Othello Questions and Answers
by William Shakespeare

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Discuss the irony in act IV, scene 2, lines 131-145. What do we know that Emilia does not?

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This whole scene epitomizes Emilia's naivety and ignorance at this point in the play. She's openly lamenting the fact that Othello has just called Desdemona a whore and slapped her in public. Why is he behaving like this? And where on earth did he get such a terrible, slanderous notion? Whoever gave him this idea is an "eternal villain."

Unbeknownst to Emilia (and this is where the dramatic irony comes in), the dastardly villain she's describing is actually Iago, who pretends to be outraged at Othello's actions. Because Emilia is so utterly loyal and devoted to her husband, she hasn't the faintest idea that he's...

(The entire section contains 3 answers and 326 words.)

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