What if a little embroidery weighs a person’s life and the sanity of a marriage? This quiz looks at the handkerchief mystery and the old magic that Othello thinks is connected to it in Act 3 Scene 4 of Othello. Before you answer, think about the power of symbolic objects.
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Othello Act 3 Scene 4 Quiz Questions
- Who asks Desdemona for help at the start of Act 3 Scene 4?
- What item does Desdemona notice she has lost in this scene?
- Who first gave the handkerchief to Desdemona?
- What does Othello say about the handkerchief’s origin?
- According to Othello, what power did the handkerchief supposedly have?
- Why is Othello upset when Desdemona cannot produce the handkerchief?
- How does Desdemona attempt to change the subject?
- What theme becomes dominant in this scene?
- How does Emilia react when Othello leaves angrily?
- Who enters after Othello’s departure?
- What does Cassio give Bianca in this scene?
- What is Bianca’s reaction to receiving the handkerchief?
- What does Bianca call the handkerchief?
- What does Othello’s insistence on the handkerchief symbolize?
- How does Desdemona interpret Othello’s behavior?
- What does Emilia suggest might be troubling Othello?
- What does Desdemona ask Emilia to do near the end of the scene?
- Why does Desdemona mention her wedding sheets?
- How does Shakespeare use the handkerchief motif here?
- What emotion dominates Othello’s tone when speaking of the handkerchief?
- Who defends Desdemona’s loyalty throughout the scene?
- What does Iago pretend to do when speaking to Othello about the handkerchief?
- What literary device is most prominent in this scene?
- What is Othello’s belief about women expressed indirectly here?
- What does Desdemona’s persistence about Cassio show?
- What emotion best describes Emilia’s feelings toward Iago at this point?
- How does Iago further manipulate the situation by the end of the scene?
- What contrast is developed between Desdemona and Othello in this scene?
- How does the audience’s perception of Othello shift here?
- What object remains the central symbol of misunderstanding in the scene?