Desdemona quotes and analysis Flashcards
‘O, the more angel she,
And you the blacker devil!’
Said by Emilia
She becomes the truth-teller.
Using contrasting metaphors, she compares Desdemona to an angel and brands Othello a black devil.
She believes that Othello’s sense of right and wrong is reversed, seeing black and evil as good, and white and goodness as bad.
Also echoes racial prejudice - Shakespeare plays with how race and otherness are used to vilify him.
‘Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her!’
Said by Othello
Uses expletives and vengeful and derogatory language to express his anger.
His repetition of “damn her” shows how his love for her has turned to hatred.
Iago has taken complete control of his mind as Othello sinks deeper into despair and madness.
‘O, my fair warrior’
Said by Othello
There is equality in their relationship, shown by Othello calling Desdemona his ‘warrior’. He regards her as being as strong as he is - typically not a feminine trait.
Othello is unable to separate his personal life with his military life, making love and war inextricably linked.
The word “warrior” subtly foreshadows the conflict to come—both external and internal.
‘I do perceive here a divided duty’
Said by Desdemona
Her first words of the play.
Her ‘duty’ shows the position of women at the time: obedient towards their fathers and husbands.
She does not insist on her loyalty to Othello at the expense of respect for her father, but rather acknowledges that her duty is “divided.”
Establish for the audience her courage and her strength of conviction - not expected by women of the time.
‘Why do you speak so startlingly and rash’
Said by Desdemona to Othello
Desdemona has began to notice a change in Othello’s speech.
The word “startlingly” shows she’s alarmed by the sudden aggression in Othello’s tone and behavior. She’s not used to being treated this way by him.
She sees his behavior as out of character, as if it’s temporary or emotionally driven, not grounded in a deliberate belief.
This moment marks the emotional gap widening between them.
‘If I be left behind, A moth of peace, and he go to war, The rites which I love him are bereft (deprived) me’
Said by Desdemona
This demonstrates Desdemona’s strength of character - she wants social mobility in being able to go away with her husband.
But just as moths fly towards light and flame, this also foreshadows how Desdemona is flying towards danger and death.
