Imagery

IMAGERY.....
 * Shakespeares imagery replays close study, as each play has its own peculiar and recurring group of images in addition to the typical and traditional images of the Elizabethan period (HEAVEN AND HELL, FIRE AND WATER, LIGHT AND DARK, BONDS AND DIVISIONS) .. lots of biblical imagery
 * Images in shakespeares plays are often literalized metaphors. Oth ellos blackness is his skin and his representation of evil.

OTHELLO…
 * Animals- Iagos ‘barnyard view of life’ Othello adopts the low imagery Iago uses (shows he has degraded verbally and mentally)
 * Words- Iagos last word in the play is word, when he has twisted all words out of recognition he renounces them and will never speak again. There are numerous references to tongues, mouths, speech and silence.
 * Turning- ‘ so I will turn her virtue into pitch. This word is used to enforce the betrayal of the tale
 * Lying- falsehood and sex are liked by this word with two meanings Desdemona is found guilty on both counts (not really) and Othello becomes crazy by this word.
 * Eating- an activity that is considered a bestial (animal like) activity .. church regarded gluttony a sin
 * Poison- Iagos attack on Othello “ Ill pour this pestilence into his ear, the moor already changes with my poison”… poison behaves unnaturally
 * Jewels- for Roderigo they are a symbol of wealth for Othello they are an image of beauty and worth.
 * Pregnancy-Iagos plan is a conception which will bring forth a ‘monstrous birth’ from the dark womb of time ‘to the worlds light’ .. double meaning
 * Sea- Chaotic element b/w Venice and Cyprus symbolizes separation, turmoil and loss of a loved on
 * Beds- associated with sex, marriage, birth and death
 * Traps- webs and nets are images for Iago the fly trapping spider.. tangled complexities caused by deception. Catching prey is a power issue that divides people
 * Gardening- obvious and sinister .. he is in charge of the cycle of planting, nurturing and harvesting.. a creator figure who is actually a destroyer.
 * Blood- life and death but also passion, anger and revenge

IMAGERY IN OTHELLO SEEMS TO STRESS THE DANGERS OF DECEPTION AND NOT SEEING CLEARLY AND TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN PERCEPTION AND CONTROL. THEY COMMENT ON THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN HUMAN AND ANIMAL. MALE AND FEMALE, DIVINE AND DIABOLICAL…. CHOICES IN BEHAVIOR IN TERMS OF CHRISTIAN MORA

BOOOM...... roasted