Уильям Шекспир - Othello

He begged of me to steal’t.IAGO Villainous whore!EMILIA She give it Cassio? No, alas! I found it,

And I did give’t my husband.IAGO Filth 264, thou liest!EMILIA By heaven, I do not, I do not, gentlemen.

O murd’rous coxcomb 266! What should such a fool

Do with so good a wife?OTHELLO Are there no stones 268in heaven

But what serves for the thunder?— Precious 269 villain! He runs at Iago but is disarmed; Iago stabs Emilia

GRATIANO The woman falls: sure, he hath killed his wife. [Exit Iago]

EMILIA Ay, ay! O, lay me by my mistress’ side.GRATIANO He’s gone, but his wife’s killed.MONTANO ’Tis a notorious 273villain. Take you this weapon

Which I have recovered 274from the Moor:

Come, guard the door without 275: let him not pass,

But kill him rather. I’ll after that same villain,

For ’tis a damnèd slave. [Exeunt Montano and Gratiano]

OTHELLO I am not valiant neither,

But every puny whipster 279gets my sword:

But why should honour 280outlive honesty?

Let it go all.EMILIA What did thy song bode, lady?

Hark, canst thou hear me? I will play the swan 283,

And die in music 283:— Willow, willow, willow— Sings

Moor, she was chaste: she loved thee, cruel Moor.

So come my soul to bliss, as I speak true,

So speaking as I think, alas, I die. Dies

OTHELLO I have another weapon in this chamber:

It was a sword of Spain, the ice-brook’s temper 289:

O, here it is. Uncle, I must come forth. Finds sword

GRATIANO If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear: Within

Thou hast no weapon, and perforce 292must suffer.OTHELLO Look in upon me then and speak with me,

Or, naked 294as I am, I will assault thee.

[Enter Gratiano] GRATIANO What is the matter?OTHELLO Behold, I have a weapon:

A better never did itself sustain 297

Upon a soldier’s thigh. I have seen the day

That, with this little arm and this good sword,

I have made my way through more impediments

Than twenty times your stop 301: but — O vain boast! —

Who can control his fate? ’Tis not so now.

Be not afraid, though you do see me weaponed:

Here 304is my journey’s end, here is my butt

And very sea-mark 305of my utmost sail.

Do you go back dismayed? ’Tis a lost 306fear:

Man but a rush 307against Othello’s breast

And he retires. Where should Othello go?

Now, how dost thou look now? O ill-starred 309wench,

Pale as thy smock 310, when we shall meet at compt,

This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven,

And fiends will snatch at it! Cold, cold, my girl?

Even like thy chastity. O cursèd, cursèd slave 313!

Whip me, ye devils,

From the possession of this heavenly sight,

Blow me about in winds, roast me in sulphur,

Wash me in steep-down 317gulfs of liquid fire!

O Desdemon! Dead, Desdemon! Dead! O, O!

Enter Lodovico, Cassio [carried in a chair], Montano and Iago [prisoner] with Officers LODOVICO Where is this rash and most unfortunate man?OTHELLO That’s he that was Othello: here I am.LODOVICO Where is that viper? Bring the villain forth.OTHELLO I look down towards his feet 322, but that’s a fable:

If that thou be’st a devil, I cannot kill thee. Wounds Iago

LODOVICO Wrench his sword from him.IAGO I bleed, sir, but not killed.OTHELLO I am not sorry neither: I’d have thee live,

For in my sense 327’tis happiness to die.LODOVICO O thou Othello, thou was once so good,

Fall’n in the practice 329of a cursèd slave,

What shall be said to thee?OTHELLO Why, anything:

An honourable murderer, if you will,

For nought I did in hate, but all in honour.LODOVICO This wretch hath part confessed his villainy.

Did you and he consent in Cassio’s death?OTHELLO Ay.CASSIO Dear general, I never gave you cause.OTHELLO I do believe it, and I ask your pardon.

Will you, I pray, demand that demi-devil

Why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body?IAGO Demand me nothing: what you know, you know:

From this time forth I never will speak word.LODOVICO What? Not to pray?GRATIANO Torments 344will ope your lips.OTHELLO Well, thou dost best.LODOVICO Sir, you shall understand what hath befall’n —

Which, as I think, you know not. Here is a letter

Found in the pocket of the slain Rodorigo,

And here another: the one of them imports 349

The death of Cassio to be undertook

By Rodorigo.OTHELLO O villain!CASSIO Most heathenish and most gross 353!LODOVICO Now here’s another discontented 354paper

Found in his pocket too: and this, it seems,

Rodorigo meant t’have sent this damnèd villain,

But that belike 357Iago in the interim

Came in and satisfied him 358.OTHELLO O thou pernicious caitiff 359!—

How came you, Cassio, by that handkerchief

That was my wife’s?CASSIO I found it in my chamber,

And he himself confessed it but even now

That there he dropped it for a special purpose

Which wrought to his desire 365.OTHELLO O fool, fool, fool!CASSIO There is besides in Rodorigo’s letter

How he upbraids Iago, that he made him

Brave 369me upon the watch, whereon it came

That I was cast 370: and even but now he spake —

After long seeming dead — Iago hurt him,

Iago set him on.LODOVICO You must forsake this room and go with us: To Othello

Your power and your command is taken off,

And Cassio rules in Cyprus. For this slave,

If there be any cunning cruelty

That can torment him much and hold him long 377,

It shall be his. You shall close 378prisoner rest

Till that the nature of your fault be known

To the Venetian state.— Come, bring away.OTHELLO Soft you; a word or two before you go.

I have done the state some service, and they know’t —

No more of that. I pray you, in your letters,

When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,

Speak of me as I am: nothing extenuate 385,

Nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak

Of one that loved not wisely but too well:

Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought 388,

Perplexed 389in the extreme: of one whose hand,

Like the base 390Judean, threw a pearl away

Richer than all his tribe: of one whose subdued 391eyes,

Albeit unusèd to the melting mood,

Drops tears as fast as the Arabian trees 393

Their medicinable 394gum. Set you down this,

And say besides, that in Aleppo 395once,

Where a malignant and a turbaned Turk

Beat a Venetian and traduced 397the state,

I took by th’throat the circumcisèd dog

And smote him, thus. Stabs himself

LODOVICO O bloody period 400!GRATIANO All that is spoke is marred.OTHELLO I kissed thee ere I killed thee 402: no way but this, Killing myself, to die 403upon a kiss. Kisses Desdemona

Dies

CASSIO This did I fear, but thought he had no weapon,

For he was great of heart.LODOVICO O Spartan dog 406, To Iago

More fell 407than anguish, hunger, or the sea!

Look on the tragic loading of this bed:

This is thy work.— The object poisons sight,

Let it be hid. Gratiano, keep 410the house,

And seize upon 411the fortunes of the Moor, For they succeed on 412you.— To you, lord governor, To Cassio

Remains the censure 413of this hellish villain:

The time, the place, the torture: O, enforce it!

Myself will straight aboard, and to the state This heavy 416act with heavy heart relate. Exeunt

TEXTUAL NOTESQ = First Quarto text of 1622Q2 = a correction introduced in the Second Quarto text of 1630F = First Folio text of 1623F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632F3 = a correction introduced in the Third Folio text of 1663–64F4 = a correction introduced in the Fourth Folio text of 1685Ed = a correction introduced by a later editorSH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)