Summary: Act II, scene i
On the shores of Cyprus, Montano, the island’s governor,
watches a storm with two gentlemen. Just as Montano says that the
Turkish fleet of ships could not survive the storm, a third gentlemen
comes to confirm his prediction: as his ship traveled from Venice,
Cassio witnessed that the Turks lost most of their fleet in the
tempest. It is still uncertain whether Othello’s ship has been able
to survive the storm. Hope lifts as voices offstage announce the
sighting of a sail offshore, but the new ship turns out to be carrying
Iago, Emilia, Desdemona, and Roderigo. Desdemona disembarks, and
no sooner does Cassio tell her that Othello has yet to arrive than
a friendly shot announces the arrival of a third ship. While the
company waits for the ship, Cassio and Desdemona tease Emilia about
being a chatterbox, but Iago quickly takes the opportunity to criticize
women in general as deceptive and hypocritical, saying they are
lazy in all matters except sex: “You rise to play and
go to bed to work” (II.i.118). Desdemona
plays along, laughing as Iago belittles women, whether beautiful
or ugly, intelligent or stupid, as equally despicable. Cassio takes
Desdemona away to speak with her privately about Othello’s arrival.
Iago notices that Cassio takes Desdemona’s hand as he talks to her,
and, in an aside, Iago plots to use Cassio’s hand-holding to frame
him so that he loses his newly gained promotion to lieutenant. “With
as little a web as this I will ensnare as great a fly as Cassio,”
he asserts (II.i.169).
Othello arrives safely and greets Desdemona, expressing
his devotion to her and giving her a kiss. He then thanks the Cypriots for
their welcome and hospitality, and orders Iago to unload the ship.
All but Roderigo and Iago head to the castle to celebrate the drowning
of the Turks. Iago tells the despondent Roderigo that Desdemona
will soon grow tired of being with Othello and will long for a more
well-mannered and handsome man. But, Iago continues, the obvious
first choice for Desdemona will be Cassio, whom Iago characterizes
over and over again as a “knave” (II.i.231–239).
Roderigo tries to argue that Cassio was merely being polite by taking
Desdemona’s hand, but Iago convinces him of Cassio’s ill intentions
and convinces Roderigo to start a quarrel with Cassio that evening.
He posits that the uproar the quarrel will cause in the still tense
city will make Cassio fall out of favor with Othello. Left alone
onstage again, Iago explains his actions to the audience in a soliloquy.
He secretly lusts after Desdemona, partially because he suspects
that Othello has slept with Emilia, and he wants to get even with
the Moor “wife for wife” (II.i.286). But,
Iago continues, if he is unable to get his revenge by sleeping with
Desdemona, Roderigo’s accusation of Cassio will make Othello suspect
his lieutenant of sleeping with his wife and torture Othello to
madness.
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Act II, scene i →
Summary: Act II, scene ii
A herald announces that Othello plans revelry for the
evening in celebration of Cyprus’s safety from the Turks, and also
in celebration of his marriage to Desdemona.
Read a translation of
Act II, scene ii →
Analysis: Act II, scenes i–ii
Like Act I, scene ii, the first scene of Act II begins
with emphasis on the limitations of sight. “What from the cape can
you discern at sea?” Montano asks, and the gentleman replies, “Nothing
at all. It is a high-wrought flood” (II.i.1–2).
The emphasis on the limitations of physical sight in a tempest foreshadows
what will, after Act III, become Othello’s metaphorical blindness,
caused by his passion and rage. Similarly, once the physical threat
that the Turks pose has been eliminated, the more psychological,
less tangible threat posed by inner demons assumes dramatic precedence.
The play extinguishes the external threat with almost
ridiculous speed. The line “News, lads! Our wars are done,” is all
that is needed to dismiss the plot involving the Turks (II.i.20).
It is as though one kind of play ends at the end of Act II, scene
ii, and another begins: what seemed to be a political tragedy becomes
a domestic tragedy. Whereas the action of the play began on the streets
of Venice and proceeded to the court and then to the beaches of
Cyprus, it now moves to the passageways of Othello’s residence on
the island and ultimately ends in his bedchamber. The effect is almost
cinematic—like a long and gradual close-up that restricts the visible
space around the tragic hero, emphasizing his metaphorical blindness
and symbolizing his imprisonment in his own jealous fantasies. This
ever-tightening focus has led many readers to characterize the play
as “claustrophobic.”
The banter between Iago and Desdemona creates a nervous, uncomfortable
atmosphere, in part because their levity is inappropriate, given
that Othello’s ship remains missing. The rhyming couplets in which
Iago expresses his misogynistic insults lend them an eerie, alienating
quality, and Desdemona’s active encouragement of Iago is somewhat
puzzling. Once again, Desdemona establishes herself as an outspoken
and independent woman—she does not depend upon her husband’s presence
either socially or intellectually. However, Desdemona does not suggest
that she has any interest in cheating on her husband. Iago himself
tells us that he will make a mountain out of the molehill represented
by Cassio’s holding of Desdemona’s hand.
