Othello Reputation and Honor Quotes

Others there are
Who, trimm’d in forms and visages of duty,
Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves,
And, throwing but shows of service on their lords,
Do well thrive by them and when they have lined their coats
Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul;
And such a one do I profess myself.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 1. Iago provides us with a glimpse into his own parasitic soul and duplicitous nature in this revealing speech to Roderigo. He admits to being the kind of servant who puts on a false show of loyalty and duty to his master, so that he can thrive on the coattails of Othello’s power, success and prestige. And when the two-faced Iago has taken what he wants from the master-servant relationship, he will use it to further his own self-interest. Iago has a perverted view of what homage or honor is, arguing that it an honorable to be dishonorable to your master if it personally benefits you.

And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms
Against your honour
That, with the little godliness I have,
I did full hard forbear him.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 2. Iago tells Othello that Brabantio insulted the general’s honor and he had to restrain himself from hurting Brabantio. Iago is of course lying because he is trying to manipulate and provoke Othello into attacking Brabantio. A two-faced Iago puts on the appearance of loyalty to Othello, when we know that he has nothing but hatred for him. Othello appears not to see through the facade Iago hides behind, setting himself up for a tragic downfall. It is ironic for Iago to speak of his "godliness," when we know that he is a villain with no morals.

O thou foul thief, where hast thou stow’d my daughter?
Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!
For I’ll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy curlèd darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, t’ incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou – to fear, not to delight!
Judge me the world, if ’tis not gross in sense
That thou hast practiced on her with foul charms,
Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals
That weakens motion.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 2. Brabantio, in his first encounter with Othello in the play, claims that Othello must have used witchcraft to manipulate Desdemona and get her to elope with him. In a metaphor, he likens Othello’s spell to chains used to enshare his daughter. Brabantio shows racial prejudice and hatred towards Othello. He remarks that a beautiful and fair-skinned virgin girl who shunned Venice’s wealthy handsome men would never risk her reputation to run to Othello’s "sooty bosom" unless he used "foul charms" on her. He dehumanizes Othello by calling him a "thing" rather than a person. Gender roles of the time are also reinforced, as Brabantio speaks of Desdemona as a possession, "stow’d" somewhere by the "foul thief" Othello.

A maiden never bold;
Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion
Blush’d at herself.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Brabantio describes daughter Desdemona as conforming to his idea of what the perfect Elizabethan woman was expected to be by men like him. That means having a virtuous reputation, being a virgin, pure and innocent, weak and submissive. But Brabantio’s idealization of his daughter in this way does not correspondent with reality. The real Desdemona proves to be an assertive woman willing to go against what her father wants and what is socially expected of her when choosing a husband.

Her father loved me; oft invited me;
Still question’d me the story of my life,
From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes,
That I have passed.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Brabantio views Othello as someone who has bewitched his daughter using magic spells, but Brabantio didn’t always have this hostile opinion of the Moor. Othello recounts how Brabantio once had a strong love for him and was admiring of his soldierly reputation and the battles and sieges he fought in.

He takes her by the palm: ay, well said, whisper: with as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. Ay, smile upon her, do; I will gyve thee in thine own courtship.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. Iago in an aside reveals that he will use Cassio’s reputation for gallantry with women to suggest he is having an affair with Desdemona. He plans to use Cassio’s good manners in kissing Desdemona’s hand to compromise him. In a metaphor he compares himself to a spider and Cassio the fly that will be trapped in his web. This is one of the many examples of animal imagery in the play.

As I am an honest man, I thought you had received some bodily wound; there is more sense in that than in reputation. Reputation is an idle and most false imposition: oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 3. With much irony and as part of his plan to deceive others, Iago refers to himself as an honest person when he speaks to Cassio. Cassio has lamented that his reputation is ruined after getting into a drunken brawl and losing his position as Othello’s lieutenant. But Iago offers Cassio his own cynical view on reputation, saying that it is not that important because it is often given without being deserved.

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. In an extended metaphor, Iago warns Othello of the importance of reputation. He compares a person’s good name to a precious jewel, invaluable to its owner and more important than money. He is trying to manipulate Othello in a bid to convince him of the paramount importance of his reputation and honor. Iago’s words are ironic, since he is on a mission to destroy the reputation and honor of Othello, Desdemona and Cassio.

O! now, for ever
Farewell the tranquil mind! farewell content!
Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars
That make ambition virtue! O, farewell!
Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. As Othello loses all hope of happiness with Desdemona and plunges into depression, he appears on the brink of madness. Irrational and driven by insane jealousy, he laments the loss of his reputation as a military man and wounding of his soldierly pride. Because he mistakingly believes that Desdemona has cheated on him, he no longer feels manly and thinks he cannot be a soldier or lead men in battle anymore. His speech, recalling his glory days in wars and conflict, echoes Cassio’s earlier speech about his good reputation being destroyed.

If thou dost slander her and torture me,
Never pray more; abandon all remorse;
On horror’s head horrors accumulate;
Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed;
For nothing canst thou to damnation add
Greater than that.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. Othello warns Iago not to slander his wife’s reputation by calling her a whore if she is not. He is demanding "ocular proof" that Desdemona that been unfaithful, which Iago has suggested. Otherwise he threatens Iago with damnation. Both heaven and earth are personified as having the ability to weep and be amazed.

Her honour is an essence that’s not seen;
They have it very oft that have it not.
But, for the handkerchief, –

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 1. Iago is speaking to Othello about Desdemona’s honor and the honor of women in general. The theme of appearance vs reality appears here, as Iago says that Desdemona’s honor is something that cannot be seen. Often people appear to be honorable, but they are not, he suggests. He then cleverly mentions Desdemona’s missing handkerchief, something that can be seen. He is manipulating Othello into thinking about the handkerchief.

Is this the noble Moor whom our full senate
Call all in all sufficient? Is this the nature
Whom passion could not shake? whose solid virtue
The shot of accident, nor dart of chance,
Could neither graze nor pierce?

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 1. Lodovico arrives to Cyprus from Venice in utter disbelief at the change in Othello’s personality. The calm military leader Lodovico knew who didn’t break under pressure and was in control is not who appears before him now. The reality is that Othello has lost control, struck his wife in public and his speech is incoherent and rambling. Othello’s once noble reputation has been shattered.

I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest,
Lay down my soul at stake: if you think other,
Remove your thought; it doth abuse your bosom.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Desdemona’s maid Emilia, wife of the nefarious Iago, vouches for Desdemona’s honesty to Othello. Standing up for the sisterhood against the corrupt brotherhood, she stakes her soul on her mistress’s goodness. This is after Othello, his mind poisoned and corrupted by Iago, questions Emilia about Desdemona and Cassio’s relationship. Emilia shows her loyalty to Desdemona and commitment to protecting her reputation.

If any wretch have put this in your head,
Let heaven requite it with the serpent’s curse!
For, if she be not honest, chaste, and true,
There’s no man happy; the purest of their wives
Is foul as slander.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Desdemona’s loyal handmaid Emilia criticizes Othello for doubting his wife’s fidelity. She describes Desdemona as the perfect model woman and wife – "honest, chaste and true." Ironically the very perceptive Emilia is right on the nail in questioning if Othello’s suspicions are the result of a "wretch" planting deceptive ideas into his head. She asks God to curse such a person like He cursed the Devil serpent in the Garden of Eden. Little does she know yet that the "wretch" is her husband Iago. Emilia the feminist highlights the subjugation of women within marriage. Using a simile, "foul as slander," she argues that the purest of wives can can be slandered and their reputation ruined by a husband like Othello. The sisterly bond beween Emilia and Desdmona symbolizes the importance of female solidarity in a male dominated society.

But, alas, to make me
A fixed figure for the time of scorn
To point his slow unmoving finger at!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Amid all the trials he has been through, Othello believes that there is nothing worse than being made an object of ridicule by an unfaithful wife. This shows how important Othello’s manhood and reputation is to him. Personification is used to emphasize his anguish, as public opinion – "time of scorn" – is given the human ability to point a scornful finger at the shamed Othello.

I will be hang’d, if some eternal villain,
Some busy and insinuating rogue,
Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office,
Have not devised this slander; I’ll be hang’d else.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Emilia bets her life that some villain dreamed up the slander on Desdemona’s reputation that she was a whore who cheated on Othello. Ironically everything she says turns out to be true. While she doesn’t know it yet, her husband Iago is the villain who has fed this lie to Othello. She will also die at Iago’s hand, so foreshadowing her death with her own words.

OTHELLO: She was false as water.
EMILIA: Thou art rash as fire to say
That she was false: O, she was heavenly true!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 5, Scene 2. Emilia shows her loyalty to Desdemona by immediately standing up for her mistress and challenging Othello’s statement that his wife was false. Protector of her friend’s honor, Emilia continues to defend the reputation of her mistress throughout this scene. Othello and Emilia use two similes as they trade blows – "false as water," "rash as fire." It is ironic that Othello should call his wife false, since he murdered an innocent woman on the most circumstantial and hearsay evidence.
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