scene 1

“Where, how, how oft, how long ago, and when / He hath and is again to cope your wife” - Iago to Othello

• asyndetic listing of interrogatives acts to emphasise Desdemona’s alleged transgressions and overwhelm Othello, leaving him to rely on Iago to provide a clear answer

• the accumulation of interrogatives synthesises a veneer of certainty - Iago poses as if he knows the answers to all these questions, to persuade Othello away from requiring ocular proof

• sexual euphemism “cope” makes the discussion intimate - an honest and frank discussion between confidants instead of between superior and inferior

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