When Othello learns the truth too late, he wounds Iago and in despair, kills himself. The closeness of Iago and Othello also seems to be suggested by the references to unchristian behavior. Emilia Emilia Cont. Physically, it was Othello who killed Desdemona as he thought that she had cheated on him with his friend, Cassio. He accuses her of committing adultery with Cassio and, although Desdemona pleads her innocence, he smothers her. Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars, It is the cause. When he learns from Emilia, too late, that his wife is blameless, he asks to be remembered as one who “loved not wisely but too well” and kills himself. When she sees the murdered Desdemona and hears Othello’s infidelity indictment, she raises the alarm. Othello’s command in Cyprus is given to Cassio, so he is ruined professionally as well as personally. "Othello does not kill Desdemona in jealousy, but in a conviction forced upon him by the almost superhuman art of Iago, such as any man must and would have entertained who had believed lago's honesty as Othello did. Othello then begs to know why Iago did what he did, but Iago refuses to speak at all. 4. Othello insists that he is an "honorable murderer", but he is driven to kill out of his own shortcomings (V.ii.293). Mad with jealousy, Othello orders Iago to kill Cassio, promising to make him lieutenant in return. Othello admits he killed Desdemona and tells Emilia she deserved it, and that honest Iago, Emilia's own husband, can tell her all about it. Read our Othello character summaries; More detail: 3 minute read Act I. He believes that her soul is damned because of her adultery and the more she protests her innocence, the more enraged he becomes. She discovers Othello as Desdemona’s murderer and uncovers her husband’s plot which she exposes; “I will not charm my tongue. Othello tries to kill Iago, who fatally stabs Emilia before escaping. Othello also trusts Iago more than he trusts Desdemona, this is a really bad thing for him to think as it allows him to be tricked by Iago and to believe all the lies he is fed are true and causes him in the end to kill Desdemona. Othello was first mentioned in a Revels account of 1604 when the play was performed on 1 November at Whitehall Palace with Richard Burbage almost certainly Othello's first interpreter. This poor judgment on Othello's part ultimately leads to the general's choice to kill his wife. He tells her to pray to God and confess her sins before he kills her. Emilia’s role in Othello is key, her part in taking the handkerchief leads to Othello falling for Iago’s lies more fully. One final point, when Desdemona drops her handkerchief, Othello tells her to leave it behind. OTHELLO Amen, with all my heart! Desdemona is the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. First of all Othello is a play in which we see Iago using other characters as pawns. OTHELLO. Every character is a pawn for him in the game of defeating Othello. Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men. Because of the injustice he did to his lovable wife Desdemona, that is he killed her out of suspicion. Farewell the tranquil mind; farewell content — Othello; Act 3 Scene 3. Othello murders her and, upon discovering Iago's deceit, kills himself. In a fit of grief and remorse Othello kills himself and Iago is taken into custody by the authorities. The truth discovered, Othello mourns his innocent Desdemona. Iago convinces him to get more money, under the pretense that he can seduce Desdemona much more easily once she's Othello's desperate housewife. Famous Quotes Key moments Studying Shakespeare? Othello immediately stabs Iago, who is injured but not killed. The story of a Moorish general (Othello) and the soldier (Iago) who plots to usurp him, the play features a small cast of characters who are manipulated and pitted against each other as part of Iago's deceitful plan. The quote shows the terrible bind Desdemona is trapped in: her attempts to speak the truth and tell her husband she is chaste only make him more angry at her because he believes she is lying. In conclusion, Iago draws Othello in and then skilfully persuades him that Cassio and Desdemona should die by using an array of linguistic and rhetorical tricks and by paying close attention to Othello’s sentiments and desires so that he is transformed from not suspecting anything to wanting to kill his wife and her alleged lover within three days. So it is quite obvious that the player would use the pawn only till it is useful. Iago, after murdering his own wife, is left to the justice of the Venetian state. Emilia, Desdemona, and Othello … At the beginning of the play, the character is described as a great general of the Venetian army, who has risen to power through many valorous actions. Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona, and then kills himself. Lodovico, however, has found two letters in Roderigo 's pocket that reveal all of Iago's schemes. Iago Brabantio Doesn’t actually die. Explore Desdemona's death in Othello with annotated text, galleries and videos of … Iago then engineers a fight between Cassio and Roderigo in which the latter is killed (by Iago himself, double-crossing his ally), but the former merely wounded. Othello intervenes and demotes Cassio. In a vain attempt to prevent his scheme from being revealed, Iago stabs and kills Emilia, and is then taken prisoner while Othello, lamenting the loss of his wife, kills himself next to her. Notably, Iago is left wounded but alive at the end of the play. Othello comes to Desdemona in her bed-chamber, determined to kill her. Cassio is charged with determining Iago’s punishment, and urges “the time, the place, the torture, oh, enforce it” (5.2.). Before Othello begins, Roderigo has been pursuing Desdemona, a Venetian noblewoman. Othello tries to get Emilia to calm down, mostly through his threatening looks, but she says she doesn't care about any harm he can do her. He will kill two birds with one stone and make Othello believe that the man she is being unfaithful with is Michael Cassio. "— S. T. Coleridge. Emilia brings news of the street fight and the death of Roderigo. Increasingly maddened by jealousy, Othello orders Iago to kill Cassio and smothers Desdemona himself. One night, he hears from his soldier friend, Iago, that Desdemona has secretly married his General, the Moorish Othello. 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