Why gnaw you so your nether lip?

Alas, why gnaw you so your nether lip? Some bloody passion shakes your very frame: These are portents; but yet I hope, I hope, They do not point on me.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on opensourceshakespeare.org


What does Desdemona say before death?

Then Desdemona's voice is heard from the bed, saying "falsely murdered" and Emilia calls for help. Desdemona says that she is innocent, denies that anyone has killed her, and dies.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on cliffsnotes.com


What does Othello say before he kills Desdemona?

I would not kill thy unprepared spirit; No; heaven forfend! I would not kill thy soul.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on shakespeare.mit.edu


What are Desdemona's last words?

Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. In response to Emilia's question, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona's final words are, “Nobody, I myself. Farewell. / Commend me to my kind lord.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on sparknotes.com


What is the general meaning of Othello's soliloquy at the start of Scene II?

The reason for this soliloquy is that Othello has some things to work out with himself - he comes into this room expressly to kill Desdemona, but he has some pesky little reservations about committing murder that he needs to overcome. He begins by convincing himself she deserves it: '…it is the cause, my soul.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on study.com


♪ Screw the Nether (Moves Like Jagger Parody)



What were Othello's last words?

'Soft you, a word or two before you go': so begins Othello's last major speech before he stabs himself. His last words, famously, are 'I kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee'.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on interestingliterature.com


What does Othello say about himself in his final soliloquy?

Othello's suicide serves as a kind of trial in which he decides on and enacts a punishment for his crime of killing Desdemona. In his final speech, he explains how he hopes to be remembered, saying “When you shall these unlucky deed relate / Speak of me as I am” (5.2.).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on sparknotes.com


Why does Desdemona claim to have killed herself?

She never put two and two together..... she just rolled along and acted like the innocent she was. She didn't see the treachery that surrounded her.... her innocence and love for her husband renedered her blind. Thus, in the end, she blamed herself.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on gradesaver.com


What does Desdemona symbolize?

For Iago, it is a symbol of the power and control he has over Desdemona and Othello. For Desdemona, it is a symbol of Othello's love. For Bianca, it symbolizes jealousy and passion. For Emilia, her desire for a happy marriage and subjection to her husband.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on ivypanda.com


Did Desdemona cheat on Othello?

Just as there is no way for Othello to prove beyond any doubt that Desdemona has been unfaithful, no amount of evidence could now overturn Othello's belief in her guilt. (In the final scene, Othello does abruptly decide that he has been deceived all along by Iago, but not because he is confronted by compelling proof.)
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on sparknotes.com


What is Othello's tragic flaw?

Some say that Othello's tragic flaw was jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. A more modern interpretation would say that Othello's tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on cliffsnotes.com


Who does Desdemona blame for her death?

Desdemona blames herself for her death telling Emilia, "Nobody. I myself. Farewell. Committed me to my kind lord.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on manhassetschools.org


Why is Othello a tragedy?

Othello is a tragedy because it tells the story of a noble, principled hero who makes a tragic error of judgment, leading to a devastating climax in which most of the characters end up either dead or seriously wounded.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on sparknotes.com


Why is Emilia repeating my husband?

She is trying to protect him from punishment. Why does Emilia repeat the phrase "My husband!" three times? At this point, why does Othello dray his sword on Emilia? When she says that her husband lied about Desdemona being unfaithful and then she insults him by saying that he didn't deserve Desdemona.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on quizlet.com


Is Othello a black character?

There is no final consensus over Othello's ethnicity; whether of Maghrebi origin as in the generally accepted definition of "Moor", or of Sub-Saharan African. E. A. J. Honigmann, the editor of the Arden Shakespeare edition concluded that Othello's ethnic background is ambiguous.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


What makes Desdemona's death even more tragic?

Desdemona Dies

Desdemona's death is tragic not just because she dies, but because it's her husband, Othello, who kills her.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on study.com


Was Desdemona a virgin?

Because of this Iago is enabled to persuade Othello to think of Desdemona as a whore. The tragic irony is sharpened by the fact that Desdemona is really the whore's antithesis. She is not merely faithful but immaculate: she lives and dies a virgin.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on academic.oup.com


Was Desdemona black?

Later, Iago promises to turn Desdemona's reputation as black as “pitch.” Complexion in Shakespeare's time was a measurement of both beauty and virtue. According to Villanova Shakespeare scholar John-Paul Spiro, to be “fair” was to be both pale and virtuous, not synonymously, but simultaneously.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on slate.com


What animal would Desdemona be?

As they continue to argue, Othello says to her, “If that the earth could teem with woman's tears, each drop she falls would prove a crocodile.” (IV, i, 142-3) Desdemona is referred to as a crocodile because of her tears.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on schoolworkhelper.net


Is Emilia to blame for Desdemona's death?

This was her first remembrance from the Moor. responsible for Othello's behavior but Emilia is responsible the person who takes the handkerchief and causes these events to take took place therefore she unwittingly is responsible for Desdemona's death.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on 123helpme.com


Does Desdemona tell Emilia she killed herself?

He knows people are eager to hear more after hearing hints or a partial disclosure. Trapped by Iago, Othello comes to believe that his wife is unfaithful to him. He thinks he must kill her to prevent her further adultery. At her death Desdemona tells a lie that she had killed herself.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on kawasaki-m.ac.jp


Was Desdemona's death inevitable?

This creates the argument that women in that time were seen as feeble characters, therefore Shakespeare was mistreating her. However, there could be an argument that Desdemona's death was inevitable because of fate- she is described as the “ill-starred wrench” mirroring her name meaning.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on cram.com


What is a famous quote from Othello?

Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, All, all, cry shame against me, yet I'll speak. I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on rsc.org.uk


What is dramatic irony in Othello?

Dramatic Irony in Othello

Dramatic irony is when the audience knows more about what is happening in the story than the characters. A main example of dramatic irony from Othello is the plot to destroy Othello's life. The only character who knows about this is Iago.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on study.com


How is Othello a tragic hero?

Othello is a tragic hero because he is noble, he suffers from a fatal tragic flaw and he goes through a tragic downfall. All these traits that Othello exhibits lead him to be known as one of the most well-known tragic heroes in all of literature.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on schoolworkhelper.net