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In order to get Othello convinced, Iago sets him up to eavesdrop on a conversation between himself and
Cassio.
Iago and Cassio will, however, be speaking about the courtesan, Bianca, whereas Othello believes they
are talking about Desdemona. When Desdemona appears, Othello strikes her in anger.
THE EVOLUTION OF ETIQUETTE
Etiquette -- i.e. how to behave when in company -- is a relatively new thing dating back to the 15th and
16th centuries, the time of the Renaissance.
In the medieval world -- that era which preceded the Renaissance -- etiquette virtually did not exist.
People behaved instinctively, as children do. They belched if they felt like belching. They farted if they
desired to relieve themselves.
There were no rules for how to treat a lady. Men sulked publicly if they felt offended, or would launch into
fist fights at the drop of a hat. The stories of knights rescuing damsels in distress? It is far more likely
that
the knights would put an unprotected damsel into distress!
This all changed during the Renaissance -- or, for England, the Elizabethan Age -- when suddenly men
became concerned about how they should be behaving when in public. To give them guidance, manuals
began to drafted on what manners were good and what was to be avoided.
The manuals examined almost every facet of life: from eating to drinking, how to speak, how to walk and
dress, how to behave in the presence of women. Men in high society now had something to guide them,
rules which they could follow meticulously.
The rules were first formulated in Northern Italy, in Venice and Milan. From there, Renaissance etiquette
slowly filtered across the length and breadth of Europe. It would take time, however, and sometimes even
centuries for the upper classes to change.
Indeed, during the Elizabethan Age, the English were generally regarded as uncouth, while the English
in
turn viewed the Italians as fops.
Notice how Iago is highly critical of the way in which Cassio continually kisses his fingers when he speaks
to Desdemona. Iago thinks it stupid, and his viewpoint probably echoed that of the average Englishman.
Etiquette would also take ages to filter down to the lower classes of society, with the working classes not
being affected until the 19th century, perhaps even later. Indeed, even today, people of the lower socio-
economic class battle with the elementary rules of behaviour at formal gatherings like weddings, where
they still like to drown out anyone making a speech.
One finds this differentiation of manners very obvious in Othello. Desdemona and the Duke are
perhaps the most sophisticated. Brabantio's behaviour, on the other hand, was at times questionable in
that he allowed his instincts to lean towards revenge. Cassio knew the rules but possibly applied them
slavishly, while at times overdoing it.
Iago? Well, he was very much a law unto himself, although he appeared to know how to behave in the
presence of a lady. Note, for example, how he treated Desdemona with the utmost respect but, on the
other hand, treated his own wife in the most uncouth way. And Iago was a person who took revenge to
an extreme.
Emilia is almost typical of the lower cast, so much so that she is often referred to almost as if she were
a
prostitute. At the same time, however, she was able to recognise poor behaviour in others, and especially
noted the intense jealousy which Othello exhibited.
Othello himself found it a problem to balance his own behaviour. When he was in Venice and everyone
about him was behaving to the book, he followed suit. When in Cyprus, on the other hand, and there were
few people to guide him, his etiquette slipped badly.
Notice his outbursts of jealousy even when there was little to provoke it -- typical of pre-Renaissance
behaviour. Observe his crassness when addressing his innocent wife about her apparently missing
handkerchief. And, of course, his unprovoked striking of Desdemona in full view of the gathered
dignitaries.
In many ways, therefore, the play is all about Othello's descent from the status of a dignified man who
portrays all the expected etiquette of Venice. By the end of the play, however, he is behaving like an
uncouth medieval barbarian.
With the various levels of etiquette -- or lack thereof -- all around them, the sophisticated Elizabethan
audiences would have noticed immediately Othello's slide into pre-Renaissance depravity.
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:
"Good sir, be a man;
Think every bearded fellow that's but yoked
May draw with you"
- Comment on the way in which Iago plays with the word "yoked". (6)
[Need help?]
A yoke is a simple mechanism which is put around the necks of oxen to enable them to be used in pulling
a load. Othello, in getting married, has lost his freedom and, like an ox, is pulling a load.
In the above passage, to be "yoked" means "to be recently married". The husband becomes
bound to the wife and subservient to her commands.
But, according to Iago, every married man in Venice ("every bearded fellow") is united with Othello
in pulling this same load. What is more, according to Iago, the load is the fact that all wives are unfaithful
and so Othello shouldn't think that he is the only husband to discover this.
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"Stand you awhile apart;
Confine yourself but in a patient list."
- What is Iago planning to do? (4)
[Need help?]
It was a very common plot in Shakespeare's plays for someone to be positioned as an eavesdropper and
to witness a scene which is a set up and meant to fool the eavesdropper.
Iago is positioning Othello behind a curtain to witness a conversation between himself and Cassio. They
will be talking about Cassio's consort, Bianca, but Othello will believe they are talking about Desdemona.
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"Now will I question Cassio of Bianca,
A housewife that by selling her desires
Buys herself bread and clothes: it is a creature
That dotes on Cassio; as 'tis the strumpet's plague
To beguile many and be beguiled by one:
He, when he hears of her, cannot refrain
From the excess of laughter."
- What does Iago mean when he describes Bianca as "a housewife . . . selling her
desires"? (4)
[Need help?]
Bianca is spoken of as a courtesan or high class prostitute. Unlike the common prostitutes, she maintains
an above-average existence on Cyprus as a "housewife" but earns extra money by selling herself
to selected customers. She is Cassio's preferred courtesan, and Cassio is also her favourite customer.
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- What does Iago mean when he says that it is "the strumpet's plague to beguile many and be
beguiled by one"? (2)
[Need help?]
Iago means that any courtesan, prostitute or loose woman has many lovers although she invariably falls
in love with one of them.
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- Is it true that Cassio, when hearing that Bianca wants to marry him, will laugh himself silly? What does
this tell us of Cassio's character? (4)
[Need help?]
Cassio does indeed laugh when Iago tells him that Bianca wishes to marry him. It would appear that
Cassio is perfectly happy to let Bianca believe that he loves her but he is nevertheless not willing to marry
a courtesan -- or so he says when he speaks to other men.
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"As he shall smile, Othello shall go mad."
- Why would Othello "go mad" if Cassio smiles? (4)
[Need help?]
Iago intends to place Othello in a position where he can overhear his conversation with Cassio, and where
he can see Cassio's facial expressions.
The conversation will be about Bianca's desire to marry Cassio but Othello will believe they are speaking
about Desdemona and her love for Cassio.
Othello will therefore be enraged when he sees Cassio smiling, believing that he is treating Desdemona
as a prostitute whom he means to cast off once he has finished with her.
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- What in fact does happen when Othello overhears the conversation? (4)
[Need help?]
Iago is correct at every turn. Cassio does scoff at the idea of Bianca's marrying him, being quite open
about the fact that he is merely having sex with her as a courtesan.
Othello, on the other hand, believes that Cassio is speaking about having sex with Desdemona, and using
her as a prostitute. He is therefore outraged and plans to kill both Cassio and Desdemona.
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"What did you
mean by that same handkerchief you gave me even now?
I was a fine fool to take it."
- What does Othello believe when he sees that Bianca is holding his precious handkerchief, the one he
had given Desdemona as a courtship present? (2)
[Need help?]
Othello presumes that Desdemona has given the handkerchief to Cassio as a present to her lover, and
he in turn has given it as a gift to a common courtesan or prostitute.
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"Do it not with poison, strangle her in her bed, even
the bed she hath contaminated."
- Why does Iago suggest that Othello strangle Desdemona personally rather than poison
her? (2)
[Need help?]
Iago wants it known that Othello has killed his own wife. There is no way in which Othello can then hide
the fact that it was he who strangled her whereas it is much easier to claim that someone else had
poisoned her.
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OTHELLO: [Striking her] "Devil!"
DESDEMONA: "I have not deserved this."
- What would Lodovico think when he witnesses Othello striking his wife? (4)
[Need help?]
Desdemona is known to be a gentle woman. To witness Othello unnecessarily striking her would
therefore have caused shock and horror. Indeed, Lodovico believes that Othello has perhaps gone
insane.
Of course, when Othello does indeed strangle Desdemona that evening, it will be absolutely clear to all
that it is he who has done the deed.
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