appearance and reality Flashcards
motif of blindness
desdemona only person at the beginning who seems to be blind to othellos otherness/ how doomed their marriage always is
the play relies on people not seeing everything due to its deceptive nature
brabantio about desdemona to othello
“look to her moor… eyes to see”
warning othello that desdemona has decieved one man and has the ability to do it again; however ironic bc “eyes to see” does not always mean gaining understanding or truth and iago exploits this
iago in front of rodrigo (following an evil soliloquy)
“what wound did ever heal but by degrees”
juxtaposition of private and public iago, his previous soliloquy of disease, decay and destruction versus the healing discussions in front of rodrigo- putting up a front
iago to othello
“men should be what they seem;”
massively ironic + fake ethos and connotations with janus
emphasis on danger of iago, doing not what he should but what he wants, completely undetected
iago to othello
“by janus”
janus is a roman god with two faces
reflects iagos dedication to his deception, and early warning of his devotion to his image vs his desires and his own deification of himself and his immorality/disconnect with christianity
