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Othello Quote Analysis

1344 Words6 Pages

It Says
I Say
And So
“Zounds, sir, you're robbed. For shame, put on your gown!
Your heart is burst. You have lost half your soul.
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise!
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you” (1.1.94-100).
Here, Iago acts as if Desdemona is Brabantio’s property: he tells Brabantio that he was “robbed,” when in fact Desdemona left of her own free will. Then Iago adds even more insult to injury–––he describes Othello as an “old black ram” who is “tupping” Brabantio’s “white ewe,” which only serves to dehumanize both Desdemona and Othello. It is as if Iago views women and people of color as no better than barnyard animals. Not only does he paint Brabantio an image of his daughter having sex, Iago repeats the word …show more content…

And what better candidate than Cassio, who is presented as the exact opposite of Othello? Within the quote, there is a dichotomy of tone: when addressing Desdemona and her desires, Iago uses words like “fresh,” “loveliness,” “sympathy,” “beauties,” and “delicate.” Then, when talking about Othello, he switches over to words such as “inflame,” “abused,” “gorge,” “disrelish,” and “abhor.” It is as if Iago is trying to get Roderigo to subconsciously hate Othello even more, in order to better manipulate Roderigo. Or perhaps Iago can simply not contain the contempt he feels for Othello. On another note, there are many layers of dramatic irony to this quote: Roderigo does not know that Iago is playing him, and Desdemona, Othello, and Cassio all have no idea what Iago has in store for them. Throughout the play, there has been one constant: Iago is the only one who is ever fully aware of what is

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