Is Language the fatal weapon in Othello?

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Language : The Fatal Weapon in Othello

Language is especially tricky because of all the possibilities it can manage . Be quiet ' versus Shut up ' is one example of the power that language holds . Rumors are another example of how powerful language can be when it passes through a certain set of ear lobes some people are shattered by the rumors floating around about them . Othello is a play that takes the intricacies of language - the way something is said versus what is actually being

said - to show the dire consequences put into effect when someone hears something a certain way . The following three passages will examine how language hides and reveals something about Othello , Iago and Desdemona , and how it is ultimately the downfall of the characters

Jealous Iago uses language like a cunning fox , hiding behind his words to get to his prey . Othello in turn is easily deceived , himself jealous and paranoid because of the viral words strategically planted throughout . In the third scene of the third act , Iago 's use of language makes him very visible to the audience - by this point the audience is well aware that Iago is jealous of Othello , but eager theless to hide this fact from Othello . But it is this scene that most reveals Iago to the world , when Iago may not be at all visible to himself . Saying of jealousy , It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock /The meat it feeds on (166-167 . Iago may be jealous of Othello by this point in the play , but he seems either unaware of it or in denial of it . To speak of jealousy in this way directly to Othello - the object of his envy - is to suggest that Iago may not be fully conscious of his own jealousy Perhaps if Iago were to realize what he was saying , he might have changed course and decided against pointing a finger at Cassio . Yet clearly he goes on , That cuckold lives in bliss /Who , certain of his fate , loves not his wronger (166-168 . Iago could very well be describing himself here , ignorant of his own jealousy toward Othello whom he obviously does not truly love . He is hiding not only from Othello but from himself as well , but psychologically he is rather apparent to the audience , for which Othello will unknowingly kill

Desdemona 's language reveals her purity even when faced with accusations , even when she is unsure of what exactly she is being accused . When Othello tells her she must die by his hand , when her sins are her love for him , and before he tells her why he must kill her , she says , These are portents but yet I hope , I hope /They do not point on me (45-46 . She knows he is accusing her of something , but in her pure love for Othello she dares to hope that he is not charging her . Here she is hiding from herself , knowing full well that , Some bloody...