“I have no great devotion to the deed/ And yet he hath given me satisfying reasons/’Tis but a man gone. Forth my sword! He dies!” (5.1. 8-10). Roderigo stands on the quiet street of Cyprus awaiting the moment where he finally gets to obtain his trophy, Desdemona. This minute alludes to the night in Venice where Roderigo stood beneath Brabantio’s balcony in hopes of conquering his only obstacle, Othello. However, it is now Cassio who has Desdemona locked away far from the hands of Roderigo. In order for Roderigo to acquire the key to this cage, he must conquer what stands before him, Cassio. He excuses the death of this one man as he believes that the purity of the affection that he will attain will wash away the blood stained on his hands.
