Othello: Shakespeare's techniques Flashcards
Dramatic Irony
Symbolism
Allusion
Dramatic Monologue
Metaphor
Foreshadowing
Soliloquy
Ethos
One of the three “modes of persuasion”—pathos, logos, and ethos—originally defined by Aristotle. He believed that in order to have ethos a good speaker must demonstrate three things:
-Phronesis: Sound reasoning, and relevant experience or expertise.
-Arete: Moral character.
-Eunoia: Good intentions towards the audience. Speakers can strengthen their ethos by pointing out things that they share with an audience.
Example:
Speaking in Act 3 Scene 3 about Desdemona, who is from Venice, Iago tells Othello:
I know our country disposition well.
In Venice they do let God see the pranks
They dare not show their husbands.
Foil
A foil character is someone who contrasts the traits and actions of another character, often the protagonist. Emilia serves as a foil for both Desdemona and Iago.Emilia’s cynicism functions as a foil for Desdemona’s naivety, emphasizing Desdemona’s honesty and innocence. Emilia’s worldly experience, perceptiveness, and dark sense of humor form a contrast with Desdemona’s purity. Shakespeare sets up Iago and Othello as foils of one another, with Iago’s duplicity and control designed to emphasize Othello’s honest and open nature.
Logos
Logos, along with ethos and pathos, is one of the three “modes of persuasion” in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Logos is an argument that appeals to an audience’s sense of logic or reason. Iago uses logos as a persuasive technique to convince Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity. By citing Desdemona’s past examples of deceit, Iago appeals to Othello’s sense of reason to show that she could also deceive him.
Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Shakespeare repeatedly places language of desire and violence side by side to emphasize the paradox that love can be harmful.
Pathos
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three “modes of persuasion” in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to an audience’s emotions. When a speaker tells a personal story, presents an audience with a powerful visual image, or appeals to an audience’s sense of duty or purpose in order to influence listeners’ emotions in favor of adopting the speaker’s point of view, he or she is using pathos . A quality that invokes sadness or pity.
Iago paints Desdemona’s infidelity in animalistic terms designed to invoke Othello’s primal instincts.Iago’s use of animal imagery proves particularly effective, with the lewd comparison of Desdemona and Cassio to impassioned goats and monkeys designed to present their alleged passion in graphic terms that infect Othello’s imagination. Indeed, when Othello is later fully in the grips of his jealousy and starting to descend into madness, he nonsensically exclaims, “Goats and monkeys!”, confirming that this provocative image has been embedded into his mind.
Situational Irony
For example, Marriage bed as Desdemona’s death bed
