Death Forshadowed...

William Shakespeare often utilizes forshadowing in his play Othello. For instance, after realizing that Othello was upset with her, Desdemona speaks to Emilia and says, "All's one. Good faith, how foolish are our minds!/If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me/In one of thsoe same sheets" (IV.iii.21-23). Though Desdemona is aware of Othello's anger, this nonetheless seems an odd request. Isn't that a little dramatic? Desdemona is already fearing death when she has no knowledge of why her husband, who loves her so deeply, is upset with her. Later on, when Othello and Desdemona begin to discuss Othello's accusations, I picked up on another piece of forshadowing, but this time more specific. Othello says to Desdemona. "Therefore confesss thee freely of thy sin,/For to deny ech article with oath/Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception/That I do groan withal. Thou art to die" (V.ii.53-56). Alright, so at this point, the cat is out of the bag: Desdemona is doomed. Knowing that, however, the reader may pick up on Shakepeare's interesting word choice of "choke." He could have used many other words here: eliminate, forget, etc. However, good ol' Bill entertains the reader with a bit of forboding diction.

Iago's use of prose vs. poetry

In William Shakespeare's Othello, the villain Iago often switches from speaking poetry, normal iambic pentameter, to speaking prose. Initially, when asked to make a conjecture as to why he does so, I thought that Iago switched to prose when he "lost his cool." I thought that the less structured nature of the prose was representative of flaws in Iago's attempts to deceive. However, having finished the play, I now have a new more specific, and hopefully accurate, theory. I believe that Iago speaks in prose when he is plotting, mainly with Roderigo, and in poetry when he is carrying out his plot, or deceiving others. Because Iago is actively deceiving others for the majority of the play, he is most often speaking in iambic pentameter. Therefore, it is important to notice the times when he switches to prose. For instance, in Act 4, Iago says to Roderigo in prose, "....But, Roderigo thou hast that in thee indeed which I have greater reason to believe now than ever-I mean purpose, courage, and valor-this night show it. If thou the next night following enjoy not Desdemona, take me from this world with treachery and devise engines for my life" (IV.ii.207-211). Here, Iago is plotting to have Roderigo kill Cassio-an integral part of his plan. He has full knowledge that Roderigo will be the murderer. However, after the murder attempt takes place, Iago says of Bianca to the Venetian men, "Gentlemen all, I do suspect this trash/To be a party in this injury/....Roderigo? No-yes, sure. Oh Heaven! Roderigo" (IV.ii.85-90). Iago says this in iambic pentameter; he is clearly deceiving the Venetian men because he is aware that Bianca was not the murderer and he offers false surprise at Roderigo's presence at the scene.

Poor Othello

In Act 3 of William Shakespeare's Othello, Iago tells Othello that Desdemona may be cheating on him with Cassio. Othello, an honest and good man, is reluctant to believe that the love of his life is unfaithful. The reader cannot help but feel sorry for Othello when he begins to express his regret at the thought of Desdemona's infidelity. He says, "Haply, for I am black And have not those soft parts of conversation That chamberers have...." (III.iii.264-266). Here, Othello recognizes (out loud) for the first time that his race separates him from the men of Venetia, just as the rest of the characters have been hinting to all along. He experiences a waver in self-confidence, worried that he may not be good enough to satisfy Desdemona, as he once thought he was. Moreover, Othello continues saying, "She's gone, I am abused, and my relief must be to loathe her. Oh, curse of marriage....I had rather be a toad And live upon the vapor of a dungeon Than keep a corner in the thing I love For others' uses" (III.iii.268-274). Othello expresses the fact that if the rumors are true, he will be hurt and will have no choice but to hate Desdemona in attempt to console himself. Moreover, he confesses that he would rather live an incredibly low form of life, as a toad, rather than have to share his wife. Is that too much to ask? For one to honor marriage? Othello's statement of "oh curse of marriage" is ironic because marriage should be looked at not as a curse, but as a blessing! Othello's fear and reluctancy to believe the Iago's claims evoke sympathy from the reader as well as cause increased disdain for Iago.

Tempest

In the beginning of Act 2 of William Shakespeare's Othello, a strong tempest has struck Venice. Montano, Cassio, and othe gentlemen are aboard the ship discussing the severity of the storm and the ultimate destruction it caused the Turkish fleet. Montano says, "Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land, A fuller blast ne'er shook our battlements" (II.i.5-60). Both the tempest as well as Montano and Cassio's presence at the time of its discussion heavily forshadow what is to unfold later that evening. The tempest fortells the argument between Montano and Cassio that ultimately results in Cassio being stripped of his position. Cassio's loss of office coincides with Montano's statement that "a fuller blast ne'er shook our battlements." Undoubtedly, Cassio's punishment was one of the worst outcomes he could have imagined. Shakespeare's use of foreshadowing is an extremely helpful tool in understand his works. The attentive reader can look for clues as to what is to unfold in the coming scenes. If so, one sees the understands the deeper meaning behind the interactions and dialogue of the characters. Many of the happenings are connected in one way or another.

Honest Iago ha..ha..hahaha

Reading William Shakespeare's Othello, one quickly realizes the dishonest nature of Iago. He is not honest with anyone except the audience. Iago is even deceiving Roderigo, the one man with whom one would think he would be truthful, for Roderigo is a main component in his plan to take Cassio's office. Despite all of Iago's dishonesty, however, the other characters ironically remain blind and deaf to his games. In fact, many characters directly refer to Iago's "honesty" when addressing him. "Iago is most honest" (II.iii.7), "...honest Iago" (II.iii.300), and Iago's self-proclamation of "As I am an honest man...." (II.iii.244)  are all instances where Iago's dishonesty is presented through ironic statement of his great honesty. Reading, I find myself hoping that one of the characters will finally see through Iago's deceit. How can they not?! However, it is not long before I read one of these proclamations of his "honesty" to be reminded that no one has yet caught on. The longer the characters remain ignorant to Iago's tricks, the worse the trouble will be in the end. Three acts in, and I can already tell that there will be a massive culmination of destruction due to all the dishonesty. Ironic is the fact that all of Iago's lies seem to be helpful to the characters, for instance convincing Cassio to drink because he "deserves a good time", but in reality, Iago's actions are working against them in every way possible-Cassio is ultimately stripped of his office because he decided to drink.

Racial Slurs

In William Shakespeare's Othello, many characters utilize racial slurs to convey their attitude toward Othello, the Moor. For instance, Iago says to Barbantio, "...you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you, you'll have courseres for cousins and jennets for germans" (I.i.108-112).  Despite the insulting nature of the slur itself, the racial comments hold deeper implication. Iago continually compares Othello to horses and ponies. The direct comparison to animals implies that Othello is less than human. In this way, Iago and the others who also use such references are implying that Othello possesses all the characteristics of an animal: lack of intelligence, lack of civility, and most importantly, lust. The racial slurs go so far as to imply that Othello married Desdemona not for true love, but for sex-an animalistic desire. This gives Barbantio even more reason to resent the marriage between Othello and his daughter. Moreover, the frequent references altogether convey to the reader the unaccepting attitude of the Venetians toward foreigners. Though Othello brought great pride to Venice for his accomplishments in war, the citizens of Venice are nonetheless reluctant to accept him completely.

Anecdotes

In You're Ugly, Too Lorrie Moore develops the character of Zoe Hendricks predominantly through the use of anecdotes. Moreover, Moore uses several different anecdotes to convey the complexity of Zoe's character. More than once, the author uses anecdotes in the form of past student evaluations received by Zoe. For instance, "Professor Hendricks is often late for class and usually arrives with a cup of hot chocolate, which she offers the class sips of...." reveals that Zoe is an often flustered woman who doesn't seem to have her life together. I mean, I highly doubt many of her students were anxiously awaiting for their professor to offer to share her hot chocolate. Zoe does not quite have a grasp on how to relate to others. Other evaluations include "Just because Professor Hendricks is from Spain doesn't give her the right to be so negative about our country" and "Professor Hendricks has said critical things about Fawn Hall, the Catholic religion, and the whole state of Illinois. It is unbelieveable." Both of these reveal Zoe's abonormality in comparison to society. The fact that she is often in vocal opposition to the normal order of things is paralleled with the difficult time she has fitting in with others. In addition to the evaluations, anecdotes of past dates that Zoe went on are used to show that she also has a hard time finding chemistry with a member of the opposite sex. Through small glimpses of Zoe's life, the reader is able to grasp the true nature of her charcter.