🗡️OTHELLO: AO2: METHODS (DICTION) Flashcards
ALLITERATION A3: S3
-When idea of Desdemona having an affair first starts to become implanted in othello’s head, shakespeare uses alliteration to emphasise his FRANTICNESS
-'’On horror’s head horrors accumulate’’
-Repitition of ‘‘h’’ and ‘‘r’’ sounds creates verbal picture of the accumulation being described
- As horrors breed more horrors, similarly, the sounds and letters pile on top of each other, creating a sense of esculation
-Creates a sense of dread and foreboding, mirroring the escalating horror that Othello fears will come about.
-Draws audience attention tpo the meaning of the sentence and emphasises importance
ALLITERATION A5: S2
Before Othello kills himself , Shakespeare uses alliteration to emphasize the link between LOVE and VIOLENCE (central to the play)
-(Speaking to dead Desdemona): Othello:
I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this,/ Killing myself to die upon a kiss. [he dies]
-Alliteration of “k” in “kissed” + “killed” draws CLEAR LINK between these words, only separated by one difference in letter. -Verbal similarity= echoes the sentiment of Othello’s speech: there is a thin line between passion and violence
SO: choice to come back to this theme at this climactic point reiterates its centrality, not only in their relationship but whole play
-VERBAL SYMMETRY of Othello’s phrasing—in the pattern of kissed, killed, killing, kiss—reflects Othello’s attempt to RESTORE BALANCE and order in this scene.
-Verbal pattern of kissed, killed, killing, kiss structurally reflects the STAGES of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship, which starts in love, progresses to violence, and then ends in final declarations of love again.
-“killing himself to die upon a kiss,”: Othello = ATTEMPT to convince himself + audience that his acts of violence were done with love in mind: the greatness of his love is proportional to the horrors of his violence.
-SUCCESFUL? DEBATABLE, but verbal symmetry= evidence of attempting to forge the link/balance
-Othello death= an attempt to enact justice for crimes
ALLITERATION A5: S2
-Alliteration= to emphasise the extent of Othello’s DESPAIR after realisation
+ forced to come to terms with the GRAVITY of his mistake in killing Desdemona
-Alliteration= reflects woe of Othello
Othello (crying): “O Desdemon! Dead, Desdemon! Dead! O, O!”
-‘‘d’’ in ‘‘dead’’ + Desdemon’’= CONSONANCE
-dental “d” sound W/ repetition of the monosyllabic “dead” and “O” = gives sentence a SHORT, STACCATO rhythm
-Creates harsh sound- mirrors discord of scene/spectacle of scene
-Shortness of the sounds = sense of finality and decisiveness, = reflects the FINALITY of Othello’s actions: there is no undoing what he has done.
-Repetition of ‘‘O’’= Assonance
-AURALLY represents Othello’s despair: Babbling= gives speech a sense of frenzy: his struggle to comprehend/articulate actions, growing madness throughout play
-Othello’s speech VS Iago’s when exposed: Iago= chooses coldness,silence, Othello= impassioned, verbal excess
Contrast= emphasises Othello’s humanity
ALLUSIONS A1: S1
-First Scene= Shakespeare makes an allusion to the Bible which sets up Iago as the play’s clear villain.
-“I am not what I am” (to Roderigo when complaining about how Othello has slighted him)
-Allusion to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, when Moses asks for God’s name and God replies, “I am what I am
-Iago’s phrasing= INVERTS this meaning- highlights his duality and deceptive appearance.
(Appears as honest and honorable, VS is deceitful and spiteful)
-Distinction in first scene= Shakespeare highlighting Appearance vs Reality as a defining theme
-Iago’s speech = exact inversion of God’s in the Bible- alludes to his evil nature and his role as VILLAIN in the play.
SO: Iago= associated with the DEVIL
(his use of deceit to trick his victims into doing wrong PARALLELS how the devil is shown to trick his victims within Christian belief.
-FINAL SCENE= Iago called a “serpent,” = an allusion to the snake who leads Eve astray in the Garden of Eden.
-THUS: Shakespeare’s Biblical allusions serve to set up a DICHOTOMY/contrast between good + evil in the play, with Iago being presented as a clear manifestation of evil.
ALLUSION A3: S3
When describing his desire for vengeance for Desdemona’s INFIDELITY, Othello makes an allusion to the Greek myth of Hero and Leander.
-‘Never, Iago. Like to the Pontic Sea,
Whose icy current and compulsive course
…, but keeps due on
To the Propontic and the Hellespont’
- Dangerous icy currents of the Pontic Sea + the Hellespont allude to the TRAGIC GREEK MYTH of two secretive lovers,* Hero and Leander*, who lived on opposite sides of the Hellespont
-Allusion of this myth (which warns of dangers of love) is PERTINENT to play - in which Othello + Desdemona’s love is proven to be fatal
-Allusion= apt in reference to secretive lovers
- Social convention dictates the secrecy of Hero and Leander’s union, JUST LIKE social stigma of interracial relationships initially motivate the secrecy of Othello and Desdemona’s match
HOWEVER: Othello compares himself to the dangerous sea rather than the ill-fated Leander
-REPRESENTS SHIFT: from lover to villain
Leander= helpless villain, but Othello= plays active role in his tragedy
-It is Othello’s desire for vengeance that will ultimately become the “sea” that swallows both lovers up
DRAMATIC IRONY: IAGO’S PLOTTING
-Shakespeare steeps the whole of Othello in dramatic irony
(common device in classical Greek tragedy due to its ability to create tension)
-Elevates drama of the action
-EG: Audience know Desdemona is innocent which makes deception of Othello all the more fustrating/devastating
EG: Tragedy of play’s ending is made even more acute by the fact audience knows it is coming all along
THEREFORE: imbalance in knowledge between audience + characters= emphasises vulnerability of Iago’s victims: strengthening play’s emotional impact/PATHOS- we feel pity
-ALSO: draws attention to the calculated nature of Iago’s plotting: can see EFFECTIVENESS of Iago as a villain
-Iago saying what will happen, and it actually happen= makes him an even more fearsome villain
-Audience’s greater fustration in scenes MAT be intended to create fustration- seeing the relative ease of Othello being misleaded
-COULD serve Iago’s mastery but also serve to EXPOSE Othello’s weakness: Othello so willingly trusts Iago and this makes him partially responsible for his own downfall
-DRAMATIC IRONY= proves that Iago’s lies are only able to take root BECAUSE there is an innate capacity for jealousy + violence in Othello
DRAMATIC IRONY: IAGO’S HONESTY
EPITHET THROUGHOUT PLAY:
Othello says Iago= ‘‘a man of honesty and trust’’
Desdemona says: ‘‘an honest fellow’’
Cassio says: ‘‘never knew a Florentine more kind and honest’’
He is called ‘‘honest Iago’’. and he himself says ‘‘I am an honest man’’
-Iago = able to manipulate easily= because he has effectively cultivated this image of himself as trustworthy.
-Iago’s reputation= also an example of HYPERBOLE- exaggerated for dramatic effect
-SHAKESPEARE DOES THIS: to highlight how decieving appearance can be (crucial theme)
-Audience’s awareness of Iago’s actual dishonesty vs character praises = dramatic irony: ensure discord between appearance vs reality= obvious
DRAMATIC IRONY + IAGO’S SOLILOQUIES
-used as DEVICE to create *dramatic irony *by exposing Iago’s real intentions to audience
-INSIGHTS into Iago’s plotting= emphasies him as the play’s scheming villain
-7 SOLILOQUIES= add structure- signpost to reader how plot is progressing: Iago as semi-narrative figure
-Iago’s soliloquies= inidctae his mastery of language + story-telling
-Speech=filled with* figurative* and evocative language
-Iago’s use of verse highlights his sophistication, regular meter (iambic pentameter( reflects measured and calculated nature of both his LANGUAGE + TEMPERAMENT
-ALSO emphasise Iago’s isolation as a character
-Does’t confide plan in anyone,devises plan by self: indicates his cynical and suspicious nature towards others
-HOWVER: creates intimacy with the audience: as Iago’s lone/ONLy listeners- they are the only ones privy to the machinations of Iago’s deceit
-COULD BE a intentional attempt to implicate audience themselves into the ACTIONS of the play: forcing them to shoulder some burden- they cannot AVOID his maniplulation
DRAMATIC IRONY + FORESHADOWING/FATE A3: S3
'’But I do love thee! And when I love thee not,
Chaos is come again’’
-EFFECTIVNESS of foreshadowing= strengthened by use of dramatic irony
-Othello = unaware how prophetic his words ARE but audience KNOW Iago’s private plottings + knows that he plans to tear Othello and Desdemona apart
-HEIGHTENS the play’s dramatic power
-Use of foreshadowing = reminds the audience that the play has been carefully/ deliberately constructed: reminding the audience of the power of language
ETHOS: IAGO’S AUTHORITY: A3:S3
-Iago appeals to Othello’s respect for authority through the use of ethos.
-Does this by emphasising his own authority and credibility : to PERSUADE Othello to believe that his wife is cheating on him.
'’I know our country disposition well.
In Venice they do let God see the pranks’’
-Iago emphasises his extensive experience of Venice to present himself as the authority on the matter.
-“our country,” Iago uses the possessive “our” to subtly highlight the superiority of his link with Venice to Othello, who is not native to Venice.
-Emphasises Othello’s comparative ignorance and plays on this insecurity, with Othello’s role as an OUTSIDER to Venice frequently referenced throughout the play.
FOIL + MOTIF: BLACK AND WHITE: A3 S3
-MOTIF= SETS UP OTHELLO + DESDEMONA AS FOILS
-Black + White= motif that reflects PERTINENCE of race in play + damaging consequences of racial stereotypes
-MOTIF/Images of black + white= bound up with dichotomy of good and evil: through Othello and Desdemona
-whiteness=Desdemona’s faithfulness, (‘‘a maid so tender, fair and happy’’, ‘‘an angel’)
blackness= Othello’s violence (‘‘blacker devil’’- Emilia after Othello kills Desdemona)
'’Her name, that was as fresh
As Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black
As mine own face’’
-Othello HIMSELF ties up images of whiteness + blackness with virtue and vice
-Use of IMAGERY= he has internalised the racial prejudices of his peers- could be why he was so easy to trick?
FOIL/ANTITHESIS: OTHELLO AND IAGO: A5 S2
IAGO + OTHELLO AS FOILS: IAGO’S DUPLICITY VS OTHELLO’S HONEST + OPEN NATURE
-Iago’s DUPLICITY = I love you vs I hate the moor, ‘‘I am not what I am’’, Cynical worldview: where everything is false, effortlessly switches between prose and verse depending on who he is talking to
-Iago’s EASE in switching= Iago’s chameleon-like nature- matching appearance of what is most advantageous for him
Othello’s HONESTY= of a ‘free and open nature/ That thinks men honest that but seem to be so’’, demands ‘ocular proof’ of Desdemona being unfaithful, believes in what he can see, consistently speaks in blank verse, EMPHASISING honesty + integrity
-OPPOSITION set up= emphasies Iago’s capacity to decieve and Othello’s susceptibility to manipulation
FOIL REINFORCED AT THE END OF THE PLAY: OTHELLO TURNS TO WORDS, IAGO CHOOSES SILENCE
'’What you know, you know.
From this time forth I never will speak word.’’
Othello speech= frantic, Iago remains measured and calculated- wants to remain in control of the narrative until the end
FORESHADOWING + SITUATIONAL IRONY: A1 S3
'’My life upon her faith!’’
Situationally ironic: Othello means it figuratively, in response to Brabantio warning him of Desdemona decieving, but it turns out to be LITERAL
-Othello’s realisation that Desdemona HAS been faithful + consequent revelation of the horror of his acts causes him to take his own life
SO: words prove to be prophetic, double meaning highlights duplicity of language- words ability to decieve= key part of Othello’s tragedy
SITUATIONAL IRONY: MARRIAGE BED AS DEATH BED: A5 S1
Marriage bed= love + fertility, this image is prevented and instead of it bringing new life, it bears death instead
Perversion of this symbol= disturbing nature of violence that has taken place
Lodovico: ‘‘Look on the tragic loading of this bed.
This is thy work. - The object poisons sight.’’
-Image’s disturbing quality: it ‘poison’s sight’
'’Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lust’s blood be spotted.’’
-Image of the blood-stained sheets invokes both the loss of virginity and the loss of life, linking passion and violence in a way that stresses the dangers of lust
-Linked to Desdemona’s handkerchief: imagery of the handkerchief, which is white with red embroidery, MIRRORS the image of the blood-stained sheets
-A usual symbol of love and courting= now a FATALISTIC object that convinces Othello that Desdemona has betrayed him
LOGOS: IAGO’S REASON A3 S3, A2 S3
Iago= uses LOGOS as persuasive technique to convince Othello
-He APPEALS to his sense of reason to show that Desdemona could decieve Othello- by citing her past deceit
'’She did deceive her father, marrying you,’’
Because Desdemona decieved her father, she is intrinsically deceitful and will also lie to Othello
Line of reason= appeals to Othello’s desire for logic
-Also uses logos to convince Cassio to ask Desdemona to help him make up with Othello after his fight with Roderigo (in Act 2, Scene 3)
-Uses a series of deductions: Desdemona has great sway over her husband; Desdemona is of an “apt” and “free” disposition
-By highlighting the logic of his suggestions, Iago convinces characters that they are acting IN LINE with common reason, not with his influence, thus REMOVING his own culpability in their actions.
METAPHORS + ALLUSION: WEBS AND WEAVING
Iago’s plotting as a spider spinning its web= an EXTENDED METAPHOR throughout Othello
-Highlights the intricate and deliberate nature of Iago’s scheming.
IAGO: “With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio.”
“the net that shall enmesh them all,”
OTHELLO: decries how his body and soul have been ‘‘ensared’’ by Iago’s scheming
-EMPHASISES IMAGES of entrapment- Igao’s victims= helpless pret
-Depiction of Iago as spider= VILLAINOUS predator: reflecting power and control over the plot
-METAPHOR of spinning= idea of storytelling?
-Just as spider spins web, Iago spins his through his weaving of words
COULD BE AN ALLUSION TO GREEK MYTHOLOGY??
-Fates (divinities that ascribe human destinies) are ALSO SPINNERS
-Iago, like the fates= holder of KNOWLEDGE + CONTROL, knows characters fate before they do
METAPHOR: GREEN EYED MONSTER A3 S3
-JEALOUSY as monster that preys and feeds upon its victims
-Iago: ‘O beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green eyed monster’
Monster= ‘green eyed’: pertinent to ideas of vision and blindness- jealousy’s ability to TAINT appearances is its most POTENT weapon
-EG: Othello seeing every action of Desdemona as confirming her infedility
-External creature: emphasises helplessness of victims
-Othello could be a VICTIM of jealousy, rather than an agent of it: could relieve him of some of the responsibility of his violent actions
OR: monster= A PART of Othello
ACT 3 SCENE 4: EMILIA to Desdemona:
‘‘But jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster
Begot upon itself, born on itself. ‘’
-Emilia’s Description: emphasises self-consuming nature
-Monster that infects Othello can only do so because of something intrinsic in Othello that sustains it
METAPHOR: WORDS AS POSION A3 S3
IAGO’S ASIDE: ‘‘The Moor already changes with my poison; Dangerous conceits are in their natures poisons’’
-POISON + ILLNESS= extended metaphor- emphasies dangers and infectiousness of language
-Iago description of his own words ‘‘poison’’- awareness of the harm of his words, with them infecting people inside out
-Difficulty tracing poison= crimes difficult to detect
IAGO: says he will ‘‘pour pestilence into his ear’’ (Othello’s)
-He need only drop a few suggestions into Othello’s ear for the poison of his words to take effect and spread to infect the whole of Othello’s mind.
MOTIFS: ANIMALS: A1 S1, A3 S3
ANIMAL IMAGERY= used in association to sex and violence
IAGO TO BRABANTIO: ‘’ an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe’’
‘‘Barbary horse’’
-GRAPHIC imagery to present Othello + Desdemona’s relationship as base and animalistic
-ANIMAL MOTIF= used racistly and misogynistically: emphasises on black ram/ white ewe= Reflects interracial relationship: ‘barbary horse’= north african breed
.-Juxtaposition= shows the racially charged binary of
corruption and innocence
-Characterisation of them as animals- DEHUMANISES them and suggests they lack the self-control that makes a civilized person.
Describing Cassio + Desdemona’s affair to Othello: ‘‘Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys, As salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross’’
-LEWD COMPARISON of Desdemona and Cassio to impassioned goats and monkeys : graphic terms that INFECT Othello’s imagination.
-When Othello is later fully in the GRIPS of jealousy and starting to descend into madness, he nonsensically exclaims, “Goats and monkeys!”, confirming that this provocative image = embedded into his mind.
OXYMORON + PARADOX : VIOLENCE OF LOVE: A5 S2
Shakespeare repeatedly places language of desire and violence SIDE-BY-SIDE to emphasise PARADOX that love can be harmful
BEFORE OTHELLO KILLS DESDEMONA HE SAYS: ‘‘I will kill thee
And love thee after.’’
‘‘So sweet was ne’er so fatal. I must weep,
But they are cruel tears. ‘’
‘‘This sorrow’s heavenly: It strikes where it doth love.’’
-Othello’s repeated use of this paradox= convincing SELF that his motivations come from love and not violence - as a way to come to terms with the bloodiness of his actions
PATHOS: OTHELLO’S JEALOUSY A3 S3
-IAGO= master manipulator and uses all 3 of Aristotle’s ‘‘modes of persuasion’’- uses PATHOS to convince Othello of Desdemona’s affair
-Previous use of Logos fails: ends in Othello demanding '’occular proof’’
- Knows it is impossible so uses LANGUAGE to create a powerful visual image that plays on Othello’s EMOTIONS
- Iago paints Desdemona’s infidelity in ANIMALISTIC TERMS designed to invoke Othello’s primal instincts
'’It is impossible you should see this,
Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys,
As salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross’’
-He goes onto describe Cassio dreaming about Desdemona in his sleep, kissing and sighing.
-Physical act of infedility, in vivid terms= invokes Othello’s IMPASSIONED JEALOUSY: exclaims '’O monstrous! Monstrous!”, signaling his MENTAL SHIFT
AFTER SPEECH: ‘‘I’‘ll tear her to pieces!’’ PREDATOR descending on its PREY: Othello becoming governed by his emotions
SHIFT FROM REASON TO EMOTION
SIMILIE + ALLUSION: PLAGUE A4 S1
-Othello recalls seeing Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief, he uses SIMILE that links the idea of MEMORY with INFECTION:
'’O, it comes o’er my memory
As doth the raven o’er the infectious house’’
ALLLUSION to contemporary folklore: ravens hovering above houses visited by the plague
-Speculated that Shakespeare’s own son Hamnet died of the plague in 1596, and in 1603 there was a severe outbreak in England
-Choice to COMPARE Othello’s memory with infection thus immediately signals danger and sorrow for the audience.
ALSO: - Idea of the brain’s susceptibility to a kind of FIGURATIVE INFECTION: a theme which becomes paramount in Iago’s poisoning of Othello’s thoughts.
-emphasises the mind’s VULNERABILITY to manipulation and deceit.
STYLE
OTHELLO:
-Speaks in Blank Verse, with eloquence and style that favours figurative language + an elevated tone
-Style= deteriorates by end, syntax becoming more broken and frantic
IAGO:
-Comparable in eloquence and tendency towards evocative imagery
-BUT more flexible
-Iago’s speech switches between BLANK and PROSE
VERSE= alone, noble characters
PROSE= exchanged with other soldiers
-Chameleon-like quality= part of his manipulation of language- changing style fo speech to best match surrounding to earn others’ trust
UNRELIABLE NARRATOR: A3 S3
