Othello Act 4 Scene 3

?
View mindmap
  • Act 4 Scene 3: The Willow Scene
    • Key moments
      • Lodovico and Othello speak at the start of the scene
        • Most of this scene is two women talking privately. Perhaps Shakespeare is showing that women almost have to be given permission to speak by having L + O on first
      • Othello sends Desdemona to bed, D + E are left on stage
      • Emilia wishes D never met O, D rebukes this
      • Desdemona refers to her wedding sheets as a 'shroud'
      • Desdemona's recalls her mother's made, Barbary, and the willow song
        • The maid sang this song before she died, perhaps showing Desdemona is accepting she will die too
      • D asks E if women do cheat, E says they do
        • They do to make their husband a 'monarch' and that it is the husband's 'fault' if their wives cheat
          • Desdemona does not agree with this and goes to bed
    • Setting
      • Most action so far has taken publicly, now it is private
        • In D + O's bedroom
        • D + E's convo is one of the most intimate moments in the play
          • There has been a polarisation of the genders
          • Friendship is more significant than romantic relationships
      • Shows D is imprisoned
        • She is now in the limited space of her bedroom
          • Contrasts to the council chambers where she could move freely in Act 1
      • E can only be outspoken in public
    • Emilia's realism is shown in this scene
      • She gives a realistic view of marriage
        • The initial infatuation quickly disappears
      • Personal betrayal?
        • 'Pour our treasures into foreign laps'
        • 'They strike us'
          • Alludes to O striking D
      • She gives voice to female perspective that has been silenced
  • Willow song
    • A mournful folk ballad
      • Is her maid 'barbarys' song, alludes to Othello as 'barbary horse'
    • Originally the song is from a male perspective but it Shakespeare change it to a male perspective
    • In the final verse the speaker asserts their loyalty even though he has been betrayed
      • This signals to us that D knows her future
      • Act 4 Scene 3: The Willow Scene
        • Key moments
          • Lodovico and Othello speak at the start of the scene
            • Most of this scene is two women talking privately. Perhaps Shakespeare is showing that women almost have to be given permission to speak by having L + O on first
          • Othello sends Desdemona to bed, D + E are left on stage
          • Emilia wishes D never met O, D rebukes this
          • Desdemona refers to her wedding sheets as a 'shroud'
          • Desdemona's recalls her mother's made, Barbary, and the willow song
            • The maid sang this song before she died, perhaps showing Desdemona is accepting she will die too
          • D asks E if women do cheat, E says they do
            • They do to make their husband a 'monarch' and that it is the husband's 'fault' if their wives cheat
              • Desdemona does not agree with this and goes to bed
        • Setting
          • Most action so far has taken publicly, now it is private
            • In D + O's bedroom
            • D + E's convo is one of the most intimate moments in the play
              • There has been a polarisation of the genders
              • Friendship is more significant than romantic relationships
          • Shows D is imprisoned
            • She is now in the limited space of her bedroom
              • Contrasts to the council chambers where she could move freely in Act 1
          • E can only be outspoken in public
        • Emilia's realism is shown in this scene
          • She gives a realistic view of marriage
            • The initial infatuation quickly disappears
          • Personal betrayal?
            • 'Pour our treasures into foreign laps'
            • 'They strike us'
              • Alludes to O striking D
          • She gives voice to female perspective that has been silenced
    • Heightens pathos for D
  • In the final verse the speaker asserts their loyalty even though he has been betrayed
    • This signals to us that D knows her future
  • Significance
    • Heightens pathos for D + E b4 murder scene
    • Highlights unfairness of the inequality between men + women
    • Setting creates a feeling of entrapment

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar English Literature resources:

See all English Literature resources »See all Othello resources »