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... p; And when she seemed to shake and fear your looks She loved them most. OTHELLO And so she did. (III. iii. 210 - 213) Here Iago plants the germ. The idea of Othello's wife being deceptive had never entered Othello's mind before - yet Iago's choice of words makes Othello undoubtedly agree with him. Having already suggested he should watch the relationship with Desdemona and Cassio closely, he chooses to remind Othello that they did marry without her father's permission - or without him knowing.
It is at this point in the play that we see a major change in Othello. What was once the fearless bastion of warfare and unconditional love, has now been fed - albeit maliciously - the fixings that makes humans crazy... jealousy. From this point forward, we see even a bigger change in Othello - particularly in his speech. As the infection of jealousy begins to take hold of his mind, the beautiful, carefully chosen words that were once charismatic tomes of thought and strength are now mere guttural eruptions of Othello's mouth. Iago, on the other hand, continues to shape his language in the very same way as from the start of the play - in essence, there is no change in his words.
He simply continues to supply us with visceral imagery only to drive Othello crazy with self-doubt. Shakespeare writes: OTHELLO Hath he said anything? IAGO He hath, my lord. But, be you well assured, No more than he " ll unswear. OTHELLO What hath he said? IAGO Faith, that he did - I know not what he did.
OTHELLO What, what? IAGO Lie - OTHELLO With her? IAGO With her, on her, what you will. (IV. i. 29 - 37) The contrast between the characters Othello and Iago begins to blend at this point in the play. The cunning, deceptive nature of Iago and the seemingly chaotic nature of Othello's language shows us how much, in fact, simple, yet effective words can change the psychology of the characters.
Iago remains in control of his language throughout the play, yet, Othello in his blind jealous rage, begins to remind us of Iago - the calculatingly evil person who set out to destroy our hero in the first place. Words again, tell us of what our character is thinking and we begin to see degradation in Othello as the rage grows inside of him. Shakespeare writes: Handkerchief - confessions - handkerchief. To confess and be Hanged for his labor. First to be hanged and then to confess! I tremble at it.
Nature would not invest in such shadow- ing passion without some instruction. It is not words that shakes me thus. Pish! Noses, ears, and lips! Is't possible?
Con- fess? Handkerchief? O Devil! (IV. i. 36 - 41) Here we are given lines that are not eloquent and laced with images of beauty and strength. Instead we have words that remind us of the villain who began this whole mess in the first place. Othello's passionate love is corrupted by Iago and what's left is the crashing mind of our hero - as is evidenced by his deteriorating speech.
Again, we are reminded of the power of words, but interestingly, it is love that once broken, can drive men into violent rages. We essentially see Othello become what Iago already represents in a short span of time - and it is simply words that drive him there. On the other hand, Iago remains the same throughout. His use of words does not change as Othello's - instead, on many levels, his become more graphic and violent; the use of animal imagery continuing as before.
In the final act of the play we see Iago's language shift from long lines filled with evil thoughts to shorter sentences - much like Othello in act four. However, Iago's slyness remains. Shakespeare writes: I have rubbed this young quote almost to the sense, And he grows angry. Now, whether he kill Cassio Or Cassio him, or each do kill each other, Every way makes my gain. (V.
i. 11 - 14) It isn't until Othello begins to understand what has happened that we see a shift in each characters word selections. Once Othello slowly comes to realize Iago was behind the scandal, his confidence in speech begins to come back - and we start to notice more coherent thought. It's interesting to think about how words play the most crucial role in creating imagery for an audience. In the case of these two characters, particularly Othello, the emotional wave he rode was only represented by his ever-changing use of words. In the beginning, we cheered for him - and by the end of play we weren't sure what to think.
Had he become as evil as Iago? Iago on the other hand, well, he's just Iago.
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