ACT 3 Scene 4 – Commentary


Othello and ‘be a member of his love’ now applies to Desdemona. Her innocent comment that ‘My lord is not my lord’ is alarmingly true. Iago has replaced Othello’s identity with a new one – the wronged husband sworn to revenge.


The playwright has positioned the audience as helpless witnesses to an inevitable tragedy. This tense scene brings together Iago’s twin plots – Cassio’s efforts for reinstatement and Desdemona’s supposed infidelity – in a violent collision. Othello and Desdemona attack each other with clashing word weapons, ‘Cassio’ and ‘handkerchief’. Their high-minded love is breaking apart.


Class/Homework Exercise


‘Shakespeare highlights the theme of deception through the use of contrasts in the play Othello.’


Discuss this statement with particular reference to Act 3 Scene 4. Write a paragraph (about 150–200 words), supporting your answer with reference to at least one contrast in Act 3 Scene 4.


Prompt! Š Iago’s evil is brought into sharp focus by the innocence of Othello and Desdemona. Š Emilia’s loyalty to her husband places Desdemona in a precarious position.


Š Two cultures collide as the Moor’s former world of magic and superstition meets Venetian refinement.


Š The main characters all contribute to the play’s catastrophic outcome by practising different kinds of deceit.


Š Jealousy is contrasted in the distinctive attitudes of Othello and Bianca. Revision Overview


Desdemona is now caught in a web where everything she does places her in danger. After she questions Emilia about the ‘lost’ handkerchief, Othello enters and makes confusing comments about her character. She reminds him of his promise to meet with Cassio. Immediately, Othello’s mood changes and he demands her handkerchief. When she admits that she does not have it, he rushes off in anger.


Emilia wonders if the Moor is jealous, but Desdemona continues to believe in her husband. Cassio enters with Iago, who suggests he ask Desdemona to plead his case again with Othello. In response, Desdemona advises Cassio to have patience because her husband is acting strangely. She believes that Othello’s behaviour is related to concerns about his duties of state. Emilia does not agree. She warns Desdemona that jealousy does not need a reason to exist. As the scene ends, Cassio is confronted by his mistress, Bianca, who complains that he has been neglecting her. He promises to change and asks her to copy the embroidery in a handkerchief that he found in his room. Although she suspects that the handkerchief belongs to another of Cassio’s lovers, she calms down when he promises to visit her soon.


Š Themes: Jealousy – conveyed through dramatic irony where the most jealous fury is expressed over offences that did not actually happen. Othello is jealous about Desdemona, Bianca is jealous about Cassio and Iago is jealous about Emilia. Deception – this tense scene is filled with lies and innuendo. Iago manipulates Cassio, Othello, Desdemona and Emilia. Othello deceives his wife, Desdemona lies to Othello, Emilia betrays both Desdemona and Othello through her silence about the handkerchief.


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