Othello's language: iii, iii, 282 onwards

Othello's language: iii, iii, 282 onwards

1. context

   • at the start of the scene othello is happy and full of love for desdemona, yet by the end he is in a torment of jealousy, persuaded of desdemona's guilt and filled with murderous intent
   • iago has for a long time planned to exploit desdemona's pleading for cassio to suggest more than just friendship

2. structure

   • part of the longest scene in the play
   • scene dominated by dialogue between othello and iago, as iago slowly works on convincing othello that desdemona is to blame

3. language features

   • heroic language
     • later in the scene, othello says that before this he was happy, and so single-handedly iago has undermined othello without him knowing
       • this is shown in one of othello's longer speeches 'farewell! othello's occupation gone'. the use of the exclamative emphasises his extreme emotions, and the use of illeism (referring to yourself in the third person) shows how unstable his mind is at this late stage.
   • assimilation
     • iago's use of language becomes more and more like othello's throughout the scene
   • race
     • even othello himself directly associates blackness with being something negative
   • gender
     • othello feels as if he cannot be a soldier any more, as a result of othello believing that desdemona has cheated on him
   • marriage
     • othello appears to suggest that all men are destined, from the moment of their birth, to be cheated on my their wives. this helps to explain why othello is so easily convinced that that desdemona has been unfaithful, despite there being no actual evidence of any wrongdoing

4. other techniques

   • repetition
     • the repetition of words or phrases draw attention to them
       • for example 'Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her, damn her!'. shakespeare really wants the audience to know the message, as 'damn her' means to send her to hell, something which directly juxtaposes to his feelings for desdemona at the beginning of the play
   • soliloquies - for dramatic effect
     • othello's soliloquy only serves to emphasise his great admiration and respect for iago, something which makes what iago does to him all the more shocking
   • ambiguity
     • for example othello saying 'think, my lord?' could mean all sorts of things.
   • imagery
     • strong pictures and ideas are often created in our minds throughout the play. it has lots of references to darkness, animals, disease and hell
   • metaphors
     • iago consistently uses metaphors to portray othello as a horrible person
   • personification
     • the feeling of jealousy becomes 'the green eyed monster with doth mock the meat it feeds on'
   • similes
     • othello has previously referred to desdemona as 'as fresh as a Dian's visage' (a goddess's face), which sharply contrasts to his feelings by the end of act 3
   • blank verse
     • many lines are written in blank verse, with 10 syllables organised into 5 pairs. this provides a definitive structure for the play
   • opposites
     • oxymoron
       • there are many opposing meanings which are put together in othello, such as 'fair devil',
         • this makes the character's thoughts,feelings and words special, as othello knows how much he loved the 'fair' desdemona, yet she is also considered his 'devil'
     • antithesis
       • a prime example of this is the antithesis of colour, with the words 'black' and 'white' used to emphasise how othello is considered 'different' and separate from the others