Othello | Page 3

William Shakespeare
is clearly readable, and
does *not* contain characters other than those
intended by the author

of the work, although tilde (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters
may be used to convey punctuation intended by the
author, and
additional characters may be used to
indicate hypertext links; OR
[*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at
no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent form by the
program that displays the etext (as is the case, for instance, with most
word processors); OR
[*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at
no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the etext in its original
plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC or other equivalent proprietary form).
[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this
"Small Print!" statement.
[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the
net profits you derive calculated using the method you already use to
calculate your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is
due. Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg
Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days following
each
date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your
annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU
DON'T HAVE TO? The Project gratefully accepts contributions in
money, time, scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts,
royalty free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution you
can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association /
Carnegie-Mellon University".
*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN
ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*

This etext was prepared by the PG Shakespeare Team,
a team of
about twenty Project Gutenberg volunteers.
OTHELLO, MOOR OF VENICE
by William Shakespeare
PERSONS REPRESENTED:
DUKE OF VENICE.
BRABANTIO, a Senator.
Other Senators.

GRATIANO, Brother to Brabantio.
LODOVICO, Kinsman to
Brabantio.
OTHELLO, a noble Moor, in the service of Venice.

CASSIO, his Lieutenant.
IAGO, his Ancient.
RODERIGO, a
Venetian Gentleman.
MONTANO, Othello's predecessor in the
government of Cyprus. CLOWN, Servant to Othello.
Herald.
DESDEMONA, Daughter to Brabantio, and Wife to Othello.

EMILIA, Wife to Iago.
BIANCA, Mistress to Cassio.
Officers, Gentlemen, Messenger, Musicians, Herald, Sailor,

Attendants, &c.
SCENE: The First Act in Venice; during the rest of the Play at a
Seaport in Cyprus.
ACT I.
SCENE I. Venice. A street.
[Enter Roderigo and Iago.]
RODERIGO.
Tush, never tell me; I take it much unkindly
That
thou, Iago, who hast had my purse
As if the strings were thine,
shouldst know of this,--
IAGO.
'Sblood, but you will not hear me:--
If ever I did dream of
such a matter,
Abhor me.

RODERIGO.
Thou told'st me thou didst hold him in thy hate.
IAGO.
Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,
In
personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp'd to him:--and, by
the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:--

But he, as loving his own pride and purposes,
Evades them, with a
bumbast circumstance
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war:
And, in
conclusion, nonsuits
My mediators: for, "Certes," says he,
"I have
already chose my officer."
And what was he?
Forsooth, a great
arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost
damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the
division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish
theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he:
mere prattle, without practice,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had
the election:
And I,--of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At
Rhodes, at Cyprus, and on other grounds,
Christian and
heathen,--must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor, this
counter-caster;
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be,
And
I--God bless the mark! his Moorship's ancient.
RODERIGO.
By heaven, I rather would have been his hangman.
IAGO.
Why, there's no remedy; 'tis the curse of service,
Preferment
goes by letter and affection,
And not by old gradation, where each
second
Stood heir to the first. Now, sir, be judge yourself
Whether I
in any just term am affin'd
To love the Moor.
RODERIGO.
I would not follow him, then.
IAGO.
O, sir, content you;
I follow him to serve my turn upon him:

We cannot all be masters, nor all masters

Cannot be truly follow'd.
You shall mark
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave
That,
doting on his own obsequious bondage,
Wears out his time, much
like his master's ass,
For nought but provender; and when he's old,

cashier'd:
Whip me such honest knaves. 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 lin'd their coats, Do
themselves homage: these fellows have some soul;
And such a one do
I profess myself.
For, sir,
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I
the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;

Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so for
my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate

The native act and figure of my heart
In complement extern, 'tis not
long after
But
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code

 / 33
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.