36 pages • 1 hour read
William ShakespeareOthello
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1604A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Desdemona’s Handkerchief
Desdemona’s handkerchief becomes synonymous with her sexual fidelity to Othello. It was his first gift to her, and as a result, has sentimental value to both of them. The handkerchief, which Iago plants in Cassio’s room, becomes the most convincing piece of circumstantial evidence pointing to Desdemona’s betrayal. When Othello sees Cassio holding the handkerchief, it’s as if he is holding Desdemona herself. He assumes that Desdemona has not only cast off the love and regard he gave to her, represented in the handkerchief, but furthermore has insulted him by passing it, and her affections, on to another man. Without the handkerchief, Iago’s plot may not have incited Othello to murder Desdemona. Even after the murder, Othello does not seem to regret murdering her, saying only: “’Tis pitiful” (5.2 254-57), and citing the handkerchief as just cause for his crime. It is only when Emilia reveals that Desdemona never gave the handkerchief away that Othello realizes that Desdemona was blameless and feels remorse.
Animals
Throughout Othello, characters use animal imagery to dehumanize each other. In the first act, Iago refers to Othello as a “black ram” (1.1 97) and a “Barbary horse” (1.1 125) and Desdemona as a “white ewe” (1.1 98) to reduce their elopement to a purely sexual coupling, as well as to stoke Brabantio’s racial prejudice. Iago later compares Desdemona and Cassio to “goats,” “monkeys,” and “wolves” (3.3 460-61) to give Othello a graphic image of their alleged coupling and in doing so stoke his jealousy. In a soliloquy, Iago compares Othello to an “ass” (1.2 445) that he will easily manipulate, and in another compares Cassio to a “fly” (2.1 184) that he is ensnaring. By positioning both men as animals, Iago is asserting his intellectual superiority and mastery over them.
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
