9.1.4
Language & Imagery
Imagery
Imagery
Shakespeare ‘s imagery is worth studying in detail to see how it connects to the theme of love and the genre of tragedy.
Images
Images
- Othello has a set of its own recurring group of images, in addition to the typical and traditional images of the Elizabethan and Jacobean period.
- They pertain to:
- Heaven and hell.
- Fire and water.
- Bonds and divisions.
Opposites
Opposites
- The language of the play is dominated by life-threatening images of evil, poison, diseases and violence, echoing Biblical imagery.
- The images in Othello often tend to work in pairs or opposites, e.g. dark and light, which can then be seen to reverse themselves or become indistinguishable from each other.
Other imagery
Other imagery
- Some other key imagery in the play includes:
- Animals.
- Words.
- Turning.
- Poison.
- Jewels.
- Pregnancy.
- Sea.
Other imagery cont.
Other imagery cont.
- Some other key imagery in the play includes:
- Traps.
- Gardening.
- Hell.
- Blood.
- Eyes.
- Black and White.
Iago’s Language
Iago’s Language
Iago speaks to the audience throughout the play, unlike Othello, and this draws us into his web.
Soliloquy
Soliloquy
- The dramatic device of the soliloquy gives us the speaker’s perspective and makes us in part, his accomplices, as we are taken into his confidence and listen to his plots being hatched against the other characters.
- Iago speaks to the audience throughout the play, unlike Othello, and this draws us into his web.
Truth
Truth
- The theatrical convention is that in soliloquy, the characters tell the truth, but Iago may be an exception in that he may not know himself what the truth is about his own feelings.
Placing
Placing
- Iago’s soliloquies are an essential part of the plot of the tragedy in that they tend to fall at the beginning or end of scenes, where they either preview what is about to happen, or summarise and look back on what has just happened, and the response of the others.
Importance
Importance
- The strategic placing of the speeches gives the impression that Iago is playing the role of a chorus in a play of his own devising, and that he is the source of all the action.
- His soliloquies are worth considering a good deal for the wealth of material they provide for a discussion of the characters, themes and imagery of the play.
1Context
1.1Introduction
1.3Othello
2Act One: Summaries & Themes
2.1Act and Scene Summaries
2.2Scene One
2.3Scene Two
3Act Two: Summaries & Themes
3.1Scene One & Two
3.2Scene Three
4Act Three: Summaries & Themes
5Act Four
5.1Scene One
5.2Scene Two
5.3Scene Three
6Act Five
6.1Scene One
6.2Scene Two
7Character Profiles
7.1Major Characters
7.2Minor Characters
8Key Themes
8.1Love & Tragedy
8.2Other Key Themes
9Writing Techniques
9.1Writing Techniques
10Critical Debates
10.1Criticism & Performance
11Approaching AQA English Literature
11.1Specification A
11.2Specification B
12Issues of Assessment
12.1The Exams
Jump to other topics
1Context
1.1Introduction
1.3Othello
2Act One: Summaries & Themes
2.1Act and Scene Summaries
2.2Scene One
2.3Scene Two
3Act Two: Summaries & Themes
3.1Scene One & Two
3.2Scene Three
4Act Three: Summaries & Themes
5Act Four
5.1Scene One
5.2Scene Two
5.3Scene Three
6Act Five
6.1Scene One
6.2Scene Two
7Character Profiles
7.1Major Characters
7.2Minor Characters
8Key Themes
8.1Love & Tragedy
8.2Other Key Themes
9Writing Techniques
9.1Writing Techniques
10Critical Debates
10.1Criticism & Performance
11Approaching AQA English Literature
11.1Specification A
11.2Specification B
12Issues of Assessment
12.1The Exams
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