Act 2 Scene 1 Questions

Act 2 scene 1

1. Re-read Act 2 scene 1 lines 95-100. What sort of person is Cassio?

2. How does Iago plan to use Cassio’s character traits to usurp and ensnare both Cassio and Othello? (Lines 167-176 will help.)

3. What does Iago tell Roderigo to do, and why does Iago say it will help Roderigo to win Desdemona’s heart? (Lines 249-278 will help you with this question.)

4. What more do we learn about the nature of Iago in Act 2? What is the effect of having him share his thoughts and plans with us through his soliloquies? Pay attention to the language used in Iago's soliloquies. What sorts of descriptive language does he use? How does it contribute to the picture of Iago that Shakespeare is drawing?

Type up your responses and post to your blog.

Othello Audio. Donmar Warehouse version.

"Put money in thy purse". The language of Iago.

Re-read Act 1 Scene 3 lines 320-362 "Put money in thy purse".

1. What is happening in this speech?  Sum it up in no more than 2 sentences
2. What techniques does Iago employ to persuade Roderigo to go to Cyprus?  Use the list below to identify techniques, and explain their possible effects on Roderigo/the audience
3. How does Shakespeare present Iago in this speech? Write a short paragraph to answer this question (around 1/4 side).  Use quotations to support your points.

Language techniques

Agenda setting – the use of statements or questions to lead the direction of a conversation

Topic shifts – changing the topic of conversation through the use of non sequiturs (a topic/statement that does not logically follow the conversation)

Lexical field – words which belong to a particular topic or subject area (i.e. words that get their meaning through the association to other words in their field)

Semantic field – words grouped by meaning (i.e. words linked through their meaning)

Pronouns - we, us.

Imperative verbs and sentences - commands, and verbs that are used to command e.g. 'put'

Conditional clauses - a subordinate clause (one that does not make sense on its own) and usually begins with the conjunction 'if' or 'unless'.  Conditional clauses can be used at the start or end of a sentence e.g. "If you want your money back, go and ask for a refund"  "You'll be getting a detention unless you hand in that homework on time."

Tone and intonation of delivery

Prose?  Verse?