Othello (31 page)

Authors: William Shakespeare

Published in the United States by Modern Library, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

“Royal Shakespeare Company,” “RSC,” and the RSC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Royal Shakespeare Company.

The version of
Othello
and the corresponding footnotes that appear in this volume were originally published in
William Shakespeare Complete Works,
edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, published in 2007 by Modern Library, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-1-58836-832-4

www.modernlibrary.com

v3.0

¹Never tell me!
expression of disbelief
much unkindly
with great resentment/dissatisfaction

³this
i.e. Desdemona and Othello’s elopement

⁷him
i.e. Othello

⁹great ones
i.e. noble, influential men/official dignitaries

¹⁰suit
formal request, entreaty

¹¹Off-capped
removed their hats (a mark of respect)

¹⁴bombast circumstance
elaborate evasive talk, wordy circumlocution

¹⁵epithets of war
military terms

¹⁶Nonsuits my mediators
thwarts the request of my intermediaries (from the legal term “nonsuit” meaning the withdrawal of a lawsuit)
‘Certes’
certainly

¹⁹Forsooth
in truth
arithmetician
i.e. mere theorist (in military matters)/mathematician (Florence was known for its bankers)

²⁰Florentine
person from Florence (then a city-state in northern Italy)

²¹almost…wife
a man with a beautiful wife was
damned
because he was bound to be cuckolded; perhaps Shakespeare originally intended Cassio to be married, or else the line refers to an imminent or a narrowly avoided wedding (Bianca later claims that Cassio is going to marry her); but editors have struggled to make sense of the line, and a printer’s error is possible; the most satisfactory emendation would be
limned
(depicted, portrayed), which fits with Iago’s emphasis on Cassio’s effeminacy, as he compares him first to a
wife
and then to a
spinster

²²squadron
group of soldiers in a square formation/small detachment of soldiers

²³division…battle
disposition of a battalion

²⁴spinster
woman who stays at home spinning
unless
except for
theoric
theory

²⁵toga’d consuls
toga-wearing councillors
toga
garment worn by citizens of ancient Rome
propose
discourse, hold forth

²⁶prattle
idle talk

²⁷had th’election
was chosen

²⁸his
i.e. Othello’s

²⁹Rhodes
island in the Mediterranean Sea, between Cyprus and Greece
Cyprus
Mediterranean island to the south of Turkey

³⁰Christened
converted to Christianity
beleed
unable to move, as a ship is without wind (the nautical metaphor continues with
calmed
)

³¹debitor and creditor
i.e. bookkeeping/a bookkeeper (another dig at the
arithmetician
Cassio)
counter-caster
one who employs counters in making calculations, an accountant

³²in good time
opportunely (sarcastic)

³³bless the mark
apologetic expression used to excuse the mention of something unpleasant or profane
his Moorship
a contemptuous reference to Othello, varying “his worship” or “his lordship”; the term “moor” could be applied to a person of either African or Middle Eastern origin, and was often used to refer to someone from Barbary in north Africa; it was also used to mean “Muslim”
ancient
ensign (i.e. soldier who carries the military banner)

³⁵service
being a servant/military duty

³⁶Preferment
promotion
letter and affection
personal recommendation and favoritism

³⁷old gradation
the traditional way of advancing steadily up the ranks

³⁹term
manner, way
affined
bound

⁴¹follow
serve

⁴³serve my turn
serve my own purposes (
serve
plays on the notion of being a servant)

⁴⁵truly
loyally
mark
note, observe

⁴⁶knee-crooking
bowing

⁴⁸time
lifetime/time as a servant

⁴⁹provender
food
cashiered
(he’s) dismissed/discarded

⁵⁰Whip me
whip (
me
is emphatic)

⁵¹trimmed
dressed up, adorned
visages
outward appearances

⁵²attending on
waiting on, serving

⁵⁵lined their coats
i.e. got all they can/lined their purses

⁵⁶Do themselves homage
serve their own interests exclusively

⁵⁹Were…Iago
if I were Othello I would not wish to be a servant like me/if I were in Othello’s position I would not be fooled by a self-seeking servant

⁶¹not I for
I am not one for, I do not serve out of

⁶²peculiar
personal

⁶³demonstrate
display, manifest

⁶⁴native
innate, natural
figure
form/appearance

⁶⁵compliment extern
external show

⁶⁷daws
jackdaws (small birds of the crow family, proverbially foolish)/fools

⁶⁸full
perfect, complete
owe
own

⁶⁹carry’t
carry it off, manage it

⁷¹make after
pursue

⁷²Proclaim
denounce

⁷³though
even though

⁷⁴though that
although