Othello questions - answers | Class-XI

Question: How did Othello win the heart of Desdemona ?
Or, What led Desdemona to marry Othello ?

Answer:  Desdemona was the beautiful, and virtuous daughter of a Venetian Senator Brabantio. She loved Othello, a Moor and General of the army of Venice. Othello was often invited to Brabantio’s house.  Othello was a good story-teller. There he told Desdemona stories of his experiences in the battle, seiges and encounters, the perils he had been exposed to. Othello was also a good traveler. He talked about mountains and wild places, and cannibals and the strange people in Africa whose heads grow beneath their shoulders. Desdemona would listen to these stories with rapt attention. She felt not only wonder, but also a deep admiration and sympathy for the man who has been so much and experienced such a vast variety of things and situation. Even, when she heard Othello’s distress, her eyes would be full of tears. She felt gradually a genuine passion of love for Othello, and she hinted to him that anybody who can tell such stories would successfully woo her. Desdemona is a lady who preferred the heart of a man over his appearance and complexion. So, she preferred Othello to any other lover of her own white race to be her husband. She encouraged Othello to love her, and Othello readily responded. This is how Desdemona fell in love with Othello and decided to marry him without her father’s consent.

Question : How did Iago poison Othello’s ears against Desdemona ?

Answer: The wily villain Iago had grudge against both Cassio and Othello. He planned to entagle Desdemona too, and lead all of them to their doom.

Very craftily he poses as Othello’s well-wisher, and advises him to carefully note what Desdemona and Cassio are doing. He just suggests that perhaps there may be something wrong and illegal in their relationship.

On the one hand he advises Cassio to confer with Desdemona, so that the latter can plead for him to be re-instated as the Lieutenant.

On the other hand he advises Othello not to easily grant this request of Desdemona, because it is born out of his love for Cassio. Iago insinuates that Cassio is infact Othello’s rival in love. It makes Othello extremely jealous, and whatever he sees adds to his suspicion.

Iago has a great knowledge of human psychology. He understands that Othello is credulous, he easily believes what is told impressively. So he delivers his medicine in small dose, but continuously. He drops hints like ‘Desdemona deceived , her father.’ When he and Othello find Cassio going away after a meeting with Desdemona, he says in an undertone—for the benefit, of Othello— “I like not that.” The medicine really works. Othello cannot sleep any longer ; he takes no delight in arms ; he loses ‘all that pride and ambition which are a soldier’s virtue’.  

Finally, when Othello wants some proof of his wife’s love for Cassio, lago takes a little time. He then makes his wife Emilia steal the handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona for constant keep, and drops it at Cassio’s house. 

He now tells Othello that he saw Cassio wipe his face with that handkerchief. That clinches the issue. Othello learns that Desdemona has lost that handkerchief, and at once calls her unfaithful in love. Thus lago succeeds in poisoning Othello’s mind against Desdemona. 

Question : Why did Othello decide to kill his wife and himself ?

Answer : In the play Othello, the evil Iago pretended to be a friend of Othello in order to manipulate him to serve his own end and bring about the destruction of both Othello and Cassio.

Othello was a brave soldier, but his mind was rather simple. So, he could not suspect a person like Iago who knew well how to poison one’s mind gradually by presenting himself as a confidant.

To take revenge upon Othello, Iago plotted to destroy Cassio, Othello and Desdemona. Evil Iago knew quite well how much pain can inflict upon a man. So he planted seeds of doubt about Desdemona’s adultery in Othello’s mind.

He misled Othello to believe that Desdemona was involved with Cassio behind his back. Othello became tremendously infuriated when Iago informed him that Desdemona has gifted Cassio the handkerchief which Othello gifted her.

After going through a series of carefully plotted lies, Othello reached his breaking point at this and killed Desdemona.

Soon after killing Desdemona, Iago’s conspiracy got revealed through the wounded Cassio and Othello realised that Desdemona was innocent. Out of repentance and agony, Othello killed himself to justify his own evil act of murdering his beloved.

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