othello Flashcards
damn her lewd minx! o damn her
monosyllabic — create anger
mirrors iago’s language and view on women
slowly losing eloquence
transformation form
starts in verse — goes to prose when presented with the idea of Des’s infidelity
— symbolises the degradation of mental state and rational judgement
emilia’s quote on love
lạy mẹ by my mistress’ side
but i do love thee! and i love thee not chaos is to come again
foreshadowing and allusion to othello’s descent into madness
she wished she had not heard it, yet she wished that heaven had made her such a man
shows othello insecurities
nobody: i myself. farewell
desdemona trying to protect othello with her last words
put out the light and then put out the light
light dark imagery
symbolising desdemona’s life
she loves me for the dangers i had pass’d and i loved her for that she did pity them
relationship built on storytelling
love + transformation
my life upon her faith
i am not what i am
antithesis of biblical phrase, paradoxical chain, chiasmus, dramatic irony
insightful view on irrational decision to trust iago
honest iago
ironic epithet
disillusioned from iago’s true nature
handkerchief
motif symbolises the infidelity and love and corruption of the love
- makes the downfall of othello
iago is most honest
- high modality
foreshadows the consequences of ideation trust and if public appearances
iago’s soliloquy’s
power of deception and manipulation
shows the audience the mistake of trusting iago and the irrationality of that
— iago’s ability to manipulate trust so that othello commits irrational actions is the cause of his downfall
“So will I turn her virtue into pitch”
iago soliloquy antithesis – effectiveness of Iago’s deceit and manipulation as he is capable of turning virtues of humanities into the worst
into a judgement so strong that judgement cannot cure
foreshadowing othello’s descent into madness and blindness due to jealousy
knavery’s plain face is never seen till used
highlights the duplicity of iago through personification of knavery
true intentions never shown
she was false as water, thou art rash as fire
showcase the consequences of iago’s manipulation – murder of desdemona as he thinks she’s cheated on him
metaphor
o, beware..of jealousy! it is the green eyed monster
dramatic irony
- warns othello of the dangers of jealousy
- manipulates othello perception of reality
- shows audience the duplicity and nature of iago
a horned man’s a monster and a beast
Overcome with jealousy
- shows delicacy of the human psyche when faced with adversity – horn symbolise cuckoldry
let her rot, and perish, and be damned to night
ascending tricolon + imagery of decay emphasise violent mindset
- Showcase ability of jealousy to undermine reasoning
“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial”
Alludes to great chain of being
- Cassio used lamenting tone asserts the excessive values of reputation and pride within the world
- Foreshadows how othello views himself later in the play
“Farewell the pride, pomo, circumstance of glorious war!” + “farewell! Othello’s occupation’s gone”
hyperbolic outburst → his identity and character is diminished by supposed infidelity
- ties worth to social pride and status
“It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul – let me not name it to you, you the chaste stars – it is the cause”
Enjambment, repetition, apostrophe, ironic
— O justification of his premeditated plan – insecurity of his actions and his morals
an old black man is tupping your white ewe
animal/bestial imagery + recurring dichotomy of light and dark
— emphasise the racial difference between O and D impacting their dynamic in their marriage/relationship
i hate the moor
Metonymic language
Builds bad name for moors
Dehumanise him → referring to him as ‘the moor’ rather than his name
a horned man’s a monster and a beast
internalised racial prejudice shown through animal imagery
— embodies animalistic characteristics he was described as
— shakespeare warns audience of othello’s self deception resulting in internal self deception
binary use of..
black and white imagery to symbolise othello’s separation and isolation from whole society
“Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now as begrimed and black as my own face”
Othello tainting desdemona’s purity → allusion of goddess of moon
my ancient..
a man he is of honesty and trust
STAGE DIRECTION TRANCE
[he] falls into a trance
— demonstrates the irrational behaviour of othello
- dangers of placing blind trust in an individual
OTHELLO ASIDE
How do you, desdemona
— rhetorical question to show othello’s loss of trust in desdemona
— lack of trust in desdemona is making othello turn into iago
STAGE DIRECTION HIT
Stifles her
doom the tragic hero of his downfall as his hamartia shows the audience of the consequences of irrational trust and lack of trust in others
set on thy wife to observe
Othello tells iago to spy on desdemona
degradation of trust and decline in HONOUR of one self
peripeteia
sudden reversal of fortune
— shift from verse to prose after pp
anagnorisis
tragic hero’s recognition
“My wife, my wife! What wife, I have no wife”
“Rot half a grain a day! He lies to the heart!”
hamartia and hubris
hamartia : fatal flaw
hubris : excessive pride form of hamartia
ac bradley (5)
[othello] is a tragedy of passion
it is the wreck of his faith and his love rather than jealousy
Othello’s passion battles his self-control throughout
experiences love powerfully
Any man situated as othello would have been disturbed by iago’s communications
