when he says, "He that stirs next . . . dies upon his
motion"? (2)
[Need help?]
Othello clearly has his own sword drawn and warns everyone that the first person to move will die.
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- Othello again finds himself in a military context and reacts as a true leader. Explain how this is
so. (4)
[Need help?]
Othello takes immediate command. Sword in hand, he brings the brawl to a forthright conclusion with the
threat that the first person to move will die.
He is at this moment firmly in control, and probably for the last time. His next action will be to judge and
sentence Cassio solely upon Iago's word and without giving Cassio the opportunity to explain himself, or
even calling upon other witnesses.
In other words, Othello acts in an arbitrary way without recourse to a proper war court.
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"Honest Iago, that look'st dead with grieving,
Speak, who began this?"
- Is it likely that Othello will receive a truthful report from Iago? Explain. (4)
[Need help?]
In one way, Iago does provide a truthful report but only from the time that the drunken Cassio storms upon
them, trying to revenge himself on Roderigo.
Iago does not, of course, tell anything about what happened earlier and how it was he who had plied
alcohol on Cassio even though Cassio had at first first resisted.
In truth, Cassio should indeed have been censored for being drunk, but so should Iago because after all
both he and Cassio were supposedly on watch and it was he who has plied Cassio with wine, knowing the
consequences.
That, however, was all part of Iago's cunning plot and so he would never have divulged his own hand in
it.
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