Othello quotes

‘ and nothing can or shall content my soul til I am even with him wife for wife ‘

Shows little respect for women as he is trying to trade them like objects

Iago only wants to have sex with Desdemona out of revenge not for passion but to punish Othello

‘Her eyes must be fed’

Iago a disrespect for women is reinforced by his rude innuendos

The metaphor shows how he believes Desdemona is greedy and will soon loose interest in Othello

Shows her love as animalistic lust

‘Men are all but stomachs and we are all but food’

The grotesque metaphor suggests the little love in Iagos and Emilia’s marriage

Suggests that women in her own experience are only there to serve and to satisfy their husbands sexual appetite

‘ Bells in your parlours.Wildcats in your kitchens, saints in your injuries, devils being offended, players in your housewifery and housewives in your beds’

Iago suggests they want the house to run well but don’t want to play in bed and critics women for not wanting sex

States that women overreact

They conform to their housewife role but that’s not enough

‘ Blesses figs end! The wine she drinks is made of grapes if she had been blessed she would’ve never loved the moor ‘

Hyperbolic quote and insulting statement he tries his best to coax Rodrigo into thinking Desdemona will present a lack of loyalty soon.

Degrades Othello and Desdemona relationship and their strong bond

Continues to promote the idea that women are not loyal and they are vain

‘Our bodies are Gardens to the which our wills are gardeners’

Extended metaphor shows how we should have control of who we lust/love

Shows Iagos lack of morality doesn’t respect love

‘She did deceive her father by marrying you’

Reminds Othello that if she deceived her authority figure once she will do it again

Minimising their romantic bond to a gesture that may occur again in the future

Showing how women are untrustworthy

Iago creates a weaponisation of love

‘She loved me for the danger I had passed and I loved her that she did pity them’

Parallelism shows the valence of their love and mutuality

Reinforcement of of she and I shows the tightness of their relationship

Measured tone

‘Reputation, reputation, reputation! O I have lost my reputation ! I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial’

Tricolon shows how honour is the most important trait in the renaissance Venice

Forshadows othello losd of honour in shaming Desdemona

‘Iago is most honest’

The use of dramatic irony as the repetition of iagos honestly throughout the play enforces how the other truly believe it to be the case

Shows how manipulative he is

“Even now very now an old black ram is tupping your white ewe”

Iagos suggesting that Othello and Desdemona are having sexual intercourse

Suggest the innocence of his daughter is being removed

The idea othello is black ram suggests he is a black sheep in society in one sense due to his eye colour in another black being symbolic of corruption

“O, beware, my lord of jealousy it is the green eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on”

Iago warns othello not to be jealous irony

Suggests that Othello has a reason to be jealous of Cassio

It destabilises Othello rational judgement

“O thou weed, / who art so lovely fair and smell’st so sweet”

Othello uses the negative metaphor to describe Desdemona

His marriage has become disordered and polluted

Confusion is demonstrated through the juxtaposition of the line shows he still admires her beauty

“O curse of marriage that we can call these delicate creatures ours”

Othello is now convinced Desdemona has cheated on him

He believes he should hate her to get over his hurt showing how Jacobean men were not allowed to feel sad which led to them acting out of anger and passion

The use of the word curse suggests Othello no longer sees their marriage as beautiful

“O the more angel she, and you the blacker devil”

Racist stereotype as he was savage and violent as the labels associated with black people at the time

However black could also be a symbol of sin more than a racist remark as Desdemona described as a an angel

“I saw othello visage in his mind”

Desdemona looked past looked past othellos skin colour and saw his mind highlighting her depth of love for him

She is speaking infront of senate declaring her love for othello- unheard of for a women

Devil (striking her)

Shocking imagery

Damages his reputation by doing it in front of delegates

Emphasis on how he has been corrupted

“Valiant othello”

The duke remarks that othello is brave which shows his status in their society and contrasts Barabantios more negative view of him

“O thou foul thief… Thou hast enchanted her”

Brabantio views Desdemona as a possession that has been stolen

Believes has used black magic to enchant her does not want to believe she would betray him or marry some like Othello

“this is the monkeys own giving our she is persuaded I will marry her out of love and flattery not out of my promise”

Monkeys stereotypically fun animals showing Cassio is using her for abit of fun

Also shows Cassio views her as an animal

When Othello hears this he is offended for Desdemona showing his respect for her

“Tis not make me jealous to say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company, is free of speech, sings plays and dances well”

Act 3 scene 3

Believes Desdemona innocence

Othello doesn’t think he is a jealous man

“Not to affect many proposed matches of her own crime, completion and degree”

Iago is saying desdemona rejected many of her own race and class which is unnatural for women like her

He plays on othellos insecurities

“haply for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chambers have, or I am declined into the vale of years”

Act 3 scene 3

Othello begins to doubt himself Iago manipulations has worked on him quickly

“Let nobody blame him his scorn I approve”

Desdemona doesn’t want anyone to blame othello