Othello

Othello gives Iago letters for the ship captain to deliver to the Senate of Venice and asks him to rejoin him once his task is done.

Cassio makes his case to Emilia and Desdemona, who vows to convince Othello to reinstate him. Cassio leaves when Iago and Othello enter, and Iago remarks that he doesn’t like to see Cassio “steal away so guiltylike,/Seeing your coming” (42-43). Desdemona presses Othello to reinstate Cassio, and he agrees for her sake. Desdemona says that he has not truly done her a favor, because reinstating Cassio is for Othello’s own good.

When she leaves, Iago manipulates Othello into suspecting Cassio by pretending to be reluctant to air his own suspicions of Desdemona’s infidelity. Othello tries to cast away doubt, saying there is no point in jealousy without proof, and once proof is obtained there is also no point in jealousy, since there is no longer reason to love. Iago agrees and recommends Othello neither trust nor suspect but begin to observe Desdemona closely. The more Iago protests that his own suspicions are probably baseless, the more Othello believes them. He muses to himself that Iago is extremely honest and an excellent judge of character. Iago exits, and Othello begins to curse marriage, saying that men can lay claim to women but not their appetites.

Desdemona and Emilia enter. Desdemona notices Othello looks unwell and tries to mop his head with her handkerchief, which he rejects. The handkerchief falls to the floor. After the two exits, Emilia picks it up and remarks that it was the first gift Othello gave to Desdemona and that Iago had been asking her to steal it. She presents it to Iago, who will not tell her why he wants it, and he remarks that Desdemona will be upset to lose it. When she exits, Iago delivers a short soliloquy explaining that he will plant the handkerchief in Cassio's room to cast suspicion on him because: “Trifles light as air/Are to the jealous confirmations strong/As proofs of holy writ (370-72).

Othello enters, tortured by the idea of Desdemona’s infidelity and angry with Iago for planting the idea in his head in the absence of proof. When Othello threatens him, Iago pretends he’s offended, gives his verbal resignation, and berates himself for being honest. Othello immediately repents and tells Iago that he should always be honest, yet Othello presses him for more evidence. Iago claims that he once slept next to Cassio, and that in his sleep Cassio called him Desdemona and kissed him. This prompts Othello, who before had only spoken of banishing Desdemona, to say, “I’ll tear her to pieces!” (490). Iago then tells Othello that he saw Cassio wipe his beard with Desdemona’s handkerchief. Othello, enraged, charges Iago with ensuring Cassio’s death within three days. Iago agrees but tells Othello to let Desdemona live, which prompts Othello to vow that he will kill her. He then promotes Iago to lieutenant.

Desdemona has a short comic dialogue with the Clown who serves her and Othello. She asks the Clown to tell Cassio that she on his behalf has worked. When the Clown leaves, Desdemona laments the loss of her handkerchief and tells Emilia she is fortunate that Othello does not have a jealous nature. Emilia pretends not to know what happened to the handkerchief.

Othello enters and come up with an excuse to ask to borrow the handkerchief he gave Desdemona and tells her it is a curse to lose it—specifically that the owner’s husband would hate her if she lost it or gave it away. He insists she bring it to him, and she thinks he is trying to trick and distract her into dropping the subject of Cassio’s reinstatement. She continues to press his suit, interspersed with Othello’s angry demands for the handkerchief. Othello exits and Emilia remarks that he seems jealous, and that men only show their true selves after a year or two, after they have had their fill of their wives.

Iago and Cassio enter, and Iago urges Cassio to keep pressing Desdemona for help. Desdemona explains that she has done all she can and is paying for it with Othello’s displeasure, such that she has never seen before. Iago remarks that he has never seen Othello angry and volunteers to speak with him. When he leaves, both women say that they hope it is a matter of state that makes Othello so angry, and Emilia remarks that jealousy needs no cause and feeds upon itself. They exit, and Bianca, who Cassio is having an affair with, enters to say that she misses him and has been looking for him. He giver her Desdemona’s handkerchief, and when she becomes suspicious that he got it from another woman, he says that he just found it in his chamber.