Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

 

O, that’s an honest fellow. –Do not doubt, Cassio,

But I will have my lord and you again

As friendly as you were.

 

-Desdemona

Othello                       Act III Scene iii, Line 5

The first part of this quote is Desdemona talking to Iago’s wife Emilia, and, of course, the one being referred to as an honest fellow is, you guessed it, Iago; good ‘ol, honest Iago. In the remainder of today’s Totally Random line she has turned to address Michael Cassio, assuring him that she will speak to Othello on his behalf.

So, this is line 5 of scene iii, a scene with 478 lines. This morning I listened to the full scene, about a half hour long. It’s a fabulous scene.  Othello walks into the scene a few lines down from today’s Totally Random line in perfect contentment. He leaves the scene some four hundred lines later convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity with Cassio and thinking about how he will murder her: Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her! 

In between, honest Iago works his spell in the most dishonest way; good ‘ol honest Iago.