othello symbolism essay

by William Shakespeare

Othello symbols, allegory and motifs, symbol: handkerchief.

The handkerchief is the most significant symbol in Othello , as its meaning changes depending on how each character perceives it. For Othello, the handkerchief is initially a symbol of his love and affection for Desdemona. However, the handkerchief eventually comes to symbolize (to Othello) Desdemona's betrayal, which is of course a lie made up by Iago. Finally, for Iago, the handkerchief symbolizes the fragility of Othello's own relationship with Desdemona, as he is easily able to manipulate Othello by stoking his jealousy.

Symbol: "Willow" Song

In the final act of the play, Desdemona sings a song entitled "Willow" just before her death. The song tells the story of a young woman scorned by her lover when he goes mad, and even notes that her mother's maid died while singing the song. This song therefore becomes a symbol of Desdemona's own impending doom, brought on by Othello's madness.

Motif: Animals

Iago frequently compares Othello to a wild animal, sometimes in praise of his strength and other times in a secret, disdainful manner. The recurrence of animal imagery throughout the play reveals Iago's hidden prejudice against Othello as a moor, as he perceives Othello to be fundamentally uncivilized and subject to madness.

Motif: Green

The color green appears in many characters' speeches in the play. In Act 3, Iago warns Othello if the "green-eyed monster," jealousy, and the dangers of succumbing to its power (3.3). Green comes to signify both Iago's envy of Othello as well as Othello's escalating jealousy throughout the play that eventually leads to the murder of Desdemona.

Like green, red is an important element of color imagery in the play. Red signifies both love – like the red hearts on the handkerchief that Othello gives to Desdemona – as well as violence. The night after Othello and Desdemona's wedding, there is blood on the sheets, an image that uses red to show the conflation of love and violence (bloodshed) together.

Othello Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Othello is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

what attributers of the green eyed monster jealousy are made painful apparent as the scene progresses

Jealousy is the green-eyed monster in this scene. In Act 3 scene 3 Othello pretty much displays his jealousy,

desdemonas speech here confirms the masterly nature of iagos plot with what words does she assure cassio that she will do her best to get him reinstated

What is your question here?

why does othello ignore the cries for help?

Othello is hurdling towards self-destruction: sadly, by the deaths of people closest to him. Like tragic heroes such as Macbeth, Othello's senses are dull to tragedy and screams of terror. Roderigo and Cassio fight, and both are injured; Othello...

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Othello essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare.

• Iago and Edmund: The Silence and Complexity of Evil
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Inevitability and the Nature of Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Witchy Women: Female Magic and Otherness in Western Literature
• Racism in Othello

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Othello — Meaning Of Symbolism In Othello

Meaning of Symbolism in Othello

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Published: Mar 14, 2024

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In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago plots Othello’s destruction when he is passed over for a promotion. Iago tells Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him and provides circumstantial evidence for this. Othello becomes full [...]

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Desdemona’s Handkerchief

Desdemona’s handkerchief becomes synonymous with her sexual fidelity to Othello. It was his first gift to her, and as a result, has sentimental value to both of them. The handkerchief, which Iago plants in Cassio’s room, becomes the most convincing piece of circumstantial evidence pointing to Desdemona’s betrayal. When Othello sees Cassio holding the handkerchief, it’s as if he is holding Desdemona herself. He assumes that Desdemona has not only cast off the love and regard he gave to her, represented in the handkerchief, but furthermore has insulted him by passing it, and her affections, on to another man. Without the handkerchief, Iago’s plot may not have incited Othello to murder Desdemona. Even after the murder, Othello does not seem to regret murdering her, saying only: “’Tis pitiful” (5.2 254-57), and citing the handkerchief as just cause for his crime. It is only when Emilia reveals that Desdemona never gave the handkerchief away that Othello realizes that Desdemona was blameless and feels remorse.

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Symbolism in Shakespeare’s Othello and Pope’s The Rape of the Lock Essay

Introduction, works cited.

Using literary devices is one of the most significant parts of understanding literature. Authors of literature writings employ literary devices, including symbolism, themes, characterization, plot, and allegory, to ensure that their intended messages reach the audience. With such devices, the writers make their literary works exciting and engaging for the readers while internalizing the message’s intention. Even though the authors work on different articles depending on their specialty, their use of literary tools implicates the same. For instance, the use of symbols in William Shakespeare’s Othello is a play. Still, it employs the same form of symbolism as Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock to signify different life phenomena. This paper aims to compare the aspects of symbolism in Othello and The Rape of the Lock.

First, Pope uses the character Queen of Spleen and her female servants in The Rape of the Lock to signify hysteria, and melancholy, among other emotional turbulences. Pope’s sexism is fully displayed in Queen of Spleen’s portrayal, implying that women are uniquely susceptible to these mood disorders. Besides, the Ill Nature and Affectation, the Queen’s servants, are both metaphors that speak to women’s emotional makeup. “Here stood Ill-nature Ill-nature like an ancient Maid, Her wrinkled form in Black and White array’d; array’d” (Pope 4.25-30). How affectation echoes the poem’s primary argument about appearance vs truth is noteworthy. It was believed, throughout Pope’s lifetime, that emotional and psychological disorders originated in the spleen, the organ responsible for purifying the blood. Most of the time, these conditions were written off as “feminine worries” and utilized as evidence of a person’s untrustworthiness.

On the other hand, in Act V, Desdemona performs a song, “Willow,” about a woman her boyfriend deceives as she prepares for bed. Barbary, her mother’s maid, taught her the song; like the woman in the music, she too met an untimely end, and like the woman in the song, she sang her last song as she passed. “She was in love, and he she lov’d proved mad, / And did forsake her: she had a song of ‘willow” (Shakespeare 4.3.27-30). Men and women are both portrayed as unfaithful in the song’s lyrics. Desdemona’s singing of the song elicits questions from Emilia regarding adultery because it seems to indicate a mournful and resigned acceptance of her estrangement from Othello’s love.

Another symbolic comparison between the two pieces is the Lock and the Handkerchief. The lock in the poem “ The Rape of the Lock ” is more than just a coiled strand of Belinda’s hair. The lock becomes a metaphor for security, authority, and worth. The state of her hair determines Belinda’s value and limited influence in society as a woman. Canto, one of the most influential figures in Augustan era aesthetics and a master of the legendary ballad, says, ” Oh hadst thou, Cruel ! been content to seize Hairs less in sight, or any Hairs but these ! “(Pope 4.175-78). These remarks explicitly connect the lock to Belinda’s lack of maturity and, by extension, her potential marital prospects.

On the contrary, the handkerchief in Shakespeare’s Play implies different things depending on the holder. To Desdemona, the handkerchief means love since it was her first present from her husband, Othello. “I am glad I have found this napkin… This was her first remembrance from the Moor…My wayward husband hath a hundred times.. ” (Shakespeare 3.3. 297-300). However, to Iago, the piece of cloth means Desdemona’s virtue, and he makes Othello believe the same. The handkerchief means loyalty Othello had to his mother. He tells Desdemona a 200-year-old Sibyl wove it from sacred worms and mummies’ pure hearts. The white handkerchief’s strawberry pattern (painted with virgins’ blood) implies virginity and fidelity.

In conclusion, literary devices are important in literature. Authors can effectively communicate their intended message to their target audience with such devices. However, readers may require the extra mile of comprehension to understand some of the authors’ literary tools, including symbolism.

Pope, ALEXANDER. The rape of the lock and other major writings . Penguin UK, 2011.

Shakespeare, William. The Oxford Shakespeare: Othello: The moor of Venice . Oxford University Press, 2008.

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IvyPanda. (2023, December 27). Symbolism in Shakespeare's Othello and Pope's The Rape of the Lock. https://ivypanda.com/essays/symbolism-in-shakespeares-othello-and-popes-the-rape-of-the-lock/

"Symbolism in Shakespeare's Othello and Pope's The Rape of the Lock." IvyPanda , 27 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/symbolism-in-shakespeares-othello-and-popes-the-rape-of-the-lock/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Symbolism in Shakespeare's Othello and Pope's The Rape of the Lock'. 27 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Symbolism in Shakespeare's Othello and Pope's The Rape of the Lock." December 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/symbolism-in-shakespeares-othello-and-popes-the-rape-of-the-lock/.

1. IvyPanda . "Symbolism in Shakespeare's Othello and Pope's The Rape of the Lock." December 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/symbolism-in-shakespeares-othello-and-popes-the-rape-of-the-lock/.

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IvyPanda . "Symbolism in Shakespeare's Othello and Pope's The Rape of the Lock." December 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/symbolism-in-shakespeares-othello-and-popes-the-rape-of-the-lock/.

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