Flashcards
Othello: Important Desdemona Quotes
Cards in this deck (7)
- 1DESDEMONA- 'A moth of peace' [Act One].Strong use of dramatic irony as the key plot point in which the play is set around- her elopement to Othello, causes anything but peace.
- 2DESDEMONA- 'Let me go with him'It shows her bravery to risk her own life to be in a war zone just to be with Othello, it caused also represent her need to escape having betrayed her father but could be interpreted that she truly loves Othello to the point where she is willing to die for it, which she does when he later murders her.
- 3DESDEMONA- 'Preferring you before her father'.Desdemona uses this line as a defence for betraying Brabantio after she marries Othello, she is stating that her own mother married Brabantio without her father's permission and therefore is saying her cannot be mad at her as it would be a double standard. It is a childish way to defend herself but could prove she is not naive as some critics make her out to be.
- 4[Referred to as] 'General's General'.It could show that she is the only one with control over Othello, but the control she has is purely by her sexuality [which explains why she is referred to as a 'whore' and 'strumpet' by her husband in his anger of this]. It also could show Othello's weakness of being easy to manipulate as he was by Iago.
- 5[Referred to as by BRABANTIO] 'A maiden never bold, of spirit so still and quiet'.Shows the expectations of woman to be virginal, chaste and seen but not heard, up until now Desdemona is therefore presented as following societal expectations of woman but having married Othello, Brabantio is betrayed.
- 6[Being spoken about by Brabantio] 'Thou has enchanted her (Othello)'Shows Elizabethan believes in witchcraft and magic. Can be considered as racial discrimination as well as going against societal expectations as a woman was expected to marry a man of her own race and class, it therefore shows belief that Othello could have only convinced Desdemona to marry him by performing magic on her.
- 7DESDEMONA- 'A guiltless death I die' 'Commend me to my kind my lord'It shows her obedience and duty as a wife even when discovering what some could perceive as the true nature of Othello, the fact she says 'my kind' implies she is in the wrong, and is a biblical suggestion that she believes she deserves to go to hell. This is debatable whether she believes this because she betrayed Brabantio or because she is loyal to Othello.
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- AS - Level English literature Flashcards on Othello: Important Desdemona Quotes, created by Rebecca Davidson on 19/05/2016.
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- Rebecca Davidson
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