Othello (4 page)

MAJOR PARTS:
(
with percentage of lines/number of speeches/scenes on stage
) Iago (31%/272/12), Othello (25%/274/12), Desdemona (11%/165/9), Cassio (8%/110/9), Emilia (7%/103/8), Brabantio (4%/30/3), Rodorigo (3%/59/7), Lodovico (2%/33/4), Duke of Venice (2%/25/1), Montano (2%/24/3).

LINGUISTIC MEDIUM:
80% verse, 20% prose.

DATE:
1604. Performed at court, November 1604; apparently uses Knolles’
Historie of the Turkes,
published late 1603; probably post-dates the period when theaters were closed due to the plague from May 1603 to April 1604. The Turkish wars in the eastern Mediterranean were of interest to King James, who had written a poem about the 1571 naval battle of Lepanto, which was reprinted in 1603, the year of his accession to the English throne. Some scholars, however, argue for a slightly earlier date.

SOURCES:
Based on a novella in Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio’s
Gli Hecatommithi
(1565), perhaps read in a 1584 French translation by Gabriel Chappuys. Context probably provided by Richard Knolles,
The Generall Historie of the Turkes
(1603), Sir Lewis Lewkenor’s translation of Gasparo Contarini’s
The Commonwealth and Government of Venice
(1599), and John Pory’s translation of Leo Africanus’
Geographical Historie of Africa
(1600).

TEXT:
There are two early texts, markedly different from each other: a Quarto published in 1622 and the First Folio of 1623. The Folio contains over 150 lines that are not in the Quarto. The Quarto has fuller stage directions, a handful of lines that are absent from the Folio, and a large number of oaths that were watered down or omitted in the Folio, as a result of the prohibition on stage swearing. In all, there are about a thousand verbal variants. The two texts seem to derive from different theatrical manuscripts, the Folio possibly having being set from a transcript by Ralph Crane, scribe to the King’s Men. Scholars are divided as to whether the Folio-only passages, which include Othello’s “Pontic sea” speech and Desdemona’s willow song, are theatrically purposeful additions or theatrically pragmatic cuts. We respect the integrity of the Folio text, but in correcting its manifest errors—which are many, largely due to the presence of “Compositor E,” the apprentice who was the poorest of the Folio’s typesetters—we have been greatly helped by the existence of the Quarto.

OTHELLO
, the Moor (a general in the military service of Venice)

BRABANTIO
(a senator) father to Desdemona

CASSIO
, an honourable lieutenant

IAGO
, a villain (Othello’s flagbearer)

RODORIGO
, a
gulled
gentleman

DUKE
of Venice

SENATORS

MONTANO
, Governor of Cyprus

LODOVICO
, noble Venetian (kinsmen of Brabantio)

GRATIANO
, noble Venetian (kinsmen of Brabantio)

SAILORS

CLOWN
(servant to Othello)

DESDEMONA
(daughter of Brabantio) wife to Othello

EMILIA
, wife to Iago

BIANCA
, a courtesan

(Officers, Messenger, Herald, Musicians and Attendants)

Location: Venice (street)

Enter Rodorigo and Iago

RODORIGO
  
Never tell me!
¹
I take it much unkindly
     That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse
     As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of
this
³
.

IAGO
   But you’ll not hear me: if ever I did dream
     Of such a matter, abhor me.

RODORIGO
   Thou told’st me
     Thou didst hold
him
⁷
in thy hate.

IAGO
   Despise me
     If I do not. Three
great ones
⁹
of the city,
     In personal
suit
¹⁰
to make me his lieutenant,
     
Off-capped
¹¹
to him, and by the faith of man,
     I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:
     But he, as loving his own pride and purposes,
     Evades them with a
bombast circumstance
¹⁴
     Horribly stuffed with
epithets of war
¹⁵
,
     
Nonsuits my mediators
¹⁶
. For ‘Certes’, says he,
     ‘I have already chose my officer.’
     And what was he?
     
Forsooth
¹⁹
, a great arithmetician,
     One Michael Cassio, a
Florentine
²⁰
—
     A fellow
almost damned in a fair wife
²¹
—
     That never set a
squadron
²²
in the field
     Nor the
division of a battle knows
²³
     More than a
spinster
²⁴
, unless the bookish theoric,
     Wherein the
toga’d consuls
²⁵
can propose
     As masterly as he. Mere
prattle
²⁶
without practice
     Is all his soldiership. But he, sir,
had th’election
²⁷
;
     And I — of whom
his
²⁸
eyes had seen the proof
     At
Rhodes
²⁹
, at Cyprus and on others’ grounds,
     
Christened
³⁰
and heathen — must be beleed and calmed
     By
debitor and creditor
³¹
: this counter-caster,
     He —
in good time
³²
— must his lieutenant be,
     And I —
bless the mark
³³
! — his Moorship’s ancient.

RODORIGO
   By heaven, I rather would have been his hangman.

IAGO
   Why, there’s no remedy: ’tis the curse of
service
³⁵
;
     
Preferment
³⁶
goes by letter and affection,
     And not by
old gradation
³⁷
, where each second
     Stood heir to th’first. Now, sir, be judge yourself
     Whether I in any just
term
³⁹
am affined
     To love the Moor.

RODORIGO
   I would not
follow
⁴¹
him then.

IAGO
   O, sir, content you:
     I follow him to
serve my turn
⁴³
upon him.
     We cannot all be masters, nor all masters
     Cannot be
truly
⁴⁵
followed. You shall mark
     Many a duteous and
knee-crooking
⁴⁶
knave
     That — doting on his own obsequious bondage —
     Wears out his
time
⁴⁸
, much like his master’s ass,
     For nought but
provender
⁴⁹
, and when he’s old, cashiered:
     
Whip me
⁵⁰
such honest knaves. Others there are
     Who,
trimmed
⁵¹
in forms and visages of duty,
     Keep yet their hearts
attending on
⁵²
themselves,
     And throwing but shows of service on their lords,
     Do well thrive by them,
     And when they have
lined their coats
⁵⁵
     
Do themselves homage
⁵⁶
: these fellows have some soul,
     And such a one do I profess myself. For, sir,
     It is as sure as you are Rodorigo,
     
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago
⁵⁹
:
     In following him, I follow but myself.
     Heaven is my judge,
not I for
⁶¹
love and duty,
     But seeming so, for my
peculiar
⁶²
end,
     For when my outward action doth
demonstrate
⁶³
     The
native
⁶⁴
act and figure of my heart
     In
compliment extern
⁶⁵
, ’tis not long after
     But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
     For
daws
⁶⁷
to peck at: I am not what I am.

RODORIGO
   What a
full
⁶⁸
fortune does the thick-lips owe
     If he can
carry’t
⁶⁹
thus!

IAGO
   Call up her father:
     Rouse him,
make after
⁷¹
him, poison his delight,
     
Proclaim
⁷²
him in the streets, incense her kinsmen,
     And
though
⁷³
he in a fertile climate dwell,
     Plague him with flies:
though that
⁷⁴
his joy be joy,
     Yet throw such
chances
⁷⁵
of vexation on’t
     
As it may
⁷⁶
lose some colour.

RODORIGO
   Here is her father’s house, I’ll call aloud.

IAGO
   Do, with
like timorous accent
⁷⁸
and dire yell
     As when, by night and negligence, the fire
     Is spied in populous cities.

RODORIGO
   What, ho, Brabantio! Signior Brabantio, ho!

IAGO
   Awake! What, ho! Brabantio, thieves, thieves!
     Look to your house, your daughter and your
bags
⁸³
!
     Thieves, thieves!

BRABANTIO
   What is the reason of this terrible summons?

Above
⁸⁵

At a window

     What is the matter there?

RODORIGO
   Signior, is all your family within?

IAGO
   Are your doors locked?

BRABANTIO
   Why?
Wherefore
⁸⁹
ask you this?

IAGO
   Sir, you’re robbed. For shame, put on your
gown
⁹⁰
!
     Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul:
     Even now, now, very now, an old black
ram
⁹²
     Is
tupping
⁹³
your white ewe. Arise, arise!
     Awake the
snorting
⁹⁴
citizens with the bell,
     Or else the
devil
⁹⁵
will make a grandsire of you.
     Arise, I say!

BRABANTIO
   What, have you lost your wits?

RODORIGO
   Most
reverend
⁹⁸
signior, do you know my voice?

BRABANTIO
   Not I: what are you?

RODORIGO
   My name is Rodorigo.

BRABANTIO
   The worser welcome.
     I have
charged
¹⁰²
thee not to haunt about my doors:
     In honest plainness thou hast heard me say
     My daughter is not for thee: and now in madness —
     Being full of supper and
distemp’ring draughts
¹⁰⁵
—
     Upon malicious knavery dost thou come
     To
start
¹⁰⁷
my quiet.

RODORIGO
   Sir, sir, sir—

BRABANTIO
   But thou must needs be sure
     My
spirits and my place
¹¹⁰
have in their power
     To make this bitter to thee.

RODORIGO
   Patience, good sir.

BRABANTIO
   What tell’st thou me of robbing?
     This is Venice: my house is not a
grange
¹¹⁴
.

RODORIGO
   Most
grave
¹¹⁵
Brabantio,
     In
simple
¹¹⁶
and pure soul I come to you.

IAGO
   Sir, you are one of those that will not serve God if
     the devil bid you. Because we come to do you service and you
     think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter
covered
¹¹⁹
     with a
Barbary horse
¹²⁰
: you’ll have your nephews neigh to
     you: you’ll have
coursers
¹²¹
for
     cousins and jennets for
germans
¹²²
.

BRABANTIO
   What
profane
¹²³
wretch art thou?

IAGO
   I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter
     and the Moor are
making the beast with two backs
¹²⁵
.

BRABANTIO
   Thou art a villain.

IAGO
   You are a senator.

BRABANTIO
   This thou shalt
answer
¹²⁸
. I know thee, Rodorigo.

RODORIGO
   Sir, I will answer anything. But I beseech you
     If’t be your
pleasure
¹³⁰
and most wise consent —
     As partly I find it is — that your fair daughter,
     At this
odd-even
¹³²
and dull watch o’th’night,
     
Transported with
¹³³
no worse nor better guard
     
But with
¹³⁴
a knave of common hire, a gondolier,
     To the
gross
¹³⁵
clasps of a lascivious Moor:
     If this be known to you and your
allowance
¹³⁶
     We then have done you bold and
saucy
¹³⁷
wrongs:
     But if you know not this, my manners tell me
     We have your wrong rebuke. Do not believe
     That,
from
¹⁴⁰
the sense of all civility,
     I thus would play and trifle with
your reverence
¹⁴¹
.
     Your daughter — if you have not given her
leave
¹⁴²
—
     I say again, hath made a
gross
¹⁴³
revolt,
     Tying her duty, beauty,
wit
¹⁴⁴
and fortunes
     
In
¹⁴⁵
an extravagant and wheeling stranger
     Of here and everywhere.
Straight
¹⁴⁶
satisfy yourself:
     If she be in her chamber or your house,
     Let loose on me the justice of the state
     For thus deluding you.

BRABANTIO
  
Strike on the tinder
¹⁵⁰
, ho!
     Give me a
taper
¹⁵¹
! Call up all my people!
     This
accident
¹⁵²
is not unlike my dream:
     Belief of it oppresses me already.
     Light, I say, light!

Exit [above]

IAGO
   Farewell, for I must leave you:
     It seems not
meet
¹⁵⁶
nor wholesome to my place
     To be
producted
¹⁵⁷
— as, if I stay, I shall —
     Against the Moor, for I do know the state,
     However this may
gall
¹⁵⁹
him with some check,
     Cannot with safety
cast
¹⁶⁰
him, for he’s embarked
     With such
loud reason
¹⁶¹
to the Cyprus wars,
     Which even now
stands in act
¹⁶²
, that, for their souls,
     Another of his
fathom
¹⁶³
they have none,
     To lead their business: in which regard,
     Though I do hate him as I do hell-pains.
     Yet for necessity of present
life
¹⁶⁶
     I must show out a flag and
sign
¹⁶⁷
of love,
     Which is indeed but sign.
That
¹⁶⁸
you shall surely find him,
     Lead to the
Sagittary
¹⁶⁹
the raisèd search,
     And there will I be with him. So farewell.

Exit

Enter Brabantio with Servants and torches

BRABANTIO
   It is too true an evil: gone she is,
     And what’s to come of
my despisèd time
¹⁷²
     Is nought but bitterness. Now, Rodorigo,
     Where didst thou see her?— O,
unhappy
¹⁷⁴
girl!—
     With the Moor, say’st thou?— Who would be a father?—
     How didst thou know ’twas she?— O, she deceives me
     
Past thought
¹⁷⁷
!— What said she to you?— Get more tapers:
     Raise all my kindred.— Are they married, think you?

RODORIGO
   Truly, I think they are.

BRABANTIO
   O heaven! How got she out? O
treason of the blood
¹⁸⁰
!
     Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters’ minds
     By what you see them act. Is there not
charms
¹⁸²
     By which the
property
¹⁸³
of youth and maidhood
     May be abused? Have you not read, Rodorigo,
     Of some such thing?

RODORIGO
   Yes, sir, I have indeed.

BRABANTIO
   Call up my brother.—
     O, would you had had her!—

To Rodorigo

     Some one way, some another.— Do you know
     Where we may apprehend her and the Moor?

RODORIGO
   I think I can
discover
¹⁹⁰
him, if you please
     To get good guard and go along with me.

BRABANTIO
   Pray you lead on. At every house I’ll call:
     I
may command
¹⁹³
at most.— Get weapons, ho!
     And raise some special officers of might.—
     On, good Rodorigo: I will
deserve your pains
¹⁹⁵
.