“And nothing can or shall content my soul/
Till I am evened with him, wife for wife./
At least into a jealousy so strong/
That judgement cannot cure. Which thing to do,/
If this poor trash of Venice, whom I leash/
For his quick hunting stand the putting on,/
I’ll have our Michael Cassio on the hip”
- Act 2 scene i. Soliloquy
- Iago says he needs revenge for Othello sleeping with his wife, and is going to use Cassio to get his revenge
- CAESURA: “judgement cannot cure. Which thing to do” punctuation breaks up the iambic pentameter. This created a dramatic pause.
- METAPHOR: “trash”, “leash”, “on the hip” are all metaphors. “trash” was a verb meaning to restrain hounds on a hunt. “leash” is used to restrain these dogs. “on the hip” was a wrestling term.
- PUN: “wife for wife” = adaptation of the biblical law “life for life” from Exodus. The scripture means it’s okay to seek revenge.
“How am I then a villain”
- Act 2 scene iii
- Iago narrates his evil plan
- RHETORICAL QUESTION: reflects Iago’s defensive nature, his character is anticipating criticism and suspicion against himself.
“Divinity of hell!”
- Act 2 scene iii
- Iago’s soliloquy about his evil plan
- PARADOX: the idea of the divinity of hell is a paradox which summarizes Iago’s evil logic. Iago is a devil with heavenly appearance and charm.
- Another paradox is how Iago plans to lead Cassio down a path of evil, while appearing to help him
“Haply, for I am black/
And have not those soft parts of conversation”
- Act 3 scene iii
- Othello’s soliloquy marks the turning point in the play
- Othello’s soliloquy is the only time he is alone on stage
- BLANK VERSE: Othello uses this verse to list his race and lack of education as flaws
“If I do prove her haggard,/
Though her jesses were my dear heart-strings,/
I’d whistle her off, and let her down the wind/
To prey at fortune”
- Act 3 scene iii
- Othello’s soliloquy which marks the turning point of the play
- EXTENDED METAPHOR: Othello is a falconer and Desdemona is a hawk. “haggard” = untamed (animal). “jesses” = falconer straps, which Othello compares to his “heart strings”
“To prey at fortune”
- Act 3 scene iii
- HOMONYM: prey is a homonym of pray. When Othello kills Desdemona he tells her to pray beforehand
“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul:/
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!/
It is the cause. Yet I’ll not shed her blood,/
Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,/
And smooth and monumental alabaster:/
Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men./
Put out the light, and then put out the light”
- Act 5 scene ii
- Othello talks about why he must kill Desdemona
- ANAPHORA: “It is the cause” repetition means Othello is totally certain that he has “cause” to kill her, while remaining totally vague about what the actual “cause” is.
- SIBILANCE: “soul…stars…shed…scar…skin…snow…smooth” the whispering sound here created a soothing effect, like a lullaby. This contrasts the murder Othello is about to commit
- FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: “Put out the light, and then put out the light” this repetition of “light” can refer to both the literal and figurative lights: the light of the candle, and the symbolic light of Desdemona’s life
“O thou weed/
Who art so lovely fair”
- Act 4 scene ii. Othello describing Desdemona
- OXYMORON: Desdemona is described as a beautiful weed
“I am not what I am”
- Act 1 scene i. Iago described himself
- PARADOX: Iago is what he doesn’t appear to be
“In following him, I follow but myself”
- Act 1 scene i. Iago tells Brabantio how he only pretends to be loyal to Othello
- PARADOX: Iago will appear to follow Othello while working for his own ends
“Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags!/
Thieves, thieves!”
- Act 1 scene i. Iago calls out to Brabantio
- Sexist language. Desdemona is an object which can be stolen, she can’t have left of her own free will.
“youth and maidenhood”
- Act I scene i
- “maidenhood” being a word which means virginity
- Iago goes on to say that they have been “abused” hinting that she has lost her virginity
