Animals In Othello

Animals In Othello

1. Othello

   • Othello tells Iago "I had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon than keep a corner in the thing i love"
     • Meaning that he would rather be a toad in a mouldy basement than share Desdemona with anyone else
     • He's using animals as a negative point to show how much he hopes Desdemona has been loyal to him
   • He later says that "horned mans a monster and a beast"
     • Meaning a man who's been cheated on isn't a real man
     • He's a subhuman, like an animal.
     • This can show how animalistic imagery has been used to describe infidelity and how its used to de-humanize people

2. Iago

   • Iago calls Othello a 'Barbary horse' an 'Old black ram' and also tells Brabantio that his daughter and Othello are 'making the beast with two backs'.
     • Referring to their relationship as animalistic and saying it lacks love
     • Refers to Desdemona as 'White ewe'
     • The words 'black' and 'White' have juxtoposing colour connotations
       • Black
         • being negative and representing death , could be showing how their marriage will end up in inevitable death
           • Foreshadowing the end of the play
       • White
         • White represents innocence and virginity which shows Desdemona's traits
     • Reference to Othello
       • reflects the racism from both characters and audience
   • In Act 1 scene 3 Iago tells Roderigo "Ere I would say I would drown myself for the love of a guinea-hen, I would change my humanity with a baboon"
     • Meaning 'id rather be a baboon than kill myself out of love for some woman i can't have'
     • Showing he feels Othello has made the wrong decision about Desdemona and he thinks their relationship was never meant to be

3. Animals In Othello

4. Cassio

   • He says 'by and by a fool, and presently a beast' when Iago used alcohol to influence him in Act 2 scene 3
   • He stated that he was a reasonable man, then he became a fool and finally a beast
     • This shows him using an animalistic metaphor to describe his unacceptable behaviour
       • Supports the idea that animals can be used to explain a persons negative behaviour

5. Emilia

   • In the final scene Emilia says that she will 'play the swan and die in music '
     • These references to animals convey a sense of nature
     • Shows a negative side of the animal imagery as she is talking about death and relating it to an animal
     • The swan metaphor can show the beauty of both her and Desdemona and the swans colour (white) can show how they both died an innocent death

6. In Othello, the use of animal imagery is used multiple times by Iago to describe the relationships between humans, ecspecially that of Desdemona and Othello

7. Like the repeated references to plants , these references to animals convey a sense that the laws of nature, rather than those of society are the primary forces governing the characters in this play