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Handkerchief In Othello

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Whether you realize it or not, you interact with symbols on a daily basis. From waving hello to rolling your eyes, symbols play a critical role in how humans interact with and interpret the world. The beauty of symbolism is that anything can be a symbol for anything else, as long as it is well established and can be interpreted correctly by its audience. Thumbs up means, good job! A wedding ring says, I’m taken! Symbols derive their meaning not from their surface, but from the meaning society has assigned them. Few symbols in literature have been so thoroughly studied as Desdemona's handkerchief from Shakespeare's play Othello. The handkerchief symbolizes love, virginity, power, marriage, and race to name just few of the many attributed meanings. …show more content…

This symbolic power drives much of the action of the play. Othello assigns the handkerchief meaning through language, with his demand for “ocular proof” (Shakespeare, 3.3.412). This demand clearly shows that to Othello, the handkerchief represents his wife’s fidelity. He is asking for a physical object to prove his wife’s faithfulness. The physical object itself has no significance at all, but rather the meaning imbued on it. The handkerchief could have been any other object and still have had the same symbolic value to Othello. It is the meaning Othello has given the handkerchief though his language and thoughts that shape how he reacts to how the symbol is used, and what allows an object as insignificant as a handkerchief to cause so much …show more content…

In this instance, it is again the characters that apply the meaning to the object through their language. Othello interprets the handkerchief as an object of power within his relationship, according to scholar Harry Berger; "[Othello] interprets [the loss of the handkerchief] as misuse of the generous gift of power he has bestowed on [Desdemona], the apotropaic power to ward off the contamination of their coupling by moderating the sexuality she arouses. This...alienated power, together with the sexuality he both desires and fears, makes Desdemona her captain’s captain and her general’s general" (Berger 238). Iago even recognizes this and mentions his commander’s new “general” (Shakespeare, 2.3.333-334). This power is specifically assigned to the handkerchief by Othello when he says it has the power to subdue him entirely to her love (Shakespeare 3.4.70). When Othello thinks he has been betrayed, he falls back on the symbolic meaning he has assigned the handkerchief; asking for it back as an attempt to redefine the power structure of the

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Its manipulation by Iago becomes more painful since the “magic” discussed emphasizes the symbolic and profound emotional weight of the handkerchief. Othello’s unfulfilled yearning for assurance and control over his life and marriage is symbolized by the handkerchief, which Iago

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And makst me call what I intend to do a murder, which I thought a sacrifice I saw the handkerchief” (Othello IV. ii. 62-66). Othello is angry at losing desdemona, he found out that her handkerchief was were it wasn’t suppose to be at.

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It is a connection between the ordinary sense of reality and a moral or spiritual order. A symbol can be an object, a sound, or a bodily sensation. It can also be a character, or an act. A symbol is carried through the work and consistently represents something than adds to the meaning of the piece. Symbolism is the practice of employing symbols.

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Symbolism is a way to present ideas or aspects through symbols. Symbols are often used to give a symbolic meaning to ideas. Typically, an object is used to represent a deeper and powerful meaning. Through symbolism, the reader has an opportunity to get an insight of the writer’s mind. This provokes a hidden interpretation that is more influential than the literal definition.

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he repeats guilty in order to not only emphasise the idea but also to himself. Bento envisions his life fitting exactly into the play, Jose Dias is Iago, Capitu is Desdemona and he is Othello. Modifying his life to fit the play shows to what extent his imagination runs his life, he is so engulfed in mirroring his life that he even went as far as to add the detail that Desdemona, Capitu is not innocent and therefore needs to die. Machado tries to make the connection between the handkerchief and Capitu’s eyes as they both serve as the device to reveal the theme of infidelity; “a handkerchief was enough to kindle the jealousy of Othello.” Capitu’s “undertow” eyes where the reason as to why Bento became increasingly jealous.

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In act 4, the handkerchief becomes the solid proof that makes Othello believe his wife was in deed having an affair with Cassio. At the beginning of the story, Othello gave it to Desmodena to symbolize their relationship. At some point in act 3, it drops as Desmodena tries to wipe his angry husband with it. Emila picks it and Lago plants it in Cassio’s room who then gives it to Bianca. Bianca returns it to Cassio thinking that it belonged to his other mistress and it is between this conversations that Othello got convinced that Desmodena was cheating on him.

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Some things mean and stand for something more than what they literally are, they are called symbols. The novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is about a group of British boys getting stranded on an island, they begin making their own civilization at first but slowly conflicts arise and everything falls apart resulting in two dead bodies and one missing. In the end the boys are rescued but by then they have lost innocence. In this novel, many things, objects and ideas, are given more meaning than they have in a literal sense. In real life an example of a symbol may be a handshake, a handshake may symbolize respect, peace, and it is a type of greeting.

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Symbolism in general is the building blocks to all sources of literature and can shape a piece of writing in many ways. Symbols in general can portray what something or someone represents, giving a deeper and metaphorical meaning to a symbol. Symbolism is often used within poetry, literature, music, or even art. This is how an author conveys a different meaning to the audience. For example artists may use the color “red” not only because of the color theory, but to convey love, passion, and maybe even health.

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At the time this quote is said by Iago, Othello is having an emotional breakdown over his supposed cheating wife. At this moment, Iago is ecstatic at how well his evil plan is unfolding. This quote is important because it shows the audience that Iago is very clever, and has actually come up with a very well thought out plan that is slowly going as he wanted it to. And on the matching handkerchief part……I left the last one blank because I was going to come ask you about it when I was finished with everything else.

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The handkerchief holds passion and repetition of emotions throughout the play. Othello’s feeling for the handkerchief possesses genealogy traits to his childhood memories of his father and mother marrying (III,iv,59-70) and the memory of passing it on to his bride Desdemona. As the plot thickens this handkerchief plays into how materialistic possessions can contribute to our inner thoughts. Shakespeare uses emotions repeatedly to captive his audience, anxiety and shame heighten the play. To prevent the audience from checking out psychologically he uses Iago as the villain to toy with Othello thoughts, leaving the feeling of what he will do or say next.

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Othello’s character undergoes a significant change due to a series of events at the hands of Iago, the play’s antagonist to enhance the fact that even a valiant heroes can become corrupt. In the beginning of the play, Othello adores

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Another obvious example of the handkerchief is Iago’s major tool in deceiving Othello, which symbolic meaning is largely subverted. Boose further explains this, writing that Iago makes use of the token of love to create falsity as he first puts the object in an erotic context and transforms the motif of marital consummation into an evidence of adultery

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Imagery is being shown when Iago says “ an old black ram is tupping your white ewe”. This statement is meant to portray Othello and Desdemonas relationship, he is trying to dehumanize Othello so Brabantio reacts shameful. Symbolism is shown when Othello gives Desdemona the handkerchief covered with strawberries, this is meant to show a promise of love and that he’ll never leave her. Lastly dramatic irony is shown when Iago is acting like Cassio is trying to get with Desdemona but in reality he’s trying to convince her to talk to Othello about getting his job back. Othello thinks that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair causing Othello not to like him.

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