Dramatic Language Flashcards
What does the use of black verse do?
Imitates the rhythm of natural speech, where every other syllable is emphasised. Shakespeare uses the 10-syllable framework of blank verse to imitate formal speech - lines that are written in blank verse are usually spoken by high-status characters.
When is prose used?
When characters take to each other informally or address characters of a lower class.
How is Othello’s speech broken in Act 5, Scene 2?
“So sweet was ne’er so fatal. I must weep.”
The steady rhythm of blank verse is interrupted by a caesura. In A5, S2, Othello’s speeches broken by an emotional pause. The pause adds extra weight to the word “fatal” and makes the final three words of the line seem heavy and slow.
What is prose?
Writing that’s not verse - it doesn’t rhyme, it’s got no metre and there are no line breaks
When does Othello’s language slip from iambic pentameter to prose?
Act 4, Scene 1.
“Is’t possible? Confess! Handkerchief! O devil!”
The breakdown in his speech mirrors a breakdown in his emotional state as he “falls” into a trance.
How does Shakespeare use a pun?
The word “lie”, meaning to be dishonest or to lie down, had sexual connotations in Shakespeare’s time - “Lie with her? Lie on her?”
Quote: How is biblical language used to show Iago’s jealousy?
“And nothing can or shall content my soul / Till I am evened with him, wife for wife.”
What is significant about “wife for wife”?
It is an adaptation of the Biblical law “life for life.” Iago seems to be seeking justification for “revenge”, and this Biblical reference highlights his determination.
Quote: Metaphor for Iago’s language being aggressive and predatory.
“If this poor trash of Venice, whom I leash / For his quick hunting”
Iago uses a series of hunting metaphors “trash” was a verb meaning to restrain hounds while hunting and a “leash” is used to restrain dogs.
How is a paradox used in his soliloquy at the end of Act 2, Scene 3?
“Divinity of hell!”
The idea of ‘divinity’ of ‘hell’ is a paradox that summarises Iago’s evil logic. There is no god in hell, but this phrase makes sense if Iago is referring to himself as a devil with a ‘heavenly’ appearance and evil intentions.
Quote: Othello foreshadowing and trying to understand his own actions.
“Put out the light, and then put out the light.”
The repetition suggests he is trying to find a solution to his situation by repeating his intentions aloud. The repetition symbolises both the literal and figurative lights - the actual candle light and the symbolic light of Desdemona’s life. The candle light may be symbolic of romance, or the darkness to detach him from his actions.
