9.1.4

Language & Imagery

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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 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.
Jump to other topics
1

Context

1.1

Introduction

1.1.1Specifications
1.2

Background

1.2.1Shakespeare1.2.2Love1.2.3Tragedy1.2.4Historical Context
1.3

Othello

1.3.1Setting1.3.2Social Issues
2

Act One: Summaries & Themes

2.1

Act and Scene Summaries

2.1.1Structure2.1.2The Exam
2.2

Scene One

2.2.1Key Events2.2.2Key Themes2.2.3Key Ideas
2.3

Scene Two

2.3.1Key Events2.3.2Key Themes2.3.3Key Ideas
2.4

Scene Three

2.4.1Key Events2.4.2Key Events 22.4.3Key Themes2.4.4Key Ideas
3

Act Two: Summaries & Themes

3.1

Scene One & Two

3.1.1Scene One: Events3.1.2Key Events 23.1.3Key Ideas: Love & Tragedy3.1.4Scene Two: Events
3.2

Scene Three

3.2.1Key Events3.2.2Key Ideas
4

Act Three: Summaries & Themes

4.1

Key Events

4.1.1Scene One & Two4.1.2Scene Three4.1.3Scene Three: Key Ideas4.1.4Scene Four
5

Act Four

5.1

Scene One

5.1.1Key Events5.1.2Key Ideas
5.2

Scene Two

5.2.1Key Events5.2.2Key Ideas
5.3

Scene Three

5.3.1Key Events5.3.2Key Ideas
6

Act Five

6.1

Scene One

6.1.1Key Events6.1.2Key Ideas
6.2

Scene Two

6.2.1Key Events6.2.2Key Ideas
7

Character Profiles

7.1

Major Characters

7.1.1Othello7.1.2Iago7.1.3Desdemona7.1.4Emilia7.1.5Cassio
7.2

Minor Characters

7.2.1Roderigo & Brabantio7.2.2Other Characters
8

Key Themes

8.1

Love & Tragedy

8.1.1Love8.1.2Love 28.1.3Tragedy8.1.4Tragedy 2
8.2

Other Key Themes

8.2.1Public versus Private8.2.2Appearance & Reality
9

Writing Techniques

9.1

Writing Techniques

9.1.1Structure9.1.2Genre9.1.3Form & Language9.1.4Language & Imagery
10

Critical Debates

10.1

Criticism & Performance

10.1.1Shakespeare's Legacy10.1.2Traditional10.1.3Modern & Contemporary
10.2

Approaches

10.2.1Feminist Approach10.2.2Psychoanalytic Approach10.2.3Marxist Approach
11

Approaching AQA English Literature

11.1

Specification A

11.1.1Specification A11.1.2Love Through the Ages
11.2

Specification B

11.2.1Specification B11.2.2Aspects of Tragedy
12

Issues of Assessment

12.1

The Exams

12.1.1AOs12.1.2Mark Scheme

Practice questions on Language & Imagery

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Traditional images of the Jacobean and Elizabethan era:Fill in the list
  2. 2
    What is the theatrical convention for characters speaking in soliloquay? Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Which of these are true of Iago's soliloquies?True / false
  4. 4
    The placement of Iago's speeches suggest he is playing which dramatic role of a play?Multiple choice
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Form & Language

Shakespeare's Legacy