Othello Character Quotes Flashcards
‘my fair warrior’ 1.2
sees Desdemona as equal
‘my parts, my title, my perfect soul…manifest me rightly’
1.2
triadic listing, controlled verse not prose, confident and assured. Egotistical?
let her speak 1.3
imperative command. defies Venetian patriararchal attitudes
she loved me for the dangers I had passed,/ And I loved her that she did pity them 1.3
parellism,hyperbolic metaphorical language, idealistic romance, loves her for what she provides him (confirmation of his masculinity) with not for who she is herself
“the fountain from which my current runs or else dries up” (A4S2)
hyperbolic metaphor, natural imagery, pure and idealistic conceptions of love
when I love thee not/ Chaos is come again 3.3
hyperbole, idealism, foreshadowing
“cuckold me?” “fixed figure for the time of scorn” “chop her into messes!”
undecorated, aggressive language, exclamatory slurs
Lie with her? Lie on her?… Pish!” (he falls into a trance)
repetitive interrogatives and use of slang reveal his loss of verbal and mental control
“devil!” (he strikes her)
exclamatory slurs, public domestic abuse (no respect), utterly degraded . Stage direction
fond love” turns to “tyrannous hate”
incoherent, fractured language, earlier speeches containing so much gravitas are now worn now as he is pulled into the orbit of Iago’s filthy linguistic energies
- “that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello” (A4S2)
3rd person, lost sense of his identity
“lewd minx” ‘strumpet’
abusive epiteths derogatory labels, misogynistic slang
“she must die, else she’ll betray more men”
5.1
modal verb suggests definitive nature of Othello’s decision, sees it as his duty, certain declarative
“an honourable murderer”
paradox
“whiter skin of hers than snow… smooth as monumental alabaster”
objectification or purity
