Othello, Act 4, Scene 2

Othello

You have seen nothing, then?

You have seen nothing, then?

Emilia

Nor ever heard, nor ever did suspect.

And never heard anything or suspected anything.

Othello

Yes, you have seen Cassio and she together.

Yes, you have seen Cassio and her together.

Emilia

But then I saw no harm, and then I heardEach syllable that breath made up between them.

But I saw nothing wrong then, and I heard every syllable they spoke to each other.

Othello

What, did they never whisper?

What, did they never whisper?

Emilia

Never, my lord.

Never, my lord.

Othello

Nor send you out o’ the way?

Or send you away?

Emilia

Never.

Never.

Othello

To fetch her fan, her gloves, her mask, nor nothing?

Not to fetch her fan, her gloves, her mask, or anything?

Emilia

Never, my lord.

Never, my lord.

Othello

That’s strange.

That's strange.

Emilia

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.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 wivesIs foul as slander.

My lord, I would dare to bet that she is faithful, with my own soul at stake. If you think otherwise, put that thought out of your mind: it is doing your heart an injustice. If some wretch has put this into your head, may heaven punish him with the serpent's curse. For if she isn't faithful, pure, and true, no husband is happy. Even the purest of their wives is as filthy as slander says.

Othello

Bid her come hither. Go.

Tell her to come here. Go.

Desdemona

My lord, what is your will?

My lord, what do you want?

Othello

Pray, chuck, come hither.

Please, sweetheart, come here.

Desdemona

What is your pleasure?

What would you like?

Othello

Let me see your eyes.Look in my face.

Let me see your eyes. Look me in the face.

Desdemona

What horrible fancy’s this?

What horrible idea is this?

Othello (to Emilia)

Some of your function, mistress,Leave procreants alone, and shut the door.Cough, or cry hem, if anybody come.Your mystery, your mystery. Nay, dispatch.

Do your job, madam. Leave the couple alone to have sex, and shut the door. Cough or clear your throat if anyone comes. That's your trade, your trade. Go on, hurry.

Desdemona

Upon my knees, what doth your speech import?I understand a fury in your words,But not the words.

On my knees, I beg you, what do your words mean? I hear the fury in them, but I don't understand what you're saying.

Othello

Why, what art thou?

Well, what are you?

Desdemona

Your wife, my lord, your true and loyal wife.

Your wife, my lord, your true and loyal wife.

Othello

Come, swear it, damn thyself,Lest, being like one of heaven, the devils themselvesShould fear to seize thee. Therefore be double-damn’d.Swear thou art honest.

Go on, swear it and damn yourself. Otherwise, looking like an angel, you might make even the devils afraid to seize you. So damn yourself twice over. Swear that you are faithful.

Desdemona

Heaven doth truly know it.

Heaven truly knows I am.

Othello

Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.

Heaven truly knows you are as false as hell.

Desdemona

To whom, my lord? With whom? How am I false?

False to whom, my lord? With whom? How am I unfaithful?

Othello

O Desdemona, away! away! away!

Oh, Desdemona, go away! Away! Away!

Desdemona

Alas the heavy day, why do you weep?Am I the motive of these tears, my lord?If haply you my father do suspectAn instrument of this your calling back,Lay not your blame on me. If you have lost him,Why, I have lost him too.

Oh, what a terrible day! Why are you crying? Am I the cause of these tears, my lord? If you happen to suspect my father helped arrange for you to be called back, don't blame me. If you have lost his friendship, I have lost it too.

Othello

Had it pleas’d heavenTo try me with affliction, had they rain’dAll kinds of sores and shames on my bare head,Steep’d me in poverty to the very lips,Given to captivity me and my utmost hopes,I should have found in some place of my soulA drop of patience. But, alas, to make meA fixed figure for the time of scornTo point his slow unmoving finger at.Yet could I bear that too, well, very well:But there, where I have garner’d up my heart,Where either I must live or bear no life,The fountain from the which my current runs,Or else dries up, to be discarded thence,Or keep it as a cistern for foul toadsTo knot and gender in!—turn thy complexion there,Patience, thou young and rose-lipp’d cherubin,Ay, there, look grim as hell!

If heaven had chosen to test me with suffering, if it had rained every kind of disease and disgrace on my bare head, sunk me into poverty up to my lips, made me a prisoner along with all my greatest hopes, I could have found a drop of patience somewhere in my soul. But instead, it has made me a permanent target for scorn to point its slow, unrelenting finger at. Still, I could bear even that—well, very well. But to be thrown out of the place where I have stored my heart, where I must live or not live at all, the spring that feeds the stream of my life or leaves it dry! Or to keep that place as a filthy pool where foul toads couple and breed! At that sight, Patience, you young, rosy-lipped angel, change your expression. Yes, at that sight, look as grim as hell!

Desdemona

I hope my noble lord esteems me honest.

I hope my noble lord thinks I am faithful.

Othello

O, ay, as summer flies are in the shambles,That quicken even with blowing. O thou weed,Who art so lovely fair, and smell’st so sweet,That the sense aches at thee,Would thou hadst ne’er been born!

Oh, yes, as faithful as summer flies in a slaughterhouse, breeding as soon as they lay their eggs. Oh, you weed, so lovely to look at and so sweet-smelling that you make my senses ache! I wish you had never been born!

Desdemona

Alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?

Oh, what sin have I committed without knowing it?

Othello

Was this fair paper, this most goodly book,Made to write “whore” upon? What committed?Committed! O thou public commoner!I should make very forges of my cheeks,That would to cinders burn up modesty,Did I but speak thy deeds. What committed!Heaven stops the nose at it, and the moon winks;The bawdy wind, that kisses all it meets,Is hush’d within the hollow mine of earth,And will not hear it. What committed!Impudent strumpet!

Was this beautiful paper, this lovely book, made to have “whore” written on it? What have you committed? Committed! Oh, you whore anyone can have! My cheeks would become furnaces and burn modesty to ashes if I merely spoke of your deeds. What have you committed! Heaven holds its nose at it, and the moon shuts its eyes. The dirty wind, which kisses everything it meets, falls silent in the hollow caves of the earth and refuses to hear of it. What have you committed! Shameless whore!

Desdemona

By heaven, you do me wrong.

I swear by heaven, you are wronging me.

Othello

Are not you a strumpet?

Aren't you a whore?

Desdemona

No, as I am a Christian:If to preserve this vessel for my lordFrom any other foul unlawful touchBe not to be a strumpet, I am none.

No, I swear as a Christian. If keeping my body for my husband, free from anyone else's filthy, unlawful touch, means I am not a whore, then I am not one.

Othello

What, not a whore?

What, not a whore?

Desdemona

No, as I shall be sav’d.

No, I swear on my salvation.

Othello

Is’t possible?

Is that possible?

Desdemona

O, heaven forgive us!

Oh, heaven forgive us!

Othello

I cry you mercy then.I took you for that cunning whore of VeniceThat married with Othello.—You, mistress,

Then I beg your pardon. I mistook you for that crafty whore of Venice who married Othello.—You, madam,

Emilia

Alas, what does this gentleman conceive?How do you, madam? How do you, my good lady?

Oh, what does this gentleman imagine? How are you, madam? How are you, my good lady?

Desdemona

Faith, half asleep.

Honestly, half asleep.

Emilia

Good madam, what’s the matter with my lord?

My good lady, what's wrong with my lord?

Desdemona

With who?

With who?

Emilia

Why, with my lord, madam.

Why, with my lord, madam.

Desdemona

Who is thy lord?

Who is your lord?

Emilia

He that is yours, sweet lady.

The same man who is yours, dear lady.

Desdemona

I have none. Do not talk to me, Emilia,I cannot weep, nor answer have I noneBut what should go by water. Prithee, tonightLay on my bed my wedding sheets, remember,And call thy husband hither.

I have none. Don't talk to me, Emilia. I cannot cry, and I have no answer except tears. Please remember to put my wedding sheets on my bed tonight, and call your husband here.

Emilia

Here’s a change indeed!

What a change this is!

Desdemona

’Tis meet I should be us’d so, very meet.How have I been behav’d, that he might stickThe small’st opinion on my least misuse?

It's fitting that I should be treated this way, very fitting. How have I behaved that could give him the slightest reason to think I've done anything wrong?

Iago

What is your pleasure, madam? How is’t with you?

What can I do for you, madam? How are you?

Desdemona

I cannot tell. Those that do teach young babesDo it with gentle means and easy tasks.He might have chid me so, for, in good faith,I am a child to chiding.

I cannot say. People who teach little children use gentle methods and easy tasks. He could have scolded me gently like that, because, honestly, I'm as inexperienced as a child when it comes to being scolded.

Iago

What’s the matter, lady?

What's the matter, lady?

Emilia

Alas, Iago, my lord hath so bewhor’d her,Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her,As true hearts cannot bear.

Oh, Iago, my lord has called her a whore and heaped such contempt and cruel words on her that no faithful heart could bear it.

Desdemona

Am I that name, Iago?

Am I that thing, Iago?

Iago

What name, fair lady?

What thing, lovely lady?

Desdemona

Such as she says my lord did say I was.

What she says my lord called me.

Emilia

He call’d her whore: a beggar in his drinkCould not have laid such terms upon his callet.

He called her a whore. A drunken beggar wouldn't have used such language toward his own slut.

Iago

Why did he so?

Why did he do that?

Desdemona

I do not know. I am sure I am none such.

I don't know. I'm sure I'm nothing of the kind.

Iago

Do not weep, do not weep: alas the day!

Don't cry, don't cry. Oh, what a terrible day!

Emilia

Hath she forsook so many noble matches,Her father, and her country, and her friends,To be call’d whore? would it not make one weep?

Has she given up so many noble suitors, her father, her country, and her friends, just to be called a whore? Wouldn't that make anyone cry?

Desdemona

It is my wretched fortune.

It's my miserable fate.

Iago

Beshrew him for’t!How comes this trick upon him?

Curse him for it! What's brought this behavior on?

Desdemona

Nay, heaven doth know.

Only heaven knows.

Emilia

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

I'll be hanged if some relentless villain, some meddling, scheming scoundrel, some lying, cheating lowlife, hasn't invented this slander to get himself a position. I'll be hanged if that's not true.

Iago

Fie, there is no such man. It is impossible.

Nonsense, there's no such man. It's impossible.

Desdemona

If any such there be, heaven pardon him!

If there is anyone like that, may heaven forgive him!

Emilia

A halter pardon him, and hell gnaw his bones!Why should he call her whore? who keeps her company?What place? what time? what form? what likelihood?The Moor’s abused by some most villainous knave,Some base notorious knave, some scurvy fellow.O heaven, that such companions thou’dst unfold,And put in every honest hand a whipTo lash the rascals naked through the worldEven from the east to the west!

Let a hangman's rope forgive him, and let hell chew his bones! Why should he call her a whore? Who's been with her? Where? When? How? What evidence is there? Some utterly evil scoundrel is deceiving the Moor, some low, outrageous scoundrel, some filthy fellow. Oh, heaven, expose such men and put a whip in every honest person's hand to lash those naked criminals all around the world, from east to west!

Iago

Speak within door.

Keep your voice down.

Emilia

O, fie upon them! Some such squire he wasThat turn’d your wit the seamy side without,And made you to suspect me with the Moor.

Oh, shame on them! It was some fellow like that who turned your mind inside out and made you suspect me of sleeping with the Moor.

Iago

You are a fool. Go to.

You're a fool. Stop it.

Desdemona

Alas, Iago,What shall I do to win my lord again?Good friend, go to him. For by this light of heaven,I know not how I lost him. Here I kneel.If e’er my will did trespass ’gainst his love,Either in discourse of thought or actual deed,Or that mine eyes, mine ears, or any sense,Delighted them in any other form,Or that I do not yet, and ever did,And ever will, (though he do shake me offTo beggarly divorcement) love him dearly,Comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much;And his unkindness may defeat my life,But never taint my love. I cannot say “whore,”It does abhor me now I speak the word;To do the act that might the addition earnNot the world’s mass of vanity could make me.

Oh, Iago, what can I do to win my lord back? Good friend, go to him. I swear by this heavenly daylight, I don't know how I lost him. Here I kneel. If I have ever betrayed his love, either in my thoughts or in my actions; if my eyes, my ears, or any of my senses have taken pleasure in another man; or if I don't love him dearly now, as I always have and always will (even if he throws me aside and leaves me a penniless divorcee), may I never know comfort again! Cruelty can do a great deal, and his cruelty may kill me, but it can never corrupt my love. I cannot say “whore.” I feel disgusted even saying the word. All the world's empty treasures couldn't make me do the act that would earn me that name.

Iago

I pray you, be content. ’Tis but his humour.The business of the state does him offence,And he does chide with you.

Please, calm yourself. It's just his mood. Affairs of state are upsetting him, and he's taking it out on you.

Desdemona

If ’twere no other,—

If only it were nothing else—

Iago

’Tis but so, I warrant.

It's nothing else, I assure you.

Roderigo

I do not find that thou dealest justly with me.

I don't think you're dealing honestly with me.

Iago

What in the contrary?

How have I done otherwise?

Roderigo

Every day thou daffest me with some device, Iago, and rather, as it seems to me now, keepest from me all conveniency than suppliest me with the least advantage of hope. I will indeed no longer endure it. Nor am I yet persuaded to put up in peace what already I have foolishly suffered.

Every day you put me off with some excuse, Iago. Now it seems to me that, instead of giving me the slightest reason to hope, you keep every opportunity away from me. I really won't stand for it any longer. And I'm not willing to accept quietly what I've already foolishly put up with.

Iago

Will you hear me, Roderigo?

Will you hear me out, Roderigo?

Roderigo

Faith, I have heard too much, for your words and performances are no kin together.

Honestly, I have heard too much. Your words and your actions have nothing in common.

Iago

You charge me most unjustly.

You accuse me very unfairly.

Roderigo

With naught but truth. I have wasted myself out of my means. The jewels you have had from me to deliver to Desdemona would half have corrupted a votarist: you have told me she hath received them, and returned me expectations and comforts of sudden respect and acquaintance, but I find none.

I accuse you of nothing but the truth. I have spent everything I have. The jewels you took from me to give Desdemona would almost have tempted a nun to break her vows. You told me she received them, and gave me hopeful promises that she would soon show me affection and meet with me. But I have seen nothing of the kind.

Iago

Well, go to, very well.

Well, come on, very well.

Roderigo

Very well, go to, I cannot go to, man, nor ’tis not very well. Nay, I say ’tis very scurvy, and begin to find myself fopped in it.

Very well? Come on? I can't go on, man, and it is not very well. No, I say it's downright rotten, and I'm beginning to see that I'm being made a fool of.

Iago

Very well.

Very well.

Roderigo

I tell you ’tis not very well. I will make myself known to Desdemona. If she will return me my jewels, I will give over my suit and repent my unlawful solicitation. If not, assure yourself I will seek satisfaction of you.

I tell you it is not very well. I will introduce myself to Desdemona. If she returns my jewels, I will stop pursuing her and repent of trying to seduce a married woman. If not, you can be sure I will demand compensation from you.

Iago

You have said now.

You've had your say now.

Roderigo

Ay, and said nothing but what I protest intendment of doing.

Yes, and I've said nothing that I don't swear I intend to do.

Iago

Why, now I see there’s mettle in thee, and even from this instant do build on thee a better opinion than ever before. Give me thy hand, Roderigo. Thou hast taken against me a most just exception, but yet I protest, I have dealt most directly in thy affair.

Well, now I see you have some spirit, and from this moment I have a better opinion of you than ever before. Give me your hand, Roderigo. You have made a perfectly fair complaint against me, but I swear I have acted completely honestly in your business.

Roderigo

It hath not appeared.

It hasn't looked that way.

Iago

I grant indeed it hath not appeared, and your suspicion is not without wit and judgement. But, Roderigo, if thou hast that in thee indeed, which I have greater reason to believe now than ever,—I mean purpose, courage, and valour,—this night show it. If thou the next night following enjoy not Desdemona, take me from this world with treachery and devise engines for my life.

I admit it hasn't looked that way, and your suspicions show intelligence and good judgment. But, Roderigo, if you really have what I now have more reason than ever to believe you have—I mean determination, courage, and bravery—show it tonight. If you don't sleep with Desdemona tomorrow night, kill me by some treacherous means and devise schemes to take my life.

Roderigo

Well, what is it? Is it within reason and compass?

Well, what is it? Is it reasonable and possible?

Iago

Sir, there is especial commission come from Venice to depute Cassio in Othello’s place.

Sir, special orders have come from Venice appointing Cassio to Othello's position.

Roderigo

Is that true? Why then Othello and Desdemona return again to Venice.

Is that true? Then Othello and Desdemona will return to Venice.

Iago

O, no; he goes into Mauritania, and takes away with him the fair Desdemona, unless his abode be lingered here by some accident: wherein none can be so determinate as the removing of Cassio.

Oh, no. He is going to Mauritania and taking beautiful Desdemona with him, unless some accident keeps him here longer. Nothing could do that more certainly than getting rid of Cassio.

Roderigo

How do you mean “removing” of him?

What do you mean by “getting rid of” him?

Iago

Why, by making him uncapable of Othello’s place: knocking out his brains.

Why, making him unable to take Othello's position: smashing his brains out.

Roderigo

And that you would have me to do?

And you want me to do that?

Iago

Ay, if you dare do yourself a profit and a right. He sups tonight with a harlotry, and thither will I go to him. He knows not yet of his honourable fortune. If you will watch his going thence, which I will fashion to fall out between twelve and one, you may take him at your pleasure: I will be near to second your attempt, and he shall fall between us. Come, stand not amazed at it, but go along with me. I will show you such a necessity in his death that you shall think yourself bound to put it on him. It is now high supper-time, and the night grows to waste. About it.

Yes, if you dare to help yourself and get what you deserve. He's having supper tonight with a whore, and I'll go there to see him. He doesn't yet know about his honorable promotion. If you watch for him to leave, which I'll arrange to happen between twelve and one, you can attack him whenever you choose. I'll be nearby to support your attack, and between us we'll kill him. Come, don't stand there stunned. Come along with me. I'll show you why his death is so necessary that you'll feel obliged to kill him. Suppertime is already well along, and the night is slipping away. Let's get to work.

Roderigo

I will hear further reason for this.

I want to hear more reasons for doing this.

Iago

And you shall be satisfied.

And I'll give you enough to satisfy you.