Motifs in Othello

Motifs in Othello

Plants

Hell, Demons,

and Monsters

Location

Greed

Hell

Lust

Jealousy

Anger

Unfaithfulness

Sight and Blindness

Hell, Demons, and Monsters

Location: Shakespeare often uses different locations to represent mindsets. In Othello, Venice represents civilization, while Cyprus symbolizes the wilderness. The idea is that what happened in the Cyprus never would happen in the civilized city of Venice.

Plants: Iago is strangely preoccupied with plants. Desdemona sings of a willow tree which symbolizes a woman deserted by her lover.

Animals: References to animals convey a sense that the laws of nature are the primary forces governing the characters in the play.

Sight and Blindness: Desdemona is able to see Othello for what he is in away no one else does. Othello's colour and age don't mean anything to Desdemona. Othello and Roderigo and easily convinced on things they are told.

Hell, Demons and Monsters: This imagery shows the jealousy-crazed characters as grotesque,deformed, and demonic. Showing jealousy and betrayal.

The Chain

of Beings

Iago: Act 3 Scene 3 Line 165 Page 151

"O beware, my lord, of jealousy;

It is the green eyed monster which doth mock

The meat it feeds on;"

Iago: Act 3 Scene 3 Line 147 Page 149

"To spy into the abuses, and oft my jealousy

Shapes faults that are not- that your wisdom yet,"

Emilia: Act 3 Scene 3 Line 154 Page 185

"But jealous souls will not be answer'd so;

They are not ever jealous for the cause,

But jealous for they are jealous. "Tis a monster

Begot upon itself, born on itself."

Sin and Disorder

Animals

Demonic trickery leads humanity to rebel against its place in nature as paragon in divine creation.

Iago: Act 1 Scene 1 Line 153 Page 17

Though I do not hate him as I do hell's pains

Yet for necessity of present life."

Iago: Act 2 Scene 1 Line 286 Page 83

"And nothing can or shall content my soul

Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife,

Or failing so, yet that I put the moor

At least into a jealousy so strong

That judgement cannot cure"

Iago: Act 4 Scene 1 Line 197 Page 209

"Do not poison, strangle her in bed, even

The bed she hath contaminated."

The chain of beings relate to Othello by mainly 3 characters changing and turning against each other causing unfortunate things to occurre. Anger and jealousy took a big part in it.

Roderigo becomes jealous of Othello getting Desdemona and teams up with Iago in hopes of getting Desdemona.

Iago is jealous of Cassio for getting the promotion that Iago desperately wanted. He schemes up many plans to get Othello against Cassio and convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio.

Othello changes the most. He went from being in love with Desdemona and willing to do anything for her, to believing what Iago was feeding him. Othello kills Desdemona over jealousy.

Also throughout this dramatic play the characters all at some point made reference to hell and monster.

They started to believe they were each going to hell and believed the others were turning into monsters.