Act 4: Scenes 1-3

    Iago and Othello converse on the topic of non-crimes as Iago prompts Othello by saying that it isn't a crime when a man and woman are naked together is nothing physical occurs. As Iago speaks of this, Othello becomes flustered by the thought of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness. Iago continues on this and tells Othello that Cassio and Desdemona have slept together, this making Othello very uneasy and “[f]alls down in a trance” (IV.i.41 stage direction).
    Cassio entrees and Iago warns him to stay back and tells him he wants to speak with him once Othello parts. Once Othello has come out of his “trance”, Iago tells him that Cassio had stopped by and that him and Iago are going to speak; he tells Othello to watch as he gets Cassio to tell him of his affair with Desdemona. In reality though, Iago will only be speaking and joking of the prostitute Bianca which will surly make Cassio laugh.
    Iago’s plan works: Cassio’s expressions make Othello furious as thoughts of murdering Cassio flow through Othello’s head. While this is occurring, Bianca entrees somewhat mad and hands Cassio back a handkerchief – a symbol of love – that he had previously given to her. She accuses him of re-giving this handkerchief; she states that another woman had given it to him.
    Iago and Cassio reconnect and they plan to kill Desdemona and Cassio – strangle or poison.
    Desdemona and Lodovico enter; Lodovico has a message from the Duke of Venice. Othello is irritated by the two with their talk. He is also irritated by the letter; it has called him back to Venice and has ordered him to leave Cassio in Cyrus as his replacement. Desdemona expresses her happiness for leaving and Othello strikes her and she leaves. With Lodovico’s shock at witnessing this loss of control from Othello, he gets Othello to call her back. Othello does so and he declares he will return home while also ordering Desdemona to leave again before storming off.
    Lodovico questions Iago on why Othello is so upset but no answers are given.
    Othello speaks with Emilia about Desdemona in scene 2 and calls Desdemona a female pimp while Emilia leaves to get Desdemona. Othello and his wife speak; Othello is very upset but Desdemona denies being unfaithful. Othello storms off once more and Emilia comes in to comfort Desdemona.
    Emilia brings in her husband, Iago and both Desdemona and her question Iago on why Othello is treating his wife like this. The two woman decide there must be some “villain” must be behind all the accusations but Iago promises them it’s only business that has been bothering him.
    Roderigo arrives upset with love and plans to make it so Desdemona returns all the jewels he got Iago to give her as a gift. He lies and tells him that Othello has now been deported to Mauritania, Africa because Cassio is replacing him in Cyrus. In reality, however, Cassio is returning home with Desdemona. Iago prompts Roderigo by telling him the only way to keep Desdemona from being taken to Africa is to get rid of Cassio.
    Othello and Lodovico go for a walk but before he leaves, he tells Desdemona he will be with her soon but to go to bed and tell Emilia to leave. Desdemona is scared for her life and tells Emilia that if she dies, she want’s her to use on of her wedding sheets for her shroud. Emilia sings to her as she helps her prepare and undress. The song reminds her of adultery and she questions on whether or not she should cheat on Othello. Emilia and Desdemona have a long talk about this and then finishes getting ready for bed.

Act 3: Scenes 1-4

       Desperate to be in great terms with Othello, Cassio ordered for musicians to entertain Othello by playing underneath his window. Othello did not find this entertaining though, but rather obnoxious and made his servant shoo them away. While he did this, Cassio begged the servant to get Emilia to agree to speak to him. All Cassio wanted was access to Desdemona and so, made a plan with Iago: when the servant left, Iago would appeare and promise Cassio that Emilia would come down and they would think of a way to distract Othello. This enables Cassio to be alone with Desdemona.

       Emilia proclaims to Cassio that Othello and Desdemona have already talked about the situation, and though Desdemona strongy asked for Cassio, Othello worried that the influence and popularity Montano had in Cyprus would have made Cassio?s reassignment pointless. But Cassio was let in and waited for Desdemona.
        While walking to the citadel with Iago, Othello gave him a few letters do deliver.
        After Desdemona swore to do all that is possible for Cassio, Othello and Iago emerge and Cassio left, telling Desdemona he does not feel right doing himself any good. The two men Othello and Iago did not believe that Cassio would act like a coward by leaving their presence.
All Desdemona wanted was Othello to forgive Cassio and make him lieutenant again, so he promised to speak to Cassio but got frustrated when she wanted to appoint a specific meeting time and asked for some alone time.
        Iago believed that Cassio and Desdemona had an affair, and questions Othello, reminding him that he was Othello and Desdemona's go-to person during their courtship. Talking with Iago made Othello think thoughts of adultery that he would have never thought of before, and was reminded by Iago that he should keep an eye on his wife when it comes to Cassio. Othello asked Iago to make sure Emilia watches Desdemona?s every move, but Iago said he might as well forget about the issue. Othello was stuck on the fact that his wife might not love him anymore, possibly because he is too old, too dark and not polite enough.
        When Desdemona and Emilia called Othello to dinner, he insisted that he had a headache and pushed his wife's handkerchief away when she offered it to him in hospitality. Emilia waited behind to pick up Desdemona's handkerchief, as it was something her husband had always desired.
        Iago went to put the handkerchief in Cassio's room, to frame him, but at that moment Othello raged at him, telling him that what he has told Othello has torn him up. Othello wouldn't believe Iago until he brought him visual evidence and even though Iago said that would be impossible he said he would. Iago made up a story that when he was sharing a bed with Cassio, he cried "Desdemona" and kissed Iago's lips in his sleep. Iago also claimed he saw Cassio wipe his face with the exact handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona. Knowing this, Othello was enraged and Iago vowed to help him get revenge. Othello promoted Iago to lieutenant, as he felt closer to him.
        The servant was sent to find Cassio for Desdemona and while he is gone, she wondered where her handkerchief was. Othello entered and checked Desdemona's hand for moistness indicating sexual promiscuity, and then asked where her handkerchief was. When Desdemona could not produce this, Othello told her the history of the handkerchief and focused on how if the woman lost it, the man should leave her. Being shook by this story, Desdemona lied saying she still had it but it was not with her and Othello does not buy it. Othello raised his voice and demanded to know where it was, but Desdemona was frightened and asked for Cassio to change the subject.
        After talking to Emilia about the uncertainty of men, Cassio and Iago showed up speaking about Cassio's suit to Desdemona for help. Desdemona was sure that was bad timing of them but Iago promised to go calm down Othello. Though Emilia thought Othello was jealous, Desdemona told herself he was only upset over a political issue and asked the others to wait while she fetched Othello.
        When Cassio was waiting for Desdemona to return with Othello, a well-known prostitute, Biana walked in. She scolded him for not visiting her more often and when he apologized he asked her to copy a pattern of a handkerchief he had found in his pocket, onto another one. Bianca thought he was making her do favors for other women, but Cassio denies it and they made plans for that night.

Act 2: Scenes 1-3

     Act 2 begins with Mother Nature, showing her authority over the Turks by wrecking the entire Turkish fleet, off the coast of Cyprus. Two new characters are introduced, the first being the governor of Cyprus:  Montano and the second Othello’s Lieutenant a man named Michael Cassio. As Montano and other nameless men witness the destruction of the Turkish fleet another boat is sailing into the bay. Aboard are Cassio: Othello’s Lieutenant. Cassio is worried though, his ship and the Othello’s were “separated by a most foul and violent tempest” (2.2.2)—Montano suggests that the two of them “stare at the sea until the sky and sea blend together” (2.2.2). As they do this, they discuss the sturdiness of his vessel and the reliability of his “pilot”. Suddenly a sail appears on the horizon, when this ship fires a greeting ship they assume that it is Othello. Iago and Desdemona arrive to the surprise of the Montano and Michael Cassio. Desdemona, the wife of Othello—described as “God’s Masterpiece” (2.2.4)—asks whether her husband had arrived on the island. Just like clockwork, a “no” signals another sail to appear on the horizon. Meanwhile Iago and Desdemona argue, about a topic that might possibly be a precursor to modern day women’s rights. Othello arrives; him and his wife embrace and exchange what would be now called lovey-dovey wish-wash. Othello suggests they make their way to the castle. Meanwhile Iago tells Roderigo that Desdemona feigns love with Othello, and in actuality loves Cassio.

     Scene 2 begins a large party begin in honor of the defeat of the Turks, and the marriage of Othello and Desdemona.
 

     Scene 3 begins with Othello, informing Michael Cassio to make sure that the party does not get out of control. Othello excuses himself with the pretense that he and Desdemona are off to, well, consummate their marriage. After Othello and his wife, have left Cassio and Iago take their watch. With compliments much more appropriate floating from the mouths of teenage boys, than two full-grown men—rather two drunk full-grown men—Iago as scheming as he is has a plan behind getting Cassio drunk, thinking to himself, he schemes to get Cassio more drunk so that “He’ll be as full of quarrel and offense/ As my young mistresses dog” (2.3.3). Iago is getting Cassio drunk so that he may do something to offend the whole island. Iago and Cassio run into Montano, Cassio is beyond drunk at this point. Eventually they run into Roderigo, Cassio  exceedingly drunk at this point challenges Roderigo to a fight—they fight. Suddenly, the riot alarm goes off, and Othello shows up and cools the situation. Othello tries to get to the bottom of the issue, by finding out who started the quarrel. Of course this whole deal is all a scheme of Iago, the puppet-master who is trying to disrupt the relationships between Othello, Michael Cassio, Roderigo and the lovely Desdemona.

Act 1: Scenes 1-3

Othello, a general who has just married the lovely Desdemona, finds himself in the midst of an argument on a Venice street. The argument, between Roderigo, a wealthy man, and Iago, who serves under Othello’s command, serving in battle.

Iago has found great hatred for Othello as he was shafted in promotion to lieutenant officer. This was a position Othello has appointed to Michael Cassio, a man with minimal knowledge of leading men in battle. With this recent hatred, Iago only pretends to serve Othello while in reality, he is selfishly awaiting to promote his own self-interest.

Roderigo has been paying Iago to work under his orders, helping him further his quest for Desdemona’s love; with no luck, however, he has watched her marry Othello, leaving even more hate towards the general. It is a personal battle for both Iago and Roderigo, but they lie under one common interest in their quests, the riding of Othello.

To make Othello unhappy, Iago urges Roderigo to give Othello a bad name within Desdemona’s family. The two them part and find her father, Brabanzio, the Venetian senator. By crying out that Roderigo has been robbed by “thieves”, they capture the mans attention. With provocative wording, Iago tells Brabanzio that Othello and his daughter are “making the beast with two backs” (I.i.118), meaning they are having sex. Parting with his men and Rodrigo, Brabanzio furiously goes in search of Othello , believing all that he has heard. Iago parts as well to keep his cover and goes to see Othello separately.

Now with Othello, Iago warns him of the furry coming his way. Spotting a group that was thought to be Brabanzio, it turns out to be only Cassio and some officers from the Venetian court; they have brought Othello a message stating that Othello is being called upon by the Duke of Venice on a military matter. As Brabanzio arrives, interrupting Cassio’s announcement to Othello, the brawl finally begins. However, it is quickly stopped when Brabanzio hears that Othello is wanted by the duke; Brabanzio  decides he will tell the duke himself of Othello’s wrong-doings.

A meeting on the subject of Turkish invasion on Venice is interrupted by Brabanzio, Othello, Cassio, Iago, Roderigo, and officers. Brabanzio, stating that his daughter has been taken from him by spells and magic, holds the side of the duke momentarily before revealing that it is the good man Othello being accused. Being given the fair chance to speak, Othello admits to marrying Desdemona but pleads guilty on the case of using magic to attract her. He tells the story of how she really fell in love with him.

   Desdemona  arrives and dismisses the foolish tails of her fathers imagination. She does love Othello and has told the duke that her primary loyalty now lies in her husband. With this statement, Brabaznio allows the court to resign and accepts his daughters decisions.

    The duke now moves on to the subject of the invasions and instructs Othello to go to Cyprus to defend from the Turks. Othello, prepared to go, asks for accommodations for his wife but in the end, the decision is clear that she will part with him on his voyage.

Roderigo’s chances at winning Desdemona have been slashed once more. He suggests drowning himself, a statement that Iago mocks him for. Iago suggests Roderigo follow them to Cyprus which he decides he will do and parts.

With Iago alone, he commences a grand scheme of plotting to rob Roderigo of his money and Othello of his good-will.