Quotes - Othello Flashcards
“But that I love…
… the gentle Desdemona”
- Othello’s soft language contrasts with his image painted by the other characters.
- He juxtaposes love with war to highlight the two different parts of his life: battle and his wife.
- As he describes Desdemona as ‘gentle’ this could be Shakespeare presenting Othello as aware of their many differences.
“She loved me for the dangers I had passed,…
and I loved her that she did pity them”
It could be argued that their relationship is based on pity, rather than genuine love. She is young, particularly compared to Othello, but in addition to this, Shakespeare presents her as naïve, and so when Othello showed her attention, she became enamoured by him. She came to pity him and thus began their romantic relationship. However, it could also be argued that their marriage is based on genuine and lasting love, as the language they use towards one another is affectionate and faithful. But, as inevitably their marriage breaks down because of Othello’s jealousy, perhaps it is only based on pity.
“I saw Othello’s…
…visage in his mind”
Shows Othello’s lack of self-confidence, and could be used to suggest that the blackness of Othello’s face is deceptive, and to truly know him, as Desdemona does, one needs to look inside him. However it could also be argued that Desdemona doesn’t truly know him, as in the end he kills her and she can’t believe he would be able to do such a thing.
“I hate the Moor”
Repeated by Iago throughout the play, showing his strong feelings for Othello. This contrasts with later in the play when homoerotic themes are explored and the two characters are almost described as having a marriage ceremony.
“O beware, my lord, of jealousy!…
…It is the green-eyed monster”
The notion that jealousy is green-eyed is probably older than Shakespeare, although Shakespeare is our earliest authority in print. In The Merchant of Venice, Portia refers to “green-eyed jealousy”, and here Shakespeare uses the metaphor “green-ey’d monster.” Renaissance Englishmen often paired colours with emotions or personal qualities: both green and yellow are emblematic of jealousy, and green is also emblematic of envy. Some colours are associated with the bodily fluids or “humours” thought to make up the temperament; green and black were the colours attributed to bile.
‘Demand me nothing…
…What you know, you know;
From this time forth I will never speak a word.’
-Revelling in the chaos he creates by omitting the truth
-‘I am not what I am’- cyclical-always in control.
-Dramatic Irony, audience is complicit in his ‘double knavery’.
- His silence demonstrates Iago using his voice to maintain control until the end
-Reductive statement effective as it strikes contrast with his previous
soliloquies, reflects feelings of superiority, remains the plain speaking Iago that
everyone knows.
- ‘demand’ being imperious language
-’never speak a word’ true to his stubborn nature
“She has…
…deceived her father” - act 1 scene 3
Echoes to Act 3, scene 3, iago telling othello to fuel Othello’s doubts for Des - the whole play echoes & links each other
“I won…
his daughter” - act 1 scene 3
