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Otello, a Moorish general - tenor Desdemona, his wife - soprano Iago, Otello's ensign - baritone Emilia, wife of Iago and maid of Desdemona - mezzo-soprano Cassio, Otello's captain - tenor Roderigo, a gentleman of Venice - tenor Lodovico, ambassador of the Venetian Republic - bass Montano, former Governor of Cyprus - bass A herald - bass Chorus: Venetian soldiers and sailors; and Cypriot townsfolk and children Time: The late 1400s. Place: A coastal city on the island of Cyprus. The action takes place in Cyprus, at the end of the fifteenth century. Outside the castle, with the sea-walls and sea in the background. An inn with a pergola. It is evening. A thunderstorm is raging. CYPRIOTS A sail! A sail! A standard! A standard! MONTANO ’Tis the winged Lion of St. Mark! CASSIO Now the lightning flash reveals it. CYPRIOTS A fanfare! A fanfare! The cannon has roared. CASSIO It is the General’s ship. MONTANO Now she is engulfed, anon is tossed skywards. CASSIO Her prow rises from the waves. SOME CYPRIOTS Veiled by mist and water, the lightning flash reveals her. ALL Flashes! Crashes! Whirlpools! Howling winds and thunder’s mighty roar! Air and water shake together, shaken is the ocean-floor! (A large group of Cypriot women enters from the back.) Black-browed and blind, a spirit wild of chaos cleaves the air. WOMEN (shrieking) Ah! ALL God shakes the sullen sky about like sable drapery. WOMEN Ah! ALL All is smoke! All is fire! The dense and dreadful fog bursts into flame, and then subsides in greater gloom. Convulsed the cosmos, glacial surges the spectre-like north-wind, and titanic trumpet-calls sound fanfares in the sky! (turning towards the quay with gestures of fear and supplication) God, the splendour of the tempest! God, the sandbank’s luring smile! Save the treasure and the standard of the Venetian enterprise! Thou, who guidest stars and fortunes, Thou, who rulest earth and sky, grant that in a tranquil ocean may the trusty anchor lie. IAGO The mainmast’s broken off! RODERIGO Her prow is dashing on that rock! ONLOOKERS O help! O help! IAGO (to Roderigo) May the ocean’s seething belly be his tomb! ONLOOKERS Safe! He’s safe! SAILORS (from on board the ship) Lower the tenders! All hands to the ropes! Steady! Pull on the oars! To shore! (distant thunder) To the quayside! To the landing! ONLOOKERS Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! (Othello enters, ascending the steps from theshore to the ramparts followed by a number of soldiers and sailors.) OTHELLO Rejoice! The Muslim pride is buried in the deep. Ours and heaven’s is the glory. After our arms the storm has conquered it. ONLOOKERS Hurrah for Othello! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Victory! Victory! (Othello enters the castle followed by Cassio, Montano and the soldiers.) Victory! Victory! Destruction! Destruction! Dispersed, destroyed, engulfed they plummetted into the raging deep! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Destruction! Destruction! etc. Their requiem shall be the sharp scourge of the spray, the swirl of the whirlwind, the scend of the sea. Victory! Victory! Dispersed, destroyed, etc. Hurrah! (Distant thunder. The storm is passing away.) Spent is the tempest’s fury. IAGO (aside to Roderigo) Well, Roderigo, what think you? RODERIGO Of drowning myself. IAGO Only an idiot drowns himself for love of a woman. (While the ship is being unloaded and weapons and baggage are being carried from her into the castle, some citizens emerge from behind the fortress carrying branches to make a bonfire which, by the light of torches held by the soldiers, they construct to one side of the ramparts. The crowd gathers around, excited and curious.) RODERIGO How to win I know not. IAGO Come, keep your wits about you, await the ministry of time; the beautiful Desdemona, who in your secret dreams you so adore, will soon begin to abhor the murky kisses of that thick-lipped savage. Good Roderigo, your friend sincere I have professed myself, and I could never do more for you than in your present need. If the frail vow of a woman be not too hard a knot for my wits and all the tribe of hell to untie, I promise that the woman shall be yours. Listen, though I make show of loving him, I hate the Moor. (Cassio enters and joins a group of soldiers.) Here comes one reason for my hatred, look. (pointing to Cassio) That curled captain usurps my place, the place that I by a hundred well-fought battles have richly earned; such was Othello’s will, and I remain his Moorish Lordship’s ancient! (Puffs of smoke begin to rise from the wood with increasing density.) But just as sure as you are Roderigo, so sure it is, that if I were the Moor I should not want an Iago about me. If you heed my counsel... (Still talking, Iago leads Roderigo further away. Flames begin to leap up from the fire, and the Cypriots gather round it, singing. Meanwhile, the tavern servants decorate the pergola with lanterns. Soldiers gather round the tables, drinking and talking.) CYPRIOTS Fire of rejoicing! The jovial flame by its glow compels night to depart. It leaps and sparkles, crackles and flares, bright radiance invading the heart! Drawn by the firelight, shadowy faces flit in ever-mutating rings, now like maidens singing sweetly, now like moths with flamy wings. Palm and sycamore burn together, the bride sings with her own true love, on golden flame and happy chorus blow ardent zephyrs from above, etc. The fire of rejoicing flames but a moment! Gone in a moment are passion’s fires! Glowing, fading, throbbing, wavering, the last flicker leaps and expires. The fire of rejoicing flames but a moment! Glowing, fading, throbbing, wavering, the last flicker leaps and expires. Fire of rejoicing, etc. (The fire dies down gradually: the storm has ceased completely.) ... leaps and expires! (Iago, Roderigo, Cassio and a group of soldiers are gathered around a table on which wine has been placed.) IAGO Roderigo, let’s drink ! (to Cassio) Give me your cup, Captain! CASSIO I’ll drink no more. IAGO (raising the jug towards Cassio’s cup) Swallow this mouthful. CASSIO (removing his cup) No. IAGO But look! All Cyprus has gone mad today! This is a night of rejoicing, so... CASSIO Enough. My head’s on fire already after drinking one cup. IAGO Come, you must drink again. To the marriage of Othello and Desdemona! CYPRIOTS Hurrah! CASSIO (raising his glass and sipping the wine) She makes this isle the fairer! IAGO (aside to Roderigo) Listen to him. CASSIO With her charm and radiance she conquers every heart. RODERIGO Yet she is so modest. CASSIO You, Iago, will sing her praises,... IAGO (aside to Roderigo) Listen to him. (aloud to Cassio) I am but a critic. CASSIO ... yet she paragons description. IAGO (aside to Roderigo) Beware of this Cassio. RODERIGO What do you fear? IAGO (to Roderigo) He prattles with too much enthusiasm, spurred on by vigorous youth, and is a subtle knave who’ll prove a hindrance to you. Take care... RODERIGO And so? IAGO If he should get drunk he is lost! Make him drink. (to the tavern servants) Some wine here, lads! (Iago fills three glasses: one for himself, one for Roderigo, one for Cassio. The servants circulate among the guests with jugs of wine; the crowd draws closer and looks on with curiosity.) (with glass in hand, to Cassio) Come wet your whistle! Drink deep, gulp it down before song and glass both disappear! CASSIO (with glass in hand, to Iago) This true manna of the vine with charming visions clouds the mind. IAGO (to everyone) Who has ever succumbed to the Bacchic ode strange and fantastic, come, drink with me, drink with me, drink, drink, etc. ... come, drink with me! RODERIGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS Who has ever succumbed, etc. he drinks with you,... IAGO Drink, drink... RODERIGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS ... drinks with you... IAGO ... drink, drink... RODERIGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS ... drinks with you... ... drinks... IAGO ... drink! RODERIGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS ... drinks, drinks, drinks with you! IAGO (to Roderigo, indicating Cassio) One more sip and he’s tight as a drum. RODERIGO (to Iago) One more sip and he’s tight as a drum. IAGO (to all) When I get drunk the world vibrates! I challenge the ironic Deity and fate! CASSIO (drinking some more wine) Like a melodious lute I quiver; pleasure cavorts around my path! IAGO Who has ever succumbed, etc. RODERIGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS, THEN IAGO Who has ever succumbed, etc. IAGO (to Roderigo) One more sip and he’s tight as a drum. RODERIGO (to Iago) One more sip and he’s tight as a drum. IAGO (out loud, to all) From the potent flagon cowards fly... CASSIO (interrupting) I’m not afraid to bare my soul! ... (drinks) IAGO (interrupting) ... who have evil thoughts to hide. CASSIO I fear not, I fear not the truth ... (staggering) IAGO Who has ever suc... ... to the Bacchic... Drink with me, drink with me. CASSIO ... I fear not the truth, etc. ... I fear not the truth, and I drink, and I drink and I drink, and... IAGO Ah! Drink with me! SOME BYSTANDERS (laughing) Aha, aha, etc. ... aha, aha, etc. CASSIO The cup... IAGO (to Roderigo) He’s drunk as a lord... ... Away, provoke him to an argument; he’s full of quarrel, will strike you, general uproar will ensue! Think, that by doing thus you can disturb the happy Othello’s first night of love. CASSIO The brim... of the cup... (his voice thickening even more) The brim... of the cup... the brim... (The others are laughing at him.) RODERIGO (aside, replying to Iago) And ’tis that that spurs me on. CASSIO ... is pur... pur... purple-stained ... RODERIGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS Ah, aha, aha, aha! Drink, drink with me, etc. IAGO Drink, drink! RODERIGO, IAGO, CYPRIOTS, SOLDIERS Drink, drink, drink with me! CASSIO I drink drink, drink with you! (They all drink.) MONTANO (coming from the castle, to Cassio) Captain, the watch awaits you on the platform. CASSIO (staggering) Let’s go then! MONTANO What’s this I see? IAGO (to Montano, approaching him closely) Every night in like manner does Cassio prelude sleep. MONTANO Othello shall know about it! CASSIO Let’s go the the platform. RODERIGO (laughing) Ah! ah!... ... Ah! ah! MEN Ah! ah! CASSIO Who laughs? RODERIGO (provoking him) I laugh at a drunkard! CASSIO Defend yourself! (flinging himself at Roderigo) Scoundrel! RODERIGO (defending himself) Drunken rogue! CASSIO Knave! No one can save you now! MONTANO (separating them by force and turning to Cassio) Hold your hand, sir, I pray you. CASSIO (to Montano) I’ll crack your head in two if you seek to interfere! MONTANO Words of a drunkard... CASSIO A drunkard? (He draws his sword. Montano draws his too. A furious fight ensues. The crowd draws back.) IAGO (aside to Roderigo) Go to the port; with all the strength you have cry out: Revolt! Revolt! Go! Spread tumult, horror through the town, let the bell sound the alarm! (Roderigo runs off. Iago quickly turns to the two combatants.) Gentlemen, cease this barbarous brawl! WOMEN (fleeing) Let’s away! IAGO Heavens! Montano’s bleeding fast! What a furious fight! WOMEN Let’s away! Let’s away! IAGO Hold!... MEN Hold!... IAGO Hold! MEN Hold! WOMEN They’re killing each other! MEN Peace! IAGO No one can stop this brawling now! (to the bystanders) Cry the alarm! They are possessed by Satan! MEN To arms! To arms! WOMEN, then ALL Help! Help! etc. MEN To arms! To arms! WOMEN, THEN ALL Help! etc. (Meanwhile the tocsin is pealing; the fight continues and the women flee. Othello enters followed by torchbearers. The bell falls silent.) OTHELLO Down with your weapons! (The combatants stop fighting.) How now! What is the matter here? Am I among Saracens? Or has the Ottomites’ rage infected you with homicidal fury towards each other? Honest Iago, for that love you bear me, speak. IAGO I do not know... Here all were courteous friends but now, and cheerful too ... and then quite suddenly, as if an evil planet had appeared and cast a spell of witchcraft on men’s minds, swords out and tilting furiously at each other. Would I had severed these feet before they brought me here! OTHELLO How comes it, Cassio, you are thus forgot? CASSIO Your mercy... pardon me... I cannot speak... OTHELLO Montano... MONTANO (supported by a soldier) I am wounded... OTHELLO Wounded! Now by heaven my blood begins to boil! Ah! Anger puts to flight our guardian angel! (Desdemona enters. Othello quickly goes to her.) What? My gentle Desdemona too has had her dreams disturbed on your account? Cassio, you have lost your captaincy. (Cassio lets his sword fall and Iago picks it up.) IAGO (handing the sword to one of the soldiers and speaking aside) Oh! What a triumph for me! OTHELLO Iago, go about the frightened town with this patrol, restore the shattered peace. (Iago leaves.) Someone help Montano. (Montano is helped into the castle.) Let every one return to his own house. (with an imperious gesture) I shall not leave this place until I see the battlements deserted. (All depart. Othello makes a sign to the torchbearers who accompanied him to return to the castle. He and Desdemona remain alone.) Now as the darkness deepens all harsh sounds die away, and now my turbulent heart finds peace in this embrace and calm refreshment. Let cannons roar and all the world collapse if after the immeasurable wrath comes this immeasurable love! DESDEMONA My splendid warrior! What anguish, what deep sighs and high hopes have strewn the path to our glad union! Oh, how sweet to murmur thus together! Do you remember? You used to tell me of your life in exile, of violent deeds and suffering long endured, and I would listen, transported by the tales that terrified, but thrilled my heart as well. OTHELLO I would describe the clash of arms, the fight and violent thrust toward the fatal breach, the assault, when hands, like grisly tendrils, clung to bastions amid the hissing darts. DESDEMONA Then you would lead me to the glaring desert, to scorching sands, the country of your birth; and then you would relate your sufferings, tell me of chains and slavery’s agony. OTHELLO Softened was your lovely face by tears, your lips by sighs, when I my story told; upon my darkness shone a radiance, heaven and all the stars in benediction! DESDEMONA And I descried upon your dusky temples genius’ ethereal beauty shining there. OTHELLO You loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved you that you did pity them. DESDEMONA I loved you for the dangers you had passed, and you loved me that I did pity them. OTHELLO And you loved me... DESDEMONA And you loved me... OTHELLO ... and I loved you... ... that you did pity them. DESDEMONA ... that I did pity them. OTHELLO Let death come now, that in the ecstasy of this embrace I meet my hour of hours! (The storm clouds have now completely (disappeared. There are stars in the sky and on the rim of the horizon can be seen the azure disc of the rising moon.) Such is the rapture of my soul, I fear that never more to me may be vouchsafed to know such bliss in all the hidden future of my fate. DESDEMONA May heaven dispel all cares and love change not throughout the changing years. OTHELLO To that prayer of yours may all the heavenly host reply ‘‘amen’’! DESDEMONA ‘‘Amen’’ be the reply! OTHELLO (leaning against the parapet) Ah! Joy floods my breast so piercingly that I must lay me down and pant for breath... A kiss... DESDEMONA Othello! OTHELLO ... a kiss... another kiss! (rising and looking at the sky) The blazing Pleiades sinks beneath the waves. DESDEMONA The night is far advanced. OTHELLO Come... Venus is radiant! DESDEMONA Othello! (Clasped in each other’s arms they go towards the castle.) A large chamber on the ground floor of the castle. Glazed arches and a terrace divide the chamber from the gardens beyond. IAGO (on the near side of the terrace, to Cassio, on the far side) Don’t torment yourself. Heed what I say, and soon you’ll be restored to the frolicsome embrace of mistress Bianca, proud captain with your golden hilt and decorated sword-belt. CASSIO Don’t flatter me. IAGO Listen carefully to me. You must be aware that Desdemona is now our general’s general; he lives for her alone. Do you beseech her that her gentle spirit may intercede for you, and your pardon is assured. CASSIO But how shall I speak to her? IAGO It is her custom in the afternoon to stroll in the shade of those trees with my wife. Wait for her there. The way to your salvation now lies open; go to it! (Cassio walks away. Iago watches him.) Go to it! Your end I see already. You are driven by your daemon and I am that daemon, and I am dragged along by mine, the inexorable God in whom I believe. (walking away from the terrace without another glance at Cassio, who has now vanished among the trees) I believe in a cruel God who created me in his image and who in fury I name. From the very vileness of a germ or an atom, vile was I born. I am a wretch because I am a man, and I feel within me the primeval slime. Yes! This is my creed! I believe with a heart as steadfast as that of the widow in church, that the evil I think and that which I perform I think and do by destiny’s decree. I believe the just man to be a mocking actor in face and heart; that all his being is a lie, tear, kiss, glance, sacrifice and honour. And I believe man the sport of evil fate from the germ of the cradle to the worm of the grave. After all this mockery then comes Death. And then?... And then? Death is nothingness, heaven an old wives’ tale. (Desdemona appears, walking in the garden with Emilia. Iago darts to the terrace, on the other side of which Cassio is standing.) (to Cassio) There she is!... Cassio... it’s up to you! Now’s the moment. Rouse yourself... Here comes Desdemona. (Cassio goes towards Desdemona, bows to her and steps closer.) He’s made a move; he bows and approaches her. Now let Othello be brought hither!... Satan, assist my enterprise! Now they speak together... and, smiling, she turns her lovely face to him. (Cassio and Desdemona are seen walking up and down in the garden.) I need but a single ray of such a smile to drag Othello to his doom. Away... (starting to walk quickly away, then stopping suddenly) But fate plays into my hands. Here he comes... to my post, to work! (He takes up a position by the terrace and stands there motionless, his eyes fixed upon Cassio and Desdemona. Othello enters; Iago pretends not to have seen him and speaks as if to himself.) I like not that... OTHELLO (approaching Iago) What are you saying? IAGO Nothing... You here? An idle word escaped my lips. OTHELLO The man now leaving my wife, is that Cassio? (They both turn away from the terrace.) IAGO Cassio? No... that man gave a guilty start on seeing you. OTHELLO I believe it was Cassio. IAGO My lord... OTHELLO What is it? IAGO Did Cassio, in the early days of your courtship, not know Desdemona? OTHELLO He did. Why do you ask? IAGO A thought crossed my mind, whimsical, but without malice. OTHELLO Tell me your thought, Iago. IAGO Did you confide in Cassio? OTHELLO He would often carry a gift or note to my bride. IAGO Indeed? OTHELLO Ay, indeed. Do you not think him honest? IAGO (imitating Othello) Honest? OTHELLO What are you hiding from me? IAGO What am I hiding, my lord? OTHELLO ‘‘What am I hiding, my lord?’’ By heaven, you echo me!... The inner chamber of your brain harbours some terrible monster. Indeed, I heard you saying even now, ‘‘ I like not that!’’ What did you not like? You mentioned Cassio then did contract and purse your brow together. Come, speak if you love me! IAGO You know that I love you. OTHELLO Speak then without concealment or ambiguity. Speak as you think, and give your worst of thoughts the worst of words! IAGO Even if my heart were in your hand that thought you would not know. OTHELLO Ah!... IAGO (coming very close to Othello and speaking in an undertone) Beware, my lord, of jealousy! ’Tis a spiteful monster, livid, blind, with her own venom self-poisoned, with a vivid wound upon her bosom. OTHELLO O misery! No! I have no use for baseless doubts. Before doubt comes enquiry, after doubt comes proof, after the proof – Othello has his supreme laws – away with love and jealousy together. IAGO (with greater urgency) A statement such as that breaks the seal upon my lips. I speak not yet of proof, but, bounteous Othello, look to it, for often natures that are free and noble do not suspect deception: look to it. Observe well Desdemona’s speech; a word could restore trust or reaffirm suspicion. DISTANT VOICES Whereso’er you turn your gaze light shines, hearts are afire, whereso’er you walk cascades of blossoms fill the air. Here among lilies and roses, as if to an altar chaste, fathers, children and matrons, come with serenades. IAGO (in an undertone as before) Here she comes... Observe her well! (Desdemona reappears in the garden, on the far side of the great central arch; she is surrounded by women of the island, children and Cypriot and Albanian sailors, who approach to offer flowers, branches of blossom and other gifts. Some accompany their own singing on the ‘‘guzla’’, a kind of mandolin, others play on small harps which hang around their necks.) GROUP AROUND DESDEMONA Whereso’er you turn your gaze light shines, hearts are afire, whereso’er you walk, cascades of blossoms fill the air. Here among lilies and roses, as if to an altar chaste, fathers, children and matrons come with serenades. CHILDREN We proffer lilies, tender flowers, by angels borne to heavenly bowers, which ornament the gleaming mantle and gown of the Madonna gentle and her holy veil. MEN AND WOMEN While on the breezes wing aloft the accents gay, the nimble mandolin accompanies the lay. SAILORS (offering trinkets of coral and pearl to Desdemona) For you these shells and pearls and dyes we culled from caves beneath the brine. Desdemona with our gifts would we bedeck like an image in a shrine. CHILDREN AND WOMEN While on the breezes, etc. WOMEN (scattering leaves and flowers) Take this flowery harvest we strew from our kirtles upon the ground for you, in showers upon the ground. The April air the bride’s golden hair doth in a shimmering aura of dew, sunlit, surround. CHILDREN, MEN While on the breezes wing, etc. ALL Whereso’er you turn your gaze, light shines, hearts are afire; whereso’er you walk, cascades of blossoms fill the air. To this bower of lilies and roses, as if to an altar chaste, fathers, children and matrons come with serenades. DESDEMONA The sky is shining, breezes dance, flowers scent the air... OTHELLO (gently moved) That song subdues my heart! DESDEMONA ... In my heart the songs of joy, love, hope I hear. IAGO (aside) Beauty and love are in sweet harmony. CHILDREN, MEN AND WOMEN May you be happy!... OTHELLO If she be false to me... DESDEMONA Joy and love sing in my breast! OTHELLO ...then Heaven mocks itself! IAGO ...But I’ll untune the strings that make this music! CHILDREN, MEN AND WOMEN ... May you be happy! Farewell! Here Love is lord! OTHELLO That song subdues my heart. IAGO (under his breath) I’ll untune the strings that make this music! (Desdemona kisses the heads of some of the children, several women kiss the hem of her gown and she presents a purse to the sailors. The group disperses. Desdemona, followed by Emilia, enters the chamber and approaches Othello.) DESDEMONA (to Othello) A man that languishes in your displeasure has sent me with a suit. OTHELLO Who is’t you mean? DESDEMONA Cassio. OTHELLO Was it he who spoke with you just now under those trees? DESDEMONA It was he, and his grief so moved me by its sincerity that he deserves forgiveness. For him I intercede, for him I plead. Forgive him. OTHELLO Not now. DESDEMONA Do not deny me. Forgive him. OTHELLO Not now! DESDEMONA Why does your voice sound harsh? Are you not well? OTHELLO My temples throb. DESDEMONA (taking out her handkerchief and making as if to bind Othello’s temples) The troublesome fever will away if with this soft linen I bind your head. OTHELLO (throwing the handkerchief to the ground) I have no need of that. DESDEMONA You’re vexed, my lord. OTHELLO Leave me alone! (Emilia picks up the handkerchief.) DESDEMONA If I in ignorance, my lord, have you offended, O say the sweet and happy word of pardon. OTHELLO (aside) Haply because I am not practised in the deceitful arts of love... DESDEMONA Your loving bride am I, humble and submissive; but sighs fall from your lips, your eyes are fixed on the ground. Look in my face and see how love is there expressed! Come, let me lighten your heart... OTHELLO ... or for I am declined into the vale of years, or that my complexion is of this dusky hue, and that I am not practised in love’s deceitful arts, or that I am declined into the vale of years, or that my complexion is of this dusky hue... IAGO (aside, to Emilia) Give me that handkerchief you picked up just now! EMILIA (to Iago) What mischief’s in your mind? I can read your face. IAGO You resist in vain when I command! EMILIA Your wicked envy well I know. IAGO Foolish suspicion! EMILIA A faithful guardian is my hand... IAGO Give me that handkerchief! EMILIA ... a faithful guardian is my hand! IAGO (siezing Emilia’s arm savagely) My hand is poised o’er you in anger! EMILIA Your wife am I, not your slave! IAGO The unchaste slave of Iago are you! EMILIA My heart forewarns me of some calamity. IAGO Do you not fear me? EMILIA Cruel man! IAGO Give me... EMILIA What would you? IAGO Give me that handkerchief! EMILIA Cruel man! (Iago snatches the handkerchief from Emilia.) DESDEMONA ... let me soothe your pain! EMILIA Cruelty and cowardice have clawed a victory. OTHELLO ... she is lost and I am mocked... DESDEMONA Look in my face and see how love is there expressed! OTHELLO ... and my heart is broken and trampled in the mire I see my dream of bliss! EMILIA May God ever keep us safe from all danger! IAGO My hands already grasp the threads; now, Iago, to weave the web! EMILIA Cruelty and cowardice have clawed a victory! OTHELLO She is lost and I am mocked... DESDEMONA Look in my face and see how love is there expressed, etc. OTHELLO ... and my heart is broken, etc. EMILIA May God ever keep us, etc. IAGO My hands already, etc. DESDEMONA Say the sweet and happy word of pardon! OTHELLO Hence! I would be alone. IAGO (covertly, to Emilia who is about to leave) Say nothing of this. You understand? (Desdemona and Emilia leave. Iago makes a pretence of leaving through the door at the back, but when he reaches it he stops.) OTHELLO (sinking exhausted upon a stool) Desdemona false!... IAGO (at the back, looking surreptitiously at the handkerchief, then replacing it carefully in his doublet) With these threads shall I weave the proof of the sin of love. It shall be hidden in Cassio’s lodging. OTHELLO ... Monstrous thought! IAGO (looking fixedly at Othello) My poison does its work. OTHELLO ... False toward me! Toward me!!! IAGO Suffer and roar! OTHELLO Monstrous! Monstrous! IAGO (having approached Othello, good-naturedly) Think no more of it. OTHELLO (taken by surprise) You! Hence! Avaunt! You have lashed me to the cross! Alas!... More monstrous than the most monstrous abuse of abuse itself is suspicion. Of her stolen hours of lust (and stolen from me!) had I no presentiment in my breast? I was contented, merry... Nothing knew I as yet; I found not on her sweet body which I so love or on her lying lips Cassio’s ardent kisses! And now!... And now... Now, and forever farewell, sacred memories, farewell, sublime enchantments of the mind! Farewell, shining battalions and victories, the flying arrow and the flying steed! Farewell to the standard triumphant and holy and the shrill fife that sounded to reveille! Pride, pomp and circumstance of war, farewell! Farewell, Othello’s glory’s at an end! IAGO Be calm, my lord. OTHELLO Villain! Be sure to find a proof secure that Desdemona’s unchaste... Stay! Do not flee! It would avail you nought! Bring me the sure, the ocular proof! Or on your head accumulate and fall the bolts of my terrible wakened wrath! (He seizes Iago by the throat and hurls him to the floor.) IAGO 0 heavenly grace defend me! (rising) May heaven protect you! 1 am no longer your ensign. The world may be my witness that honesty is dangerous. (He turns as if to leave.) OTHELLO No... stay. You may be honest. IAGO (by the door, making a pretence of leaving) ’Twere better had I been a charlatan. OTHELLO By the world! I believe Desdemona to be loyal and believe her not to be so; I think that you are honest and think you disloyal... I’ll have some proof! I must have certainty! IAGO (moving towards Othello) My lord, curb your anxieties. What proof would satisfy you? To see them clasped together? OTHELLO Oh! Death and damnation! IAGO That would be a difficult undertaking; but of what assurance are you dreaming if the filthy deed itself forever must escape you? But yet if reason be the guide to truth I may propose a circumstance so strong that it will lead you near to certainty. Listen. (approaching close to Othello) It was night, Cassio lay sleeping, I was close by him. In broken phrases he was revealing an inward enchantment. Slowly, slowly his lips were moving in the abandon of passionate dreams; then he did speak with faint murmuring voice: “Sweet Desdemona! Let us hide our loves. Let us be wary! I am quite bathed in heavenly ecstasy!” The pleasure of his dream intensified; softly enraptured, he seemed to almost kiss the inner vision, then did he say: “I curse the cruel fate that gave thee to the Moor.” And then the dream was changed into blind lethargy. OTHELLO 0 monstrous guilt! IAGO 1 told you but a dream. OTHELLO A dream that reveals a fact. IAGO A dream that may give substance to another circumstance. OTHELLO And which is that? IAGO Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief embroidered with flowers in Desdemona’s hand, of finer stuff than lawn? OTHELLO That is the handkerchief I gave her, first token of my love. IAGO That handkerchief I saw – I am sure of it – yesterday in the hand of Cassio! OTHELLO O, that God had given him a thousand lives! One is too poor a prey for my revenge! Iago, my heart is ice. Banished be the spirits of mercy. All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven. Watch me...’tis gone! In its snaky coils the hydra has entwined me! O, blood, blood, blood! (He kneels.) Now, by yond marble heaven! By the jagged lightning-flash! By Death, and by the dark death-dealing ocean flood! In fury and dire compulsion shall thunder-bolts soon rain (raising his hands to the sky) from this hand that I raise outstretched! (He starts to rise; Iago prevents him.) IAGO (kneeling also) Do not rise yet! Witness, you sun that I gaze on, which lights me and which animates the broad earth and the spiritual expanse of the whole universe, that to Othello I do consecrate ardently heart, hands and soul even though on bloody business his will be bent! OTHELLO, IAGO (raising their hands to heaven in an oath-taking gesture) Now, by yond marble heaven! By the jagged lightning-flash, etc. God of vengeance! The great hall of the castle. On the right a broad colonnade. This colonnade is adjacent to a hall of smaller proportions. A terrace at the far end. A HERALD (from the colonnade, to Othello who is with Iago in the hall) The harbour watch has signalled the arrival of the Venetian galley which brings the ambassadors to Cyprus. OTHELLO Good. (He makes a sign to dismiss the herald. The herald leaves.) (to Iago) Continue. IAGO I will bring Cassio here, and cunningly will lure him on to gossip. (indicating the embrasure on the terrace) Hidden there, you can observe his manner, his words, his gibes, his gestures. Have patience, or the proof will escape you. Here comes Desdemona. ‘Twere expedient to dissemble ...I’ll leave you. (He starts to walk towards the door, then stops and returns to say one last word to Othello.) The handkerchief... OTHELLO Go! I would most gladly have forgot it. (Iago goes out. Desdemona enters by the door on the left.) DESDEMONA (still standing near the door) God keep you happy, my husband, sovereign of my soul! OTHELLO (going to meet Desdemona and taking her hand in his) Thank you, my lady. Give me your ivory hand. Warm moistness bedews its soft beauty. DESDEMONA It knows not yet the imprint of sorrow or of age. OTHELLO And yet here lurks the plausible devil of ill counsel, who emblazons the ivory beauty of this little claw-like limb. With soft deceit he poses as prayer and pious fervour... DESDEMONA And yet with this same hand I gave my heart to you. But I must speak again to you of Cassio. OTHELLO I have that pain again; bind you my forehead. DESDEMONA (unfolding a handkerchief) Here, my lord. OTHELLO No! I would have the handkerchief that I gave to you. DESDEMONA I have it not about me. OTHELLO Desdemona, woe if you should lose it! Woe! A powerful sibyl devised the magic web of it: within it there reposes the high witchcraft of a talisman. Take heed! To lose it, or give it away, were perdition! DESDEMONA Speak you the truth? OTHELLO I speak the truth. DESDEMONA You frighten me!... OTHELLO What!? Have you lost it then? DESDEMONA No... OTHELLO Fetch it. DESDEMONA In a little while... I shall fetch it... OTHELLO No, now! DESDEMONA You are making sport of me! Thus you put me from my suit for Cassio; your thought is cunning. OTHELLO By heaven! My soul is roused! The handkerchief... DESDEMONA Cassio is your very dearest friend. OTHELLO The handkerchief! DESDEMONA To Cassio, to Cassio extend forgiveness... OTHELLO The handkerchief! DESDEMONA Great God! I hear a note of menace in your voice! OTHELLO Raise your eyes! DESDEMONA Horrible fancy! OTHELLO (seizing her forcibly under the chin and by the shoulders so that she has to look at him) Look in my face! Tell me who you are! DESDEMONA Othello’s faithful wife. OTHELLO Come, swear it, damn yourself... DESDEMONA Othello esteems me honest, OTHELLO Unchaste do I esteem you. DESDEMONA God help me! OTHELLO Hasten to your damnation, swear that you are chaste. DESDEMONA (meeting Othello’s eyes) I am chaste. OTHELLO Swear it and damn yourself! DESDEMONA Horror-struck, I gaze into your stern and terrifying eyes, I hear a fury in your words but do not comprehend them. Look at me! My face, my soul I show you; my stricken heart search well... I pray to heaven for you with these my tears; for you these burning drops I shed upon the ground. Behold the first tears ever wrung from me by suffering. The first tears! OTHELLO If your daemon were to see you now he’d take you for an angel and not seize you. DESDEMONA The Eternal sees my innocence! OTHELLO No! Hell sees it! DESDEMONA Your justice, I implore, my lord! OTHELLO Ah! Desdemona! Away! Away! Away! DESDEMONA You also weep?! and groaning stem the anguish of your heart! And am I then the innocent motive of these tears! What sin have I committed? OTHELLO And would you ask? The blackest of crimes upon the lily fairness of your brow is written. DESDEMONA Alas! OTHELLO What? Are you not a common courtesan? DESDEMONA Heaven! No ... no ... by the baptism of the Christian faith! OTHELLO What? DESDEMONA Ah! I am not the thing expressed by that horrendous word! (Othello’s mood changing suddenly from the most towering rage to an even more terrifying ironic calm, he takes Desdemona’s hand and leads her to the door by which she had previously entered.) OTHELLO Give me your ivory hand again, I would make amends. I took you (forgive me if my thought displeases you) for that common courtesan that married with Othello. (With a movement of his arm alone, Othello pushes Desdemona out of the door without losing his composure. Then, in the very depths of despair, he returns to the middle of the hall.) God! Thou couldst have rained upon my head every affliction of poverty and shame, made of my heroic battle-honours a heap of ruination and a lie ... and I should have borne the cruel cross of torment and disgrace with patience and resigned me to the will of heaven. But – oh tears, oh pain! – to rob me of that vision in which my soul was garnered joyfully! That sun has been snuffed out, that smile, that ray which gives me life and happiness! That sun has been snuffed out, etc. Mercy, thou immortal rose-lipped cherubin, cover at the last thy holy face with the horrid mask of hell! Ah! Damnation! Let her first confess her crime, then die! Confession! Confession! (Iago enters.) The proof!... IAGO (pointing to the door) Cassio is here! OTHELLO Here?! Heaven! Oh joy! (recoiling) Oh horror! Torture most foul! IAGO Restrain yourself! (rapidly leading Othello to the back of the hall on the left, where there is a recess on the terrace) Hide. (As soon as Iago has led Othello onto the terrace, he runs to the end of the colonnade. There he meets Cassio, who is hesitating to enter the hall.) (to Cassio) Come; the hall’s deserted. Enter, O Captain. CASSIO This honourable name still rings hollow for me. IAGO Take heart; your cause is in such hands that victory is certain. CASSIO I had thought to have found Desdemona here. OTHELLO (hidden) He spoke her name! CASSIO I looked to speak further with her to ask if I am pardoned. IAGO Wait for her; (leading Cassio to the first pillar of the colonnade) and meanwhile, seeing that you never tire in the recital of mad and merry tales, tell me a little about her whom you love. CASSIO Of whom? IAGO Of Bianca. OTHELLO (aside) He smiles! CASSIO What nonsense! IAGO Her charming eye has you in thrall. CASSIO You make me laugh. IAGO He laughs who wins. CASSIO (laughing) In such exchanges, truly, he wins who laughs! Ah, ah! IAGO (laughing) Ah, ah! OTHELLO (on the terrace) The villain mocks me, his scorn is mortal to me. Oh God, restrain the torment in my heart!... CASSIO I am already sated with kisses and reproaches. IAGO You make me laugh! CASSIO O fleeting love! IAGO Another beauty beckons with her charms. Have I hit the mark? CASSIO Ah, ah! IAGO Ah, ah! OTHELLO (as before) The villain mocks me, his scorn is mortal to me. Oh God, restrain the torment in my heart! CASSIO You have hit the mark. Yes, I confess it. Listen. IAGO Speak softly. I’am listening. (Iago leads Cassio to a place further away from Othello). CASSIO Iago, you know my lodging... (The words are lost.) OTHELLO (coming cautiously a little nearer to overhear the conversation) Now he recounts the manner, the place and time... CASSIO ... by an unknown hand... (The words are lost again.) OTHELLO I cannot hear the words ... alas!... and I would hear them! To what am I come! CASSIO ... a fine embroidered handkerchief. IAGO ’Tis strange! ’Tis strange! OTHELLO Iago beckons me. (emerging with caution and hiding behind the pillars) IAGO By an unknown hand? Nonsense! CASSIO Truly. (Iago signs to him to speak softly.) How I long to know who it might be. IAGO (aside, glancing quickly towards Othello) Othello is looking. (to Cassio) You have it with you? CASSIO (taking Desdemona’s handkerchief from his doublet) Look. IAGO (taking the handkerchief) What a miracle! (aside) Othello listens. He approaches with wary steps. (to Cassio, playfully) Fine cavalier, in your abode angels lose their haloes and their veils. (putting his hands behind his back so that Othello can see the handkerchief) OTHELLO (looking closely at the handkerchief behind Iago’s back, remaining hidden behind the pillar) ’Tis the one! ’Tis the one! Destruction and death! IAGO (aside) Othello is listening. OTHELLO All is gone, love and grieving both. Nothing more can touch my heart. IAGO (eyeing Cassio, indicating the handkerchief) This is a spider’s web, ‘twill your heart catch, in spite of complaining ‘twill trap and dispatch. Too much you’re admiring, too long you are eyeing, beware of such transports abortive and lying. This is a spider’s web, etc. CASSIO (looking at the handkerchief which he has taken again from Iago) Fair miracle, wrought by the needle, which caught rays of light by transmuting the linen so fair, whiter and lighter than snowflakes, and brighter than clouds which are woven from heaven’s sweet air! IAGO This is a spider’s web, ’twill your heart catch ... ... in spite of complaining ’twill trap and dispatch. CASSIO Fair miracle ... IAGO This is a spider’s web, etc. OTHELLO (hidden behind the pillar and casting glances from time to time at the handkerchief in Cassio’s hand) Betrayal, betrayal, betrayal, the proof, the terrifying proof thou displayest to the sun! IAGO Too much you’re admiring, etc. Ah, beware, this is a spider’s web, etc. CASSIO ... whiter and lighter, etc. Miracle, fair miracle ... ... fair miracle! OTHELLO Betrayal! ... IAGO Too much you admire it! OTHELLO ... betrayal! (returning to the terrace) IAGO Beware! Beware! (Distant trumpets are heard. Others answer them from the castle. A cannon shot.) That is the signal to announce the arrival of the Venetian trireme. (Trumpets sound from different directions). Listen. All the castle’s trumpeters reply. If you do not want to meet Othello here, go now. CASSIO Farewell. IAGO Go. (Cassio leaves hurriedly through the back end.) OTHELLO (coming up to Iago) How shall I kill her? IAGO Did you perceive well how he laughed? OTHELLO I saw! IAGO And the handkerchief? OTHELLO I saw it all. VOICES IN THE DISTANCE Hurrah! To the shore! To the landing-place! OTHELLO She is condemned! DISTANT VOICES Hurrah! OTHELLO Get me some poison for tonight. IAGO Poison, no... DISTANT VOICES Long live the Lion of St. Mark! IAGO ... rather suffocate her, there in her bed, even the bed where she has sinned. OTHELLO Your sense of justice pleases me. IAGO As for Cassio, I shall see to him. OTHELLO Iago, from this moment I name you my captian IAGO My General, I give you thanks. Here come the ambassadors. Do you receive them. But to avoid suspicion Desdemona should come before these lords. OTHELLO Yes, bring her here. (Iago leaves by the door on the left; Othello goes towards the far end of the hall to receive the ambassadors. Trumpets sound again, Iago re-enters with Lodovico, the herald, Desdemona with Emilia, dignitaries of the Venetian Republic, ladies and gentlemen, soldiers, trumpeters and then Cassio.) MEN AND WOMEN Hurrah! Hurrah! Long live the Lion of St. Mark! Hurrah! Hurrah! etc. Long live the Lion of St. Mark! LODOVICO (holding a rolled-up parchment in his hand) The Duke and senators of Venice greet the triumphant hero of Cyprus. I place in your hands the ducal document. OTHELLO (taking the parchment and kissing the seal) I kiss the seal of sovereign majesty. (opens it and reads) LODOVICO (going up to Desdemona) My lady, may heaven keep You in its care. DESDEMONA May heaven heed your prayer. EMILIA (aside to Desdemona) How sad you look! DESDEMONA (aside to Emilia) Emilia! There’s a great shadow fallen upon Othello’s mind and upon my destiny. IAGO (to Lodovico) Signor, I am very glad to see you. LODOVICO Iago, what’s the news?... I do not see Cassio amongst you. IAGO Othello is angered with him. DESDEMONA I think he will be restored to favour. OTHELLO (continuing to read; rapidly aside to Desdemona) Are you sure of that? DESDEMONA My lord? LODOVICO He reads, and speaks not to you. IAGO Perhaps he will be restored to favour. DESDEMONA Iago, I hope so; you know what real affection I have for Cassio... OTHELLO (still reading, but speaking feverishly under his breath to Desdemona) Restrain your babbling tongue... DESDEMONA Forgive me, my lord... OTHELLO (flinging himself at Desdemona) Devil, be silent! LODOVICO (preventing Othello from striking Desdemona) Stop! MEN AND WOMEN Oh horror! Oh horror! LODOVICO I dare not believe that my eyes have truly seen. OTHELLO (to the herald) Send Cassio to me! (The herald leaves.) IAGO (aside to Othello) What would you do? OTHELLO (aside to Iago) Watch her as he enters. MEN AND WOMEN Ah! Unhappy bride! LODOVICO (approaching Iago and speaking to him aside) Is this then the hero? Is this the warrior of such noble daring? IAGO (to Lodovico, shrugging his shoulders) He’s that he is. LODOVICO Explain what you mean. IAGO It is better to hold one’s tongue. OTHELLO (who has been watching the door fixedly) Here he is! ’Tis he! (Cassio appears.) (to Iago:) Watch him well. (aloud, to the company:) My lords!... The Duke... (aside to Desdemona, who is weeping:) – oh well-painted passion – (to the company:) ... has recalled me to Venice. RODERIGO (aside) Unjust fate! OTHELLO And as my successor in Cyprus elects he who stood by my standard – Cassio. IAGO (surprised, in a fierce aside) Death and the devil take it! OTHELLO (continuing his speech and showing the document) The ducal command is our law. CASSIO (bowing to Othello) I will obey. OTHELLO (rapidly to Iago, nodding towards Cassio) You see?...The villain does not seem well pleased. IAGO No. OTHELLO (to the company) The ship’s crew and garrison... (aside, to Desdemona) – Proceed you in your tears – (aloud) ... the ships and castle, I leave in charge of my successor. LODOVICO (pointing to Desdemona who approaches Othello supplicatingly) Othello, prithee comfort her, or you will break her heart. OTHELLO (to Lodovico and Desdemona) We shall embark tomorrow. (He seizes Desdemona in fury. She falls.) (to Desdemona) Down!... And weep! (Othello, in his act of violence, has thrown the document to the ground; Iago picks it up and reads it, taking care not to be seen. Lodovico and Emilia sympathetically support Desdemona.) DESDEMONA Down!... yes... in the livid slime stricken... I lie... I weep... chilled by the icy touch of death upon my soul. And once upon a time my smile would quicken hope and kisses, and now... I have anguish in my face and agony in my heart! That sun so calm and bright that brings joy to sky and sea, can never dry the bitter drops of my pain, the bitter teardrops of my pain! EMILIA (aside) Innocent of heart, no word of hate she speaks, no gesture makes, but locks her pain within her heart with sorrowful restraint. CASSIO (aside) Fate hangs upon the hour! A flash of lightning shows it on my path; the highest prize that fate affords is offered to my passive hand. RODERIGO (aside) Darkness falls upon my world, mist shrouds my destiny; that angel sweet and golden-haired vanishes from my path. LODOVICO (aside) His funerary fist he shakes and pants with rage, she her ethereal face turns weeping to the sky. WOMEN (to Othello) Have pity!... Have pity! MEN ...’Tis strange! LODOVICO His funerary fist... WOMEN Have pity! Have pity! DESDEMONA And once upon a time my smile would quicken hope and kisses... EMILIA The tears fall silently upon her sorrowing cheek;... CASSIO Reeling Fortune presses hard upon the swift heels of time. RODERIGO That angel sweet vanishes from my path. LODOVICO ... he shakes and pants with rage, she her ethereal face turns weeping to the sky! WOMEN Have pity! Have pity! etc. MEN ’Tis strange! ’Tis strange! (Iago draws close to Othello who has collapsed onto a chair.) IAGO A word with you. OTHELLO What is it? IAGO Make haste! Let your vengeance be swift! Time flies. OTHELLO You speak truly. IAGO Angry words are idle gossip. Act! Aim at the objective, that alone! I shall deal with Cassio. He shall pay for his intrigues, and hell shall swallow up his guilty soul! OTHELLO Who will pluck it from him? IAGO I myself. OTHELLO You? IAGO I have sworn. OTHELLO So be it. IAGO You shall hear more tonight. DESDEMONA ... and now with anguish in my face and agony in my heart... on the ground... in the slime... stricken... I lie... chilled by the icy touch of death upon my soul. EMILIA ... no, he who weeps not for her has no pity in his heart. Innocent of heart, etc. CASSIO That which lifts me up so high is a storm-driven tidal wave. Reeling Fortune presses hard upon the swift heels of time. That which lifts me up, etc. RODERIGO Darkness falls upon my world, etc. LODOVICO She her ethereal face turns weeping to the sky. To see such tears as these Pity itself might sigh, and a stirring of compassion melt an icy heart. WOMEN Mortal care weighs sullenly upon these souls who writhe in long-drawn agony. MEN This black man has a graveyard air, a sightless shadow sits within of death and terror made! EMILIA The tears fall silently upon her sorrowing cheek... CASSIO Reeling Fortune presses, etc. RODERIGO Darkness falls upon my world, etc. LODOVICO To see such tears as these, etc. WOMEN O cruel sight! Mortal care, etc. MEN His nails tear at his fearsome breast! His eyes are fixed upon the ground. Now his dusky fist he shakes at heaven, raising his shaggy face towards the darts of the sun. DESDEMONA And once upon a time my smile... EMILIA ... no, he who weeps not for her has no pity. CASSIO That which lifts me up so high is a storm-driven tidal wave. RODERIGO That angel sweet and golden-haired vanishes from my path. LODOVICO ... a stirring of compassion... WOMEN O cruel sight! MEN His nails tear, etc. (Iago turns his attention to Roderigo.) IAGO Your dreams will be upon the seas tomorrow, and you on the bitter shore! RODERIGO Ah, misery! IAGO Ah stupidity! Stupidity! If you will, you may hope yet; come, show yourself a man! Gird your loins, and listen. RODERIGO I hear you. IAGO The ship departs at first light. Now Cassio is governor. However, if some accident should befall him, Othello must linger here. Your hand on your sword! When it is dark I’ll supervise his steps and watch his destination and the hour, the rest is up to you. I will be near. A-hunting we will go! Arm yourself for the fray! RODERIGO Yes! I have sold you my honour and faith. (The voices of Iago and Roderigo become lost among the others.) DESDEMONA ... quickened hope and kisses, etc. EMILIA No, he who weeps not for her has no pity in his heart, etc. CASSIO Reeling Fortune presses, etc. LODOVICO ... melt an icy heart. He who weeps not for her, etc. WOMEN O cruel sight! He struck her! That saint-like face, so pale and gentle, is mutely bowed, and weeps and dies. In heaven do the angels shed such tears as these when before them, lost, the sinner lies. MEN His eyes are fixed upon the ground. His dusky fist, etc. WOMEN That saint-like face... EMILLIA Innocent of heart, no word... CASSIO Reeling Fortune presses... RODERIGO (walking away from Iago) The die is cast! IAGO (aside, watching Roderigo) Go, chase the rainbow! LODOVICO To see such tears as these... WOMEN ... so pale and gentle... MEN This black man has a graveyard air! WOMEN ... is mutely bowed... EMILIA ... of hate she speaks nor gesture makes,... CASSIO ... at the swift heels of time,... RODERIGO The die is cast! IAGO Go, chase the rainbow! LODOVICO Pity heaves a sigh... WOMEN ... and weeps and dies. MEN This black man has a graveyard air! DESDEMONA And once upon a time my smile... ... would quicken hope and kisses, etc. EMILIA ... of hate she speaks, etc. CASSIO ... Reeling Fortune presses, etc. LODOVICO ... Pity heaves a sigh, etc. IAGO Go, chase the rainbow ! Your enfeebled sense is by a web of lying dreams enmeshed, etc. Follow the scheme my shrewd, swift wit presents, deluded lover, I follow but myself, etc. RODERIGO The die is cast! Undaunted, I await the final outcome, hidden destiny, etc. Love spurs me on, and yet my path is plagued by death’s dark planet, avid, menacing, etc. WOMEN/MEN (as before) OTHELLO (rising and turning on the crowd with menacing fury) Hence, avaunt! ALL Heaven! OTHELLO (hurling himself upon the crowd) All flee Othello! IAGO (to everyone) He is assailed by some enchantment that deprives him of his wits. OTHELLO Whoever does not remove himself is in rebellion against me! LODOVICO (trying to drag Desdemona away) Come with me. MEN (in the distance) Hurrah! (Fanfares are heard in the distance.) DESDEMONA (tearing herself away from Lodovico and running to Othello) My lord! OTHELLO My soul, I curse you! MEN AND WOMEN Oh horror! (Overwhelmed by horror, all leave the hall; Desdemona leaves supported by Lodovico and Emilia. Iago and Othello remain alone.) OTHELLO I alone cannot flee myself! Blood!... O vile thought! (becoming breathless) I like not that! (convulsively, raving) To see them clasped together... The handkerchief! The handkerchief! O! O! O! (faints) IAGO (aside) My poison’s working. MEN (within) Long live Othello! IAGO (listening to the cries) His victory is hailed... MEN Hurrah! Hurrah! IAGO ... for the last time. MEN Hurrah! IAGO (eyeing Othello stretched on the ground unconscious) Who can stop me crushing this head beneath my heel? MEN (nearer) Hurrah! Long live Othello! Hail to the Lion of Venice! IAGO (standing erect and, with a loathsome gesture of triumph, pointing to the inert Othello) Behold the Lion! Desdemona’s bedroom. A bed, a prie-dieu, a table, a mirror and some chairs. A lighted lamp hangs before the image of the Madonna above the prie-dieu. On the right is a door. It is night. (Desdemona, with the assistance of Emilia, is preparing for bed.) EMILIA Was he calmer? DESDEMONA He seemed so to me. He commanded me to go to bed and there await him. Emilia, I pray you, lay upon my bed my white wedding nightgown. (Emilia does so.) Listen. If I should die before you, lay me to rest in one of those veils. EMILIA Put such thoughts from you. DESDEMONA I am so sad, so sad. (seating herself mechanically before the mirror) My mother had a poor maidservant, she was in love and pretty; her name was Barbara; she loved a man who then abandoned her. She used to sing a song, the song of “The Willow”. (to Emilia) Unbind my hair. This evening my memory is haunted by that old refrain. “She wept as she sang on the lonely heath, the poor girl wept, O Willow, Willow, Willow! She sat with her head upon her breast, Willow, Willow, Willow! Come sing! Come sing! The green willow shall be my garland.” (to Emilia) Make haste; Othello will soon be here. “The fresh streams ran between the flowery banks, she moaned in her grief, in bitter tears which through her eyelids sprang her poor heart sought relief. Willow! Willow! Willow! Come sing! Come sing! The green willow shall be my garland. Down from dark branches flew the birds towards the singing sweet. Sufficient were the tears that she did weep that stones her sorrow shared.” (to Emilia, taking a ring from her finger) Lay this ring by. (rising) Poor Barbara! The story used to end with this simple phrase: “He was born for glory, I to love...” (to Emilia) Hark! I heard a moan. (Emilia takes a step or two.) Hush... Who knocks upon that door? EMILIA ‘Tis the wind. DESDEMONA “I to love him and to die. Come sing! Come sing! Willow! Willow! Willow!” Emilia, farewell. How mine eyes do itch! That bodes weeping. Good night. (Emilia turns to leave.) Ah! Emilia, Emilia, farewell! Emilia, farewell! (Emilia returns and Desdemona embraces her. Emilia leaves.) (kneeling at the prie-dieu) Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed amongst wives and maids art thou, and blessed is the fruit, o blessed one, of thy maternal womb, Jesu. Pray for those who kneeling adore thee, pray for the sinner, for the innocent and for the weak oppressed; and to the powerful man, who also grieves, thy sweet compassion show. Pray for him who bows beneath injustice and ‘neath the blows of cruel destiny; for us, pray thou for us, pray for us always, and at the hour of our death pray for us, pray for us, pray! (She remains kneeling and, with her head bowed on the prie-dieu, repeats the prayer silently, so that only the first words and the last are audible. ) Hail Mary ... ... and at the hour of our death. Hail! Amen! (She rises from her knees and goes to bed.) (Othello appears on the threshold of a secret door ... He comes forward ... places his scimitar on the table ... hesitates in front of the candle, wondering whether to put it out or not ... Looks at Desdemona ... Puts out the light ... Makes a gesture of fury ... Approaches the bed ... Stops ... Raises the drapes and stands for a long time contemplating the sleeping Desdemona... He gives her a kiss... another kiss... and another one. Desdemona awakens.) DESDEMONA Who’s there? (raising herself) Othello? OTHELLO Ay! ... Have you prayed tonight? DESDEMONA I prayed... OTHELLO If you bethink yourself of any crime unreconciled as yet to heaven and grace, solicit for it straight. DESDEMONA What mean you? OTHELLO Be brief! I would not kill your spirit. DESDEMONA Talk you of killing? OTHELLO I do. DESDEMONA Then God have mercy on me! OTHELLO Amen. DESDEMONA And you have mercy too! OTHELLO Think on your sins. DESDEMONA My sin is love. OTHELLO For that you die! DESDEMONA Because I love you you would kill me? OTHELLO Cassio is your love! DESDEMONA No! By my life and soul! OTHELLO That handkerchief which I gave you you gave to him. DESDEMONA It is not true! OTHELLO I saw it in his hand. DESDEMONA I am not guilty! OTHELLO Confess! DESDEMONA I swear it! OTHELLO Take heed of perjury... Think that you are on your deathbed. DESDEMONA But not to die. OTHELLO To die presently. DESDEMONA God help me! I do not love Cassio... Send for him hither... let him speak. OTHELLO His mouth is stopped for ever. DESDEMONA What!... is he dead? OTHELLO Dead. DESDEMONA, I am undone, and he betrayed! OTHELLO And you dare to weep for him? DESDEMONA Othello, do not kill me... OTHELLO You strive in vain. DESDEMONA Let me live... ... longer, let me live longer, let me live! OTHELLO Down, fall, down, fall, strumpet! DESDEMONA Mercy! OTHELLO Die!! DESDEMONA Let me live tonight... OTHELLO No! DESDEMONA One hour... OTHELLO No! DESDEMONA An instant. OTHELLO No! DESDEMONA But while I say one prayer. OTHELLO It is too late! (He smothers her.) DESDEMONA Ah! ... (A knocking is heard at the door on the right.) OTHELLO (contemplating the inert form of Desdemona) As quiet as the grave. (further knocking at the door) EMILIA (without) Unlock the door! OTHELLO (starting) Who is there? Who knocks? EMILIA (knocking again) O, good my lord, I do beseech that I may speak with you... Unlock the door! OTHELLO (opening the door) Emilia! What’s the matter? EMILIA (entering) Yonder’s foul murder done! Cassio has killed Roderigo! OTHELLO And Cassio? EMILIA Lives. OTHELLO Cassio lives!! DESDEMONA (from the bed) Falsely... falsely killed... EMILIA (running towards the bed) What cry is that?... O horror! DESDEMONA A guiltless death I die... EMILIA Great God! Who did this deed? DESDEMONA Nobody... I myself... Commend me to my lord... A guiltless death I die... Farewell... (dies) OTHELLO O liar! ’Twas I that killed her. EMILIA Murderer! OTHELLO She was Cassio’s whore. Ask Iago else. EMILIA Iago? OTHELLO Iago. EMILIA O dolt! And you believed him? OTHELLO (about to strike Emilia) Dare you deny it? EMILIA I fear you not. OTHELLO (seizing her) Take care! EMILIA Ho there! Help, ho! Help! (freeing herself she runs toward the door, crying out) Othello has killed Desdemona! (Lodovico, Cassio and Iago enter, followed later by Montano and some armed men.) CASSIO, IAGO, LODOVICO What cries are these! (seeing Desdemona) O horror, horror! EMILIA (to Iago) Iago, disprove this vile murderer. Did you believe Desdemona was false? Speak! IAGO Such I believed her. OTHELLO That handkerchief that I had given her she gave to Cassio. EMILIA O heavenly powers! IAGO (to Emilia) Hold your tongue! EMILIA No, I will tell all! IAGO Hold your tongue! EMILIA No! This man from my hand the handkerchief did wrench by use of force. CASSIO And in my lodging I found the handkerchief. MONTANO (entering and pointing to Iago) Roderigo as he died revealed to me the devilish machinations of this man. OTHELLO (to Iago) Ah! Vindicate yourself! IAGO (fleeing) No! LODOVICO Stop! MONTANO After him! (Several leave to pursue Iago.) CASSIO, LODOVICO Seize him! OTHELLO (with a bound, reaching and grasping his sword) And has the heaven no more thunder bolts? LODOVICO Give me the sword! OTHELLO Would you dare? Let no one fear me though he see me armed. Here is my journey’s end ... Oh! Glory! Othello’s day is done. (Letting his sword fall to the ground, he goes to the bed and gazes at Desdemona.) And thou... how pale thou art! And weary, and mute, and beautiful, pious creature, born ‘neath an evil star. Cold, even like thy chastity, and gathered into heaven. Desdemona! Desdemona! Ah!... Dead! Dead! Dead! (furtively producing a dagger from his robe) I have another weapon! (stabs himself) CASSIO Ah, stop! LODOVICO, MONTANO O bloody period! OTHELLO Before I killed thee, wife, I kissed thee thus. Now dying... in the shadow where I lie... a kiss... another kiss... ah!... another kiss... (dies) © 1978 Decca Music Group Limited. |
| libretto by Avril Bardoni |