Othello - Act V


Act 5, Scene 1
  1. How does Iago justify the potential deaths of both Roderigo and Cassio?
  2. a)  What happens when Roderigo attacks Cassio?
b)  How does Cassio get wounded?
  1. What does Othello assume has happened?
  2. How does Iago solve his “Roderigo” problem?
  3. Who will get the blame for the attack on Cassio if Iago has his way?
  4. What does Iago tell Emilia to do?

Act 5, Scene 2
  1. What justification does Othello try to give the murder of Desdemona in the beginning of this scene?
  2. Why does Othello ask Desdemona if she has “prayed tonight” (5.2.25)?  Give two potential reasons.
  3. Identify one stage direction for the actor playing Othello which is contained in Desdemona’s lines.  Why do you think it is important for the actor to follow that direction?
  4. Why does Desdemona say that she is “undone” (5.2.77) when she discovers that Cassio is dead?  How does Othello interpret the same line?
  5. How does Othello kill Desdemona?
  6. a)  What does Desdemona tell Emilia before she dies? 
b)  What does this reveal about Desdemona’s character?
  1. What news does Gratiano, Desdemona’s uncle, bring?
  2. What two ‘proofs’ of adultery does Othello cling to in order to justify the murder of his wife?
  3. How does Othello learn that his suspicions about Desdemona are wrong?
  4. What happens to Emilia?  Why?  What ‘law’ of society did she break?
  5. What happens to Iago?
  6. What is Othello’s reaction to having his sword taken away?
  7.  Explain what Othello means when he wounds Iago and then says:  “I am not sorry neither; I’d have thee live,/For in my sense ‘tis happiness to die”? (5.2.287-8) 
  8. What do the letters found in Roderigo’s pockets conveniently reveal?
  9. What orders does Lodovico give regarding the fates of Othello, Cassio, and Iago?
  10. How does Othello regain his greatness in his final soliloquy? 
  11. How does Othello die?
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