The Use Of Animal Imagery In Othello Essay -- William Shakespeare

In William Shakespeares play Othello the wasting disease of beast vision was evident throughout the placeing ofthe story. Shakespeare explained several charactersactions by comparing them to similarities in living organisms. The characters in Othello were often depicted ashaving animal-like characteristics. Some characterswere even compared to animals by other characters inthe play. By defining characters in terms of thesecharacteristics one can wee a clear description of whatthe character is doing or saying as compared to certainanimals. In this paper I hope to give examples of animal imagination used in Othello that assist in explaining theplay. The specific examples I present will describe acharacter either as seen by himself or by a fellowcharacter. The first use of animal imagery I noted occurred came in Act unity when Iago, Othellos standard bearer,has awaken Brabantio, who was a Venetian senator andthe father of Desdemona, to tell him that Othello hastaken his daughter Desdemona, and as they speak ismaking issue to her. Iago was attempting to start out afight between Othello and Brabantio, using Desdemona asthe bait. Iago stated, Your heart is burst. You buildlost half your soul. Even now, now, very now, and oldblack hammer in is tupping your white ewe (p. 13). In thatstatement Iago was comparing Othello to an old black storm by comparing Othellos skin color to that of theblack drives, and the white ewe, a young female sheep,to Desdemona. Shakespeare was trying to illustrate inhis writing the act of and old black man making love toa young white woman. The use of a black pound off and awhite ewe to compare Othello and Desdemona helped inthe visualization of their affair. Shakespeare displayed animal imagery once more in ActTwo when Cassio was explaining to Iago that if he hadas some mouths as Hydra, a many headed monster slain byHercules, he could silence the many questions asked ofhim. In this Shakespeare presented Cassio as beingburdened by many questions that he could not answer everyat once, merely if he had as many mouths as Hydra it wouldbe to a greater extent accessible for him to do so. Cassio said, Iwill ask him for my place again he shall tell me I ama drunkard Has I as many mouths as Hydra, such ananswer would stop them all (p.101). Cassio wasexplaining to Iago that if he went to Othello now... ...eceptive divide. Desdemona, in the eyes ofOthello, was not sorry, but was rather concealment somethingfrom him. Shakespeares use of animal imagery here wassimilar to his anterior uses. Shakespeare was trying todisplay a woman, who in the mind of her husband, wascrying tears of deception. Othello had let his mind beso altered by Iagos lies, that he had even began tobelieve everything he said. This action of Othello wasfueled by his earlier animal-like change caused byIago. In conclusion, Shakespeares use of animal imageryin Othello was crucial to the description of thestory. In Othello certain scenes would t ake over beenharder to understand or relate to if it was not for theanimal imagery link to it. Shakespeares comparisonof characters to certain animals is unlike any others. Shakespeares portray of a characters emotions andthoughts through animal imagery helped in theunderstanding of that particular scene. Lastly,without the vivid comparisons of animals andcharacters, this play would undoubtedly down been morecomplicated to both interpret and understand. Works CitedShakespeare, William. Othello. Toronto Pocket Books, 2008.