Othello Sex Quotes

And mark the fleers, the gibes, and notable scorns,
That dwell in every region of his face;
For I will make him tell the tale anew,
Where, how, how oft, how long ago, and when
He hath, and is again to cope your wife:
I say, but mark his gesture.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 1. Iago sets out to play a cruel trick on Othello. Ordering Othello to hide, Iago says that he will engage Cassio and get him to talk about details of his sexual affair with Desdemona. Othello can then observe Cassio’s facial expressions, his sneers and scorns. Iago will be actually asking Cassio about Bianca, but Othello won’t hear what they are saying and will think they are talking about Desdemona. Iago is staging this event to inflame Othello’s jealousy.

A housewife that by selling her desires
Buys herself bread and clothes: it is a creature
That dotes on Cassio; as ’tis the strumpet’s plague
To beguile many and be beguiled by one.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 1. Iago’s scathing description of Bianca and her life as a housewife selling her body for food and clothing shows his misogynistic view of women. In love with Cassio, Iago mockingly says it is the curse of whores like Bianca to "beguile many and be beguiled by one." The irony is that Iago is a beguiler of many whose ability to deceive and manipulate comes as second nature to him.

Ay, you did wish that I would make her turn:
Sir, she can turn, and turn, and yet go on,
And turn again; and she can weep, sir, weep;
And she’s obedient, as you say, obedient,
Very obedient. Proceed you in your tears.
Concerning this, sir, – O well-painted passion!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 1. When Lodovico protests that Othello should call Desdemona back to apologize after hitting and dismissing her, we get this muddled speech in response. Othello’s deteriorating mental state is reflected in his disjointed language. He doesn’t seem to be able to properly articulate why he is so upset. He appears to suggest that Desdemona is available for sex to any man, including Lodovico. He dismisses his wife’s weeping as "well-painted passion" or fake tears. He is speaking here to Lodovico, while also talking to Desdemona, and not making a great deal of sense.

Some of your function, mistress;
Leave procreants alone and shut the door;
Cough, or cry ‘hem,’ if any body come:
Your mystery, your mystery: nay, dispatch.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Othello dismisses Emilia by using the crude metaphor of her as a whorehouse madam with the implication that Desdemona is a whore. He tells her to do her job and stand guard outside the lovers’ door so she can warn them if anyone is coming. Having gone through a drastic personality transformation, Othello is at his women-hating worst here with Emilia becoming the target for his ire.

The fountain from the which my current runs,
Or else dries up; to be discarded thence!
Or keep it as a cistern for foul toads
To knot and gender in! Turn thy complexion there,
Patience, thou young and rose-lipp’d cherubin, –
Ay, there, look grim as hell!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. The metaphorical image of a fountain is used for Desdemona as Othello’s life sustaining force, which has dried now that he believes she has been unfaithful. He uses grotesque animal imagery, saying that if he keeps her, she will become a toilet for toads to have sex in. Patience is personified as a cherubin looking "grim as hell" at the thought of this.

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

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Desdemona stands up for herself against Othello’s charge that she is a "strumpet" or prostitute. She uses religious language to try to convince him of her faithfulness and chastity. When she says that she has preserved her body "from any other unlawful touch," she is telling the truth. But Othello is so blinded by jealousy that he cannot see this.

You, you, ay, you!
We have done our course; there’s money for your pains:
I pray you, turn the key and keep our counsel.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Othello shouts this to Emilia and gives her money just before he exits the castle room in Cyprus. Then he storms out. He is using the cruel metaphor of Desdemona as a whore and Emilia her madam, as if he is paying for their sexual services. In this scene Emilia becomes the target for Othello’s women-hating as he believes she is conspiring with his wife against him.

If thou the next night following enjoy not Desdemona, take me from this world with treachery and devise engines for my life.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 2. Iago promises Roderigo he has a plan that will result in Roderigo having sex with Desdemona by the following night. The plan is to set him up to murder his rival in love Cassio. Iago is of course lying and giving false hope to Roderigo, knowing he will never win Desdemona. When Iago tells Roderigo that he will be able to "enjoy" Desdemona, he displays his true sexist colors, seeing women as the possessions and playthings of men.

I call’d my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow:
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 3. Desdemona sings "The Willow Song" about a woman’s lost love and heartbreak, which very much mirrors her own situation. The willow is the tree of sadness and grief. Like the woman in the song, Desdemona is brokenhearted at having lost Othello’s love. Just as the man in the song has spurned the woman, amid accusations of infidelity, Othello has cruelly accused the innocent Desdemona of adultery. The song’s words "couch with moe men" means to sleep with more men.

But I do think it is their husbands’ faults
If wives do fall: say that they slack their duties,
And pour our treasures into foreign laps,
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant our former having in despite;
Why, we have galls, and though we have some grace,
Yet have we some revenge.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 3. Emilia refuses to condemn a wife for being unfaithful, but instead blames the husband for driving her to promiscuity. Using "treasures" as a metaphor for lovemaking, she says that unfaithful men neglect wives sexual needs and pour the seed that is rightfully theirs into other women. Or they impose restrains on wives out of jealousy, or physically abuse them. So women seek revenge by cheating too. Emilia is speaking about the role of women to Desdemona, whose husband Othello is consumed with jealousy and hit her in an earlier scene. Believing strongly in female equality,she is highlighting the double standard women face in male-female sexual relations.

Let husbands know
Their wives have sense like them: they see and smell
And have their palates both for sweet and sour,
As husbands have. What is it that they do
When they change us for others? Is it sport?
I think it is: and doth affection breed it?
I think it doth: is ‘t frailty that thus errs?
It is so too: and have not we affections,
Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have?
Then let them use us well: else let them know,
The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 4, Scene 3. This speech by Emilia is often referred to as her "feminist speech." In it she breaks down gender barriers and challenges the sexual double standard that exists regarding gender and fidelity. When it comes to married men having affairs, she believes that what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Wives share the same senses, palates, frailties, affections and sexual desires as men, she points out. In her plea for women’s liberation and equality in marriage, she warns that husbands should treat their wives well. Otherwise the bad things wives do, they will have learned them from their husbands. Emilia’s speech mirrors Shylock’s famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech in The Merchant of Venice. It is also about double standards, Shylock arguing that if it’s right for one group to behave in a certain way, then it’s right for all groups.
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