Act V questions:October 25th 2007

Dominick Heugas 10/25/07



Who are the characters?
-Othello
-Desdemona
-Cassio
-Roderigo
-Iago
-Lodovico
-Gratiano
-Emilia
-Montano
-Bianca

What is the setting?
In Act V scene 1, the setting is out on the streets of Venice at night.
In Act V scene 2, the setting shifts to Desdemona’s bed chamber inside the castle at night.

List the many conflicts that exist in the act:
-Iago convinced Roderigo to ambuch and kill Cassio.
-Iago kills Roderigo.
-Iago accuses Bianca of being Roderigo's accomplice and places her under arrest.
-Othello kills Desdemona out of love.
-Cassio finally dies.
-Iago kills emilia.
-Othello stabs Iago but only wounds him.
-Othello kills himself.
-Iago lives.

What do you think is an appropriate theme for this Act?
I think the appropriate theme for Act V would be “Do not give into your temptations”.

What evil plan does Iago concoct?
Iago convinces Roderigo to ambush and kill Cassio.

Why does Othello stand at the foot of the bed where Desdemona is sleeping?
Othello stands at the foot of Desdemon’s bed because he is overcome with love.

What do you think is going through his mind?
He is probably thinking about how much he loves her but can’t stand to see her cheating on him anymore. The only way to solve the problem is to kill her.

How does Othello murder Desdemona?
Othello kills Desdemona by smothering her.

Why does Desdemona remain loyal to her husband with her dying breath?
Even though Desdemona was having an affair with Cassio, she still had enough love for Othello to defend him to her death.

Othello calls Desdemona a whore rather than an adulterer. Why such a degrading name?
Othello calls Desdemons a whore because he was pissed that she had actually cheated on him, and has another lover. If I was Othello, I would be pretty pissed as well.

What are Othello’s last words?
"I kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee. No way but this/Killing myself, to die upon a kiss."

Why does he kill himself?
Othello kills himself because he just murdered the love of his life and would not be able to live with the fact that he will never be able to see her again.

Who also dies in the end and how?
Cassio ends up dying because he was stabbed by Roderigo, Iago kills Roderigo to make it seem like he had nothing to do with the attempted murder of Cassio, Othello kills Desdemona out of love, Iago kills Emilia because she revealed what Iago had done, and then Othello kills himself.

Who ironically does not die and why?
Iago, ironically, does not die because