Here is the line-by-line paraphrase of Desdemona’s monologue:

Original: I prithee, do so.
Modern: Please, go ahead and do that.

Original: Something, sure, of state,
Modern: Something important involving government business, I’m sure,

Original: Either from Venice, or some unhatch’d practise
Modern: Either from Venice, or some unfinished scheme

Original: Made demonstrable here in Cyprus to him,
Modern: That’s been revealed to him here in Cyprus,

Original: Hath puddled his clear spirit: and in such cases
Modern: Has clouded his normally clear mind: and in situations like this

Original: Men’s natures wrangle with inferior things,
Modern: Men’s personalities clash with unimportant matters,

Original: Though great ones are their object. ‘Tis even so;
Modern: Even though major issues are what’s really bothering them. It’s just like this:

Original: For let our finger ache, and it indues
Modern: When our finger hurts, it affects

Original: Our other healthful members even to that sense
Modern: Our other healthy body parts with that same feeling

Original: Of pain: nay, we must think men are not gods,
Modern: Of pain: no, we must remember that men are not gods,

Original: Nor of them look for such observances
Modern: And we shouldn’t expect from them the same attention

Original: As fit the bridal. Beshrew me much, Emilia,
Modern: That’s appropriate for a honeymoon. Curse me, Emilia,

Original: I was, unhandsome warrior as I am,
Modern: I was, clumsy fighter that I am,

Original: Arraigning his unkindness with my soul;
Modern: Putting his cruelty on trial in my heart;

Original: But now I find I had suborn’d the witness,
Modern: But now I realize I had bribed the witness,

Original: And he’s indicted falsely.
Modern: And he’s been falsely accused.

Othello — Act I, Scene iii

In Act I, Scene iii of Othello, the Duke of Venice and his senators are gathered in a council chamber, where they are receiving a series of contradictory reports about the size and movements of the Turkish fleet. As they attempt to make sense of the intelligence before them, Brabantio arrives with Othello, along with Iago, Roderigo, and various officers. Brabantio demands justice from the Duke, accusing Othello of using sorcery and witchcraft to steal away his daughter Desdemona and win her affections. The Duke, bound by law and duty to hear the charge, gives Othello the opportunity to speak in his own defense. Othello calmly addresses the council, explaining that he won Desdemona’s love not through magic, but through the stories he told of his travels, adventures, and hardships. He requests that Desdemona herself be summoned to speak, and when she arrives, she confirms that she loves Othello freely and of her own will, transferring her primary duty of obedience from her father to her husband.

With Desdemona’s testimony given and the romantic dispute resolved, the council turns to the urgent matter of the Turkish threat against Cyprus, and Othello is ordered to sail there to lead the Venetian defense. Desdemona asks to accompany Othello, and both she and Othello request this of the Duke, who grants it. Brabantio, embittered by the council’s ruling and his daughter’s open defiance, warns Othello that Desdemona has deceived her father and may deceive him as well. After the council disperses, Iago and Roderigo are left alone, and Roderigo, despairing over losing Desdemona, speaks of drowning himself. Iago dismisses this sentiment and urges Roderigo to fill his purse with money and make the journey to Cyprus, insisting that Desdemona’s love for Othello will not last. Once Roderigo departs, Iago reveals in soliloquy that he suspects Othello has been intimate with his own wife Emilia, and he begins to form the outline of a scheme to use Cassio’s position and good looks against Othello.

Othello opens in Venice, where the Moorish general Othello has secretly married Desdemona, the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. When Iago, Othello’s ensign who harbors deep resentment for being passed over for promotion in favor of Cassio, reveals this marriage to Brabantio, the senator accuses Othello of using witchcraft to seduce his daughter. However, when the Duke of Venice summons Othello to lead the Venetian forces against a Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Desdemona herself testifies that she married Othello willingly out of love. The Duke dismisses Brabantio’s charges, and Othello departs for Cyprus with Desdemona, Iago, and his officers.

Once in Cyprus, the Turkish fleet is destroyed by a storm, but Iago begins executing his plan for revenge. He manipulates Cassio into a drunken brawl that results in Cassio’s demotion, then convinces Cassio to seek Desdemona’s help in regaining Othello’s favor. Iago uses these innocent meetings between Desdemona and Cassio as evidence to plant seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind, suggesting that his wife is having an affair with the former lieutenant. To strengthen his deception, Iago arranges for Othello to overhear him speaking suggestively with Cassio about Bianca, Cassio’s mistress, while Othello believes they are discussing Desdemona.

The manipulation reaches its climax when Iago obtains Desdemona’s handkerchief—Othello’s first gift to her—through his wife Emilia, who serves as Desdemona’s attendant. Iago plants the handkerchief in Cassio’s chambers and later shows it to Othello as proof of the affair. Consumed by jealousy and convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello smothers her in their bed. When Emilia discovers the murder, she reveals Iago’s treachery before he kills her. Othello, realizing he has murdered his innocent wife, stabs himself and dies beside Desdemona. Iago is arrested, Cassio is appointed to govern Cyprus, and Iago is taken away to face torture and execution for his crimes.