quick one

in venice they do let God see the pranks they do not show their husbands - venice was famous for its regulated prostitution - which led to its women developing a reputation for sexual promiscuity - but desdemona is the epitome of a jacobean females value , she is chaste and honourable

iago i am not what i am shocking to contemporary audience and they would’ve recognised this allusion - would have been shocking due to the pious context where church attendance every Sunday was mandatory

iago uses variations of honest 51 times

he swears by janus- depicted w two faces replacing the Christian God - showing his manipulation as holy and profane

in following [othello] i follow but myself the syntactic parallels reflect the two sides of his personality , the loyal servant and selfish vice

the strings were thine - puppet imagery portraying him as a master manipulator

ensnare cassio - sees him as a predator animal in contrast to the measly fly of cassio - even short length of the world fly suggests his weakness

-webs are also multi-layered showing his intelligence - coleridge calls him an accomplished and artful villain - juxtaposition shows audience indifferent ffeelings

green eyed monster which mocks the meat it feeds upon - monster shows pure evil of the emotion - envy is one of the 7 deadly sins - as shakespeare’s deeply religious audience would’ve been aware of - making the emotion not only immoral but unholy

guttural - ck in mock harshness of jealousy

corporal imagery of eye relates to othello’s initial search for ocular proof

heaven know that thou art false as hell - direct address shows his bold violence the chiasmic structure shows the shift in their dynamic - religious imagery reminds audience of des innocence

-mirrors testimony scene at the beginning of the play othello protected des bnow he’s trying to humiliate her a complete aristotelian reversal

complete contrast to “my life upon her faith” short monosyllabic declarative shows his unquestioning trust in his wife'

tyan argues othello is the most easily jealous man

INVITES COMPARISON TO king james 1 daemonologie which advocated for the persecution and execution of witches

brabantio said othello abused her delicate youth

sooty bosom as the the tainted imagery of sooty is linguistically paired with the intimate connotations of bosom which reflects the contemporary equation of blackness and sin

devil - consonance enacts a spitting sound of resentment

original title of the play the tragedy of othello the moor of venice

vaughan states shakespeare’s contemporaries would have viewed the play less squarely focussed on race as we do - as we are influenced by slave trade and our own agenda eg blm 2020

your daughter covered with a barbary horse - covered othello’s coercive control over des - ensign knowingly referencing barbary home of the moors

beast with two backs - plosives encouraging spitting tone of resentment - reflective of their incongruous partnership - this subverted image of partnership equally transgresses thee christian ideal of one flesh - their love transgresses racial and religious ideas

ram to horse to beast - taboo nature of relationship

iago emphasis on eugenics reminiscent of hitler to modern audience 2022 national theatre production gave him a telling beard

coleridge it is monstrous for a beautiful women to fall in love with an negro

iago a machiavellian villain they come from the same city !

In the morality play, vices were the embodiment of evil and tempted the protagonist towards his downfall, often helped by the fact they were in the protagonist's service.

DESDEMONA CUNNING WHORE OF VENICE

  1. Saint Peter's Role: In Christian tradition, Saint Peter is often depicted as the gatekeeper of Heaven. He holds the "keys to the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19), symbolizing his role in admitting the righteous and faithful into Heaven.

: Desdemona, who was once seen by Othello as pure and virtuous (akin to the heavenly qualities Saint Peter represents), is now seen as the complete opposite. This drastic reversal underscores the tragedy of Othello's misguided judgment and the manipulation he has suffered at the hands of Iago.