Act 3 questions

Act III, scene i
1) How might information from this scene affect future actions in the play?

Act III, scene ii
2) What do you think is in the letters that Othello gives to Iago to dispatch?
3) Do you believe that Iago will actually take the letters? Why or why not?

Act III, scene iii
4) Do you believe Emilia when she says, “I warrant it grieves my husband/ As if the cause were his” or do you think she really knows and understands what her husband is up to? Explain and give proof for your answer.
5) Desdemona foreshadows her destiny. Quote the line and predict how it will occur.
6) In pleading to her husband, Desdemona’s word choice hurts her argument. What words have double meanings that might make it seem to Othello that she is in love with Cassio? Explain the two meanings of each word
7) When Desdemona asks Othello to see Cassio, she tries to set a day and time that her husband will meet with him. Why do you think Othello puts off setting a specific time?
8) Why do you think Othello finally gives in to Desdemona’s request? In other words, he finally says, “Prithee no more; let him come when he will; / I will deny thee nothing.” Why?
9) Othello says that he wants “ocular proof” before he will believe that Desdemona has betrayed him. How is it that he is eventually convinced and why do you think that the evidence he is given is able to convince him that his wife has betrayed him?
10) Cassio denies Desdemona’s request to stay and hear her plead his case. Iago uses Cassio’s exit to make him seem guiltier. What do you think would’ve happened if Cassio had agreed to stay as Desdemona requested? Would Othello have been as likely to believe what Iago later says about the affair? Explain your answers.
11) What line in this scene foreshadows the tragic ending of the play? What do you think it means will happen?
12) What is ironic about Othello’s speech to Iago in lines 121-132?
13) What techniques does Iago use in his speech to Othello to make his assertion about Desdemona and Cassio seem more plausible?
14) Emilia refers to Iago as her “wayward husband” in this scene. What do you think this implies about her view of Iago? What does the fact that she gives the handkerchief to Iago imply about her relationship with her husband?
15) What has Iago accomplished by the end of this scene and how do you think it will affect the remainder of the play?
16) Give at least three examples of irony from this scene.

Act III, scene iv
17) Why do you think Emilia doesn’t tell Desdemona about the handkerchief? Explain.
18) Why do you think Desdemona lies to Othello? Do you think she would’ve responded differently if he hadn’t been out of sorts?
19) Iago’s plans for the handkerchief may have gone slightly askew. What do you think he intended to have happen? What did happen and how might it affect the play?
20) How do you think Bianca will fit into the play?
21) What do you predict will happen in acts four and five? Be specific.