Act 1 Scene 3 Questions

How does the Duke and senators speak of Othello? 
Unlike Brabantio who is a senator and calls him "thief,' and "an abuser of the world," The senators do not speak of him this way. Instead they describe him as valiant and trust him to go defend Cyprus for them: "Valiant Othello we must deploy you Against the general enemy Ottoman." ( 1.3.48-49)

How does Brabantio speak of his daughter? 
Brabantio speaks of his daughter as " A maiden never bold," meaning she would never act out and it was against her nature. This is opposite though to her action of marrying Othello which was a bold move because she did not have the approval of her father and he was a "Moor". He also describes her as being someone who afraid of  "Moors," on line 99 in Act 3; this also goes against Desdemona actions because she married Othello who is one.

What is ironic about Othello's claim that he is rude in his speech? 
Back in the Renaissance era being "rude in speech," meant you were not a very good speaker, which is an ironic claim by Othello. It is ironic because Othello claims to not be a very great speaker but is able to win over the audience when he speaks of how Desdemona fell in love with him; The duke states that he thinks it would 'win his daughter too," (1.3.170)  and that Brabantio should "take this mangled matter at the best," meaning he should deal with the fact that Othello and Desdemona are married.

What is startling about Othello's decision to let Desdemona speak on his behalf. 
It is shocking that Othello lets Desdemona speak on his behalf due to the time period this play takes place. During the Renaissance era women didn't really have a voice. According to Venetian Courtesans (Coryat) noble women such as Desdemona where kept in the house all day and only seen at church and occasionally if their husbands rowed them in a gondola.

What stories does Othello tell the senate? 
He told stories of how he was "sold to slavery,"(1.3.137) and earned his redemption and other stories of bravery. As the thinking question states being brave gets you now where in a "self centered," and "Money," driven world such as Othello lives in and this hinders him because his ideology is different then every one else.

What do we learn about views towards foreigners?
In Act 1 Scene 3 we learn that outsiders can never really fit in to Venice. We can figure this out by seeing that Othello is usually called "the moor," and not by his name. This objectifies Othello by his race and the fact that he is not from Venice.

What is significant about the rhyming couplet used by Brabantio?
Rhyming couplets are usually used in poetry and plays to mark something significant. When Brabantio says " Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:She has deceived her father may thee,"(1.3.289-29) he is saying that Desdemona tricked him and may trick Othello to. This suggest that something in the future is going to happen that Desdemona will trick Othello.

Why is Rodrigo so distraught? how (and why) does Iago convince him to keep going? 
Rodrigo says to Iago in Act 1 Scene 3 "I will contingently drown myself." (1.3.302) He so upset that Desdemona who he loves is married. To this Rodrigo replies "Drown thyself? Drown cats and blind puppies,"(1.1.331) this is Iago convincing Rodrigo to not kill himself for his personal benefit. He uses Rodrigo for personal financial gain: "Thus do I make my fool my purse." (1.3.374)

What is ironic about Othello's retort and what he calls Iago? 
"Honest Iago,"(1.3.291) is what Othello calls him. This is ironic because earlier in the play Iago told us that hie is not really who he says he is and is an not so honest man: " I am not what I am."(1.1.66)

What reason does Iago give for wanting revenge against Othello?
According to Iago Othello has "done his office,"(1.3.378) and " 'twixt,"(1.3.379) Iago's sheets. This could mean two thing the first is that Othello has taken his job as commander in charge of the mission to Cyprus and he was demoted to flag barrier. Another less common is that the mention of the sheets is not a metaphor but means that Othello has slept with Iago's wife. This leads the audience to feel for Iago and be able to relate with this feeling that someone stole something from you and cheer on his evil intentions almost.