Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages; Fear no more the frown o' the great, To thee the reed is as the oak: Fear no more the lightning flash, Nor the all-dreaded thunder stone: Thou hast finish'd joy and moan : No exorciser harm thee! ACT V. A Routed Army. No blame be to you, sir; for all was lost, But that the heavens fought: the king himself Of his wings destitute, the army broken, And but the backs of Britons seen, all flying Through a straight lane; the enemy, full-hearted, -000 OTHELLO. Othello, a valiant Moor, has won the affections of Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, a senator of Venice, and married her, unknown to her father. On hearing of the marriage, Brabantio is greatly irritated, and summons Othello before the Duke and Senators, where the Moor justifies his conduct, and is sent to Cyprus to command the Venetian forces against the Turks, who have despatched a fleet against Cyprus. Othello arrives at Cyprus, where Desdemona, by previous arrangement, follows him. Here lago, who is a villain of the deepest dye, plots with Roderigo, a foolish Venetian, against Othello and his lieutenant Cassio. In the meantime, Othello, incited to the act by Iago, murders Desdemona, and stabs himself, falling dead by her side. Iago, who completes his career of crime by stabbing his wife Emilia, is condemned to the torture, as a punishment for his wicked actions. Of this tragedy, Dr. Johnson remarks, "The fiery openness of Othello; magnanimous, artless, and credulous; boundless in his confidence, ardent in his affections, inflexible in his resolution, and obdurate in his revenge; the soft simplicity of Desdemona, confident of merit, and conscious of innocence; the cool malignity of Iago, silent in his resentment, subtle in his designs, and studious at once of his interest and his vengeance, are such proofs of Shakspere's skill in human nature, as I suppose it is vain to seek in any modern writer." Аст І. lago's Dispraise of Honesty. We cannot all be masters, nor all masters Cannot be truly followed. You shall mark Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave, That, doting on his own obsequious bondage, Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul, For, sir, It is as sure as you are Roderigo, Were I the Moor, I would not be Tago: In following him, I follow but myself; Love the sole inducement for Othello to marry For know, Iago, But that I love the gentle Desdemona, Put into circumscription and confine For the sea's worth. Othello's Relation to the Senate of his wooing Desdemona. Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors, Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech, peace; And little of this great world can I speak, More than pertains to feats of broil and battle; In speaking for myself; yet, by your gracious patience, Of my whole course of love: what drugs, what charms, What conjuration, and what mighty magic (For such proceeding I am charged withal) won his daughter with. Her father lov'd me: oft invited me; Still question'd me the story of my life, I ran it through, even from my boyish days, Of hair-breadth 'scapes i' the imminent deadly breach And sold to slavery; of my redemption thence, Wherein of antres vast, and deserts idle,+ Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven, It was my hint to speak, such was the process; The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads These things to hear, Would Desdemona seriously incline: But still the house affairs would draw her thence, She swore, in faith, 'twas strange, 'twas passing strange; 'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful : She wish'd she had not heard it: yet she wish'd That heaven had made her such a man: she thank'd me; And bade me, if I had a friend that lov'd her, * Behaviour. † Idle is used to signify barren. ↑ Intention and attention were once synonymous. Attentively. |