Scene 1

• while Cassio visits Bianca at the brothel, Iago and Roderigo position themselves outside in order to ambush Cassio
• when Cassio approaches, Roderigo stabs him but fails in piercing his armor
• in turn, Cassio stabs and wounds Roderigo who is then stabbed by Iago
• Cassio does not know that it was Iago who stabbed him and he falls
• Othello arrives and believes that Iago has killed Cassio based on Cassio‘s cries of murder
• Othello - thinking that Iago has killed Cassio - heads to his chambers to kill Desdemona
• Lodovico and Gratiano arrive and hear the cries of Cassio and Roderigo; however, they hesitate with helping them since they believe it might be a trap
• Iago arrives and Cassio begs him for help and Iago stabs Roderigo
• Lodovico and Gratiano can‘t see Iago and they don‘t know what he is doing
• Iago, Lodovico and Gratiano question Cassio about how he got stabbed
• Bianca enters and cries when seeing Cassio injured
• Cassio still does not know what happened and how he got his wounds
• when Iago claims that it was Roderigo, Cassio replies that he does not know Roderigo
• Cassio and Roderigo‘s body are carried away
• Emilia enters and Iago tells her that that is what happends when someone whores around
• Bianca is scolded by both Emilia and Iago and is taken under arrest as Cassio has had dinner in her house before being stabbed
• Emilia is sent away to report to Othello and Desdemona what has happened

Scene 2

• in Desdemona‘s bedchambers, Othello prepares himself for killing her while holding a candle
• when he kisses her one last time, she wakes up
• he tells her to prepare to die and Desdemona asks Othello why he wants to kill her
• Othello then replies that he wants to kill her because of her betraying him with Cassio
• Desdemona denies that but Othello refuses to listen to her, claiming that Cassio has confessed and that he has been killed by Iago
• Othello gets even more furious when Desdemona cries upon hearing that Cassio is dead and begs him to banish her rather than kill her, or let her live just a little more
• however, Othello suffocates her
• Emilia calls from outside the chamber and Othello lets her in, hearing the news that Cassio has killed Roderigo and that he is still alive
• slowly, Othello realizes that his plans went wrong
• then, Desdemona‘s voice is heard, saying that she was falsely murdered
• however, she tells Emilia that she is innocent, denies that anyone has killed her, and dies
• Othello tells Emilia that he has killed Desdemona
• on Emilia‘s question why he killed his wife, Othello tells her that it was Iago who warned him about Desdemona‘s infidelity
• this sparks the thought in Emilia that her husband had something to do with all the murder - she calls Othello a devil, curses Iago, calls him a liar, and cries murder to waken everyone
• Montano, Gratiano and Iago appear
• challenged by Emilia to defend himself, Iago claims that Desdemona was unfaithful
• Othello weeps over his dead wife
• Gratiano is relieved that Brabantio died before his daughter and claims that it was her marriage with Othello that brought Brabantio‘s life to an end
• Othello still claims that the handkerchief is proof that Desdemona had an affair with Cassio
• the mention of the handkerchief makes Emilia tell how she found the handkerchief, which her husband had asked her to steal, and gave it to him
• in order to silence his wife and in order to protect himself from facing the consequences if his plots were revealed, Iago attempts to stab Emilia
• Gratiano stops him and Emilia explains what happened to the handkerchief
• Othello wants to attack Iago but Montano disarms him
• throughout the confusion, Iago stabs his wife and flees
• Montano and Gratiano head after him
• Othello is left alone with the bodies of his wife and Emilia
• Emilia uses her last words to sing the song "Willow"
• in addition, she tells Othello that Desdemona was virtuous and that she loved him
• Iago is caught and brought back - Othello and Cassio demand to know why he did it, but Iago refuses to explain and says he will never speak again
• Lodovico pulls out a letter from Roderigo in which all the plots are described
• Othello wonders how the handkerchief got into Cassio‘s possession and Cassio replies that he found it in his chamber
• Lodovico orders Othello to come back with him to Venice; he will be stripped off his rank and power and put on trial
• Othello refuses to do so and kills himself with a dagger and falls on the bed where his dead wife lies
• Lodovico tells Iago to look at what he has done, he names Gratiano as Othello‘s successor and makes Montano responsible for Iago‘s execution
• Cassio will be commander and have the power to sentence Iago, and Lodovico will return to Venice with the sad news

Function

• Roderigo‘s death is in vain
  
  • in the beginning he only had to follow Othello and Desdemona to Cyprus to win Desdemona
  • then, he was to disgrace Cassio
  • finally, he had to kill Cassio
  • Roderigo dies empty-handed: his money and jewels are in Iago‘s possession, Cassio is not dead, Desdemona is dead, and he himself is killed by Iago whom he turned to for help in order to win Desdemona over
• Desdemona and Emilia seem to die twice
  
  • Othello suffocates Desdemona and mistakes Emilia‘s cries for Desdemona‘s and suffocates her again
  • however, Desdemona still talks and speaks to Emilia when she enters the chambers
  • Emilia is stabbed by Iago and Gratiano says that Iago‘s wife is killed
  • only a few moments later, Emilia sings the song "Willow" and ultimately dies afterwards
• in face of his death, Othello has recovered his basic nobility and that gift of impressive language which he commanded so well prior to Iago‘s temptation
• also, Othello reminds his listeners of his past service to the Venetian state and pleads that his story shall be reported accurately so that he won‘t be remembered as a savage but as someone who was manipulated to an extreme extent