Othello: Language, Form, Structure

Imagery
1. Colour - darkness etc.
2. Animal - ram/ewe, Othello uses it more as he becomes more like Iago
3. Disease/poison - associated with corruption, Iago's manipulation
4. Hell - Iago and his deception, racial slur
Irony
1. Creates suspense and adds interest
  1. Dramatic - audience knows Desdemona is innocent throughout
  2. Verbal - 'Honest Iago', Iago's warning of jealousy when those are his intentions
2. Cassio wanted dead - only one not murdered
3. Dramatic irony makes audience feel a part of the play
Writing Style
1. Mostly iambic pentameter/blank verse - used by noble characters
2. Characters lower on social scale - prose
3. Othello's blank verse establishes heroism, authority, intelligence
4. Iago slips between prose and verse - adapts to different audiences/purposes
Repetition
1. Othello's langauge repetition to emphasis message
2. Repetition of key themes
3. Builds suspense e.g. before/after Desdemona death
Opposites
1. Black/white - Othello/Desdemona linked with evil/good
2. Good/evil - perceived evil of Othello as outsider, goodness of Desdemona etc, Othello see self as 'honourable murderer'
3. Innocence/experience - Desdemona/Emilia view of fidelity, naive characters/Iago
4. Light/dark - bad things done in the dark 'put out the light', final murders, drunken brawl etc. Light - Des' purity
5. Appearance/reality - Iago, Desdemona
Personification
1. For jealousy - 'green eyed monser'
2. To add to drama and emphasise themes

Resource summary

	Created by Tamsin Hackett about 9 years ago