OTHELLO LANGUAGE

The Language of Fear

Othello: ‘… Will you, I pray, demand that demi-devil
Why he hath thus ensnared my soul and body.’
Iago: ‘Demand me nothing. What you know, you know.
From this time forth I never will speak word.’ (5:5)
At the conclusion of the play Iago commits to eternal silence and refuses to
explain
what has motivated his manipulative behaviour in the play.
1. How do you explain of his behaviour?
2. What drives him to act the way he does?

Evidence in the play

Iago attempts to justify his actions a number of times throughout the play.
Find evidence in the play to support Iago’s motives and record them with ordered
and referenced quotes.

Your response to the play

How do you interpret Iago’s actions?
Referring to the script and the performance, write a paragraph response to each
of these
questions, considering Iago’s explanations of his motivation.
1. Is he just evil?
2. Is he a psychopath or psychologically disturbed?
3. Is he a racist who fears any loss of power or prestige to a man he sees as his
inferior?
4. Is he a misogynist or someone who has an obsessive hatred of women?
5. Is he a working class man who has become resentful of how those with
aristocratic
connections appear to get all the opportunities?
6. Is Iago a repressed homosexual who is subconsciously jealous of Desdemona’s
relationship with his beloved Othello? Does he destroy the handsome Cassio
because
he realizes a relationship with him is impossible?

Imagine you are Iago. You have been taken back to Venice from Cyprus by
Lodovico and you are in prison. The next morning you will be taken to a cell to be
tortured so that you will confess why you have behaved so unspeakably against
Othello. You have vowed never to speak again.
Compose a monologue or soliloquy in which you privately explain your actions in
the play. The monologue should capture Iago’s most private and intimate
thoughts and feelings.
Write in contemporary English if you wish.
When you write you should try to keep in mind the kinds of imagery Iago has
used throughout the play (consider his references to hell, disease, animals,
pollution, weeds).

The Language techniques of the Play

Symbolism
Desdemona’s handkerchief, given to her as a wedding present, is a symbol of
something precious between Desdemona and Othello. It is carelessly mislaid and
then used by Iago for his own evil purposes.
1. Identify other symbols they find in the play. List these and their specific
references, explain them in regards to their context within the play.

Foreshadowing
Othello:...If it were now to die,
Twere now to be most happy; for I fear
 My soul hath her content so absolute
That not another comfort like to this
Succeeds in unknown fate.
(II, i, 187-191)
1. Search for other examples of foreshadowing and note them in your workbooks.
2. How we can recognize foreshadowing even before we know the climax of the
play.

Irony
Iago: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.
(III, iii, 165-167)
1. After providing definitions for verbal irony and dramatic or tragic irony, the two
most common types, have identify where the example above fits. Remind them
that verbal irony occurs when the attitude of the writer or speaker is opposite
what is literally stated. Dramatic or tragic irony, on the other hand, occurs when
the reader or audience understands that a character’s words have a double
meaning. Likewise, dramatic irony may arise from the structure of the play.
2. Search for other examples of irony in the play including examples of all the
types you have defined.

Epithets
An epithet is an adjective or describing phrase added before a noun that is used
to describe a character or a thing. An example would be ‘valiant Othello’ or
‘honest Iago’.
1. Find epithets in the play that are used to describe the characters listed: Iago,
Desdemona, Othello, Cassio, Emilia. Record in a table using dot points and
annotated quotes.
2. Sometimes the epithets in the play are used ironically. Write an ‘I’ next to
those epithets which you believe are used ironically.

Imagery
Iago: ‘It is impossible you should see this,
Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys,
As salt as wolves in pride…’ (3:3)

Investigation of the play

The imagery used by Iago provides striking insights into his character.
1) Find two examples of the imagery he uses to describe each of the following:
• Women
• Othello
• Relationships between men and women.
2) Explain the meaning of each example.
3) Experiment: write a contemporary image that holds the same meaning as that
by
Iago.