In these lines directed to Iago, Lodovico widens the scope of the tragedy. He compares Iago’s evil acts to “anguish, hunger, or the sea!” In this use, the word “fell” means cruel or malevolent, and it comes from the same Anglo-French root as “felon.” Shakespeare turns the play’s attention inward with the line “This is thy work.” On one level, the “work” refers to the bodies of Othello, Desdemona, and Emilia. On the another level, the “work” is the play itself. Iago is responsible for both.
Gratiano’s famous line gets at one of the core problems explored in Othello. Throughout the play, language proves to be deceptive and insufficient. From Iago’s lies to Othello’s cryptic final utterances, words consistently sidestep the truth or fall short of it. Communication between characters often fails. For Othello and Desdemona, such failures bear fatal consequences.
The “fable” of Iago’s feet refers to his metaphorical nature as a serpent, as suggested by Lodovico. Othello equates Iago’s snake-like character to that of “a devil” who cannot be killed. This equation originates in the Bible, wherein the devil appears in the form of a serpent. Much like the serpent in the garden of Eden, Iago is a tempter and corrupter.
Just as Iago’s famous line “I am not what I am,” Othello’s alludes to the Bible passage in which God utters “I am that I am.” Othello is dissociated from himself, pointing to a self that “was Othello.” This dissociation of self marks his fall from grace. Where Othello once had a sense of divine wholeness, now his identity has become separated into a past and present self.
In his lament over Desdemona’s death, Othello resorts to wordless moans. The letter “O” is of critical importance here. As the first letter of Othello’s name, the cry of “O!” signifies that Othello equates his identity with his own suffering.
Having accepted his guilt, Othello calls for perdition. In this passage, he offers up images of eternal punishment in hell. As some scholars speculate, Shakespeare may well have read Dante’s work. The scenes Othello describes align with Dante’s vision of hell in Inferno.
Othello understands that he has reached the end of his life. The word “butt” takes on two meanings here. First, a “butt” refers to the end, or bottom, of an object. Second, a “butt” is a target, which in this context suggests the scorn and hatred Othello will receive for his actions. A “seamark” is a navigation mark to help guide sailors home on their journeys. Othello can sense his own end.
In her final words, Emilia reiterates The Willow Song that Desdemona sang in Act IV. This reiteration both touches upon Othello’s guilt and expresses Emilia’s undying affection for her mistress. In her final breaths, Emilia believes that her truthfulness will lead to salvation and her “soul to bliss.”
As the play comes to a close, Emilia’s great importance becomes clear. Emilia is the truth-teller, the sole character capable of unraveling Iago’s schemes. In this way, Emilia represents the play’s heart. She is the one who sees clearly amid the confusion created by Iago.
Throughout the play, Emilia champions the perspective of women, who are consistently accused and derided by men. In this moment, Emilia makes the bold move of disobeying her husband in order to share the truth. Emilia understands that there is a finality to this moment since she admits that she “will ne’er go home.”
By “most filthy bargain,” Emilia refers to Desdemona’s marriage to Othello. The word “bargain” frames the relationship as a financial transaction, specifically an unbalanced one. Emilia seems to think that Desdemona received the worse side of the deal.
It is important that Othello compares Desdemona’s value to that of a “world/Of one entire and perfect chrysolite.” Shakespeare selects chrysolite because it is a green mineral, thus involving a connotation of envy. Envy is the very reason Othello believes the lies about Desdemona’s adultery in the first place.
Desdemona’s final act is to protect Othello from the guilt of the murder. Her desire to protect him despite his actions represents one of the play’s most tragic moments. Othello can not forgive Desdemona’s alleged adultery, but Desdemona can forgive his murder of her.
Having heard the news that Cassio has not died, Othello realizes that his murder of Desdemona is premature. After all, Cassio knows the truth of the adultery (or lack thereof). Shakespeare plays on the old saying that “revenge is sweet,” giving its flavor a sour turn.
Shakespeare uses the movements of the moon as a metaphor for the relationships between men and women in the play. Shakespeare casts the moon as a “she” whose closeness to the earth drives “men mad.” The irony is that the events of the play are not caused by the “error” of women but rather by the schemes of men, chiefly Iago.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, an eclipse of the sun is an omen of misfortune on earth. As Othello reflects, the “affrighted globe/Should yawn at alteration.” The alteration—or change—Othello speaks of is Desdemona’s death. His choice to discuss her death on a cosmic scale reflects the depth of his sorrow.
In this tragic moment, Othello forgets that Desdemona has died. His sudden realization of the truth rings out in a line of ten monosyllabic words. This metrical feature gives the line a quality of fullness and forcefulness.
Othello claims that he would take Cassio’s life as many times as Cassio’s number of hairs. On one level, this serves as an exaggerated metaphor for Othello’s anger; on another, the symbolism of hair is important. Hair is often a symbol for virility and vitality. Considering Cassio’s crime of adultery, it makes sense that Othello targets the man’s hair as he imagines his revenge.
At this point, Othello commits to his course of action. He will kill Desdemona, no matter the evidence she offers in her own defense. The metaphor of “chok[ing]” the conception of her guilt adds a connotation of violence to the exchange. He also foreshadows the method by which he kills her.
As Desdemona looks back on her actions, her only misdeed was her decision to marry Othello. Those “loves” she bears to Othello are sinful in the sense that their marriage is considered scandalous to many. The tragedy here is that her choice to commit the sin of loving Othello has led to her undoing.
In this chilling exchange, Othello offers Desdemona a chance to repent for her actions. The conversation is built on a tense dramatic irony, because Othello does not understand, as the audience does, that Desdemona is innocent.
The meaning of "So sweet was ne'er so fatal" is not entirely clear. Othello either refers to Desdemona's sweetness, which Othello thinks led to adultery and her eventual murder, or the sweetness of Othello's parting kisses before he suffocates her.
Othello argues that he was driven to suffocate Desdemona because he "loved not wisely but too well," meaning he simply got carried away after hearing the (erroneous) charges made against her. He believes he is guilty of loving too deeply, as opposed to being jealous, rash, and violent.
The word "chaste" is an intriguing adjective to apply to the stars. They seem cold and isolated, as well as desirable and yet infinitely unattainable. Since Othello is inside a room, he is presumably looking out a window. Perhaps he does not even look at the sleeping Desdemona until he says, "but once put out thy light. " At that point he would have to turn and look at her. If this is what Shakespeare intended, then the audience would perhaps assume that Othello was not only reluctant to kill his wife but was even afraid to look at her. He looks at the stars, he looks at the flaming torch, and finally he turns and looks at the woman he loves and intends to murder.
Faced with death, Desdemona realizes how precious every moment of existence can be. She starts by asking to be banished rather than killed. Then she reduces her request and asks just to live for one more night. Then when Othello remains adamant, she asks for "But half an hour!" And finally she pleads, "But while I say one prayer!" In other words, she is just begging for a minute or two more of precious life before entering eternal darkness. Shakespeare had an uncanny ability to places himself in his different characters' positions. He can be Othello and then Desdemona, moving back and forth in his imagination as he creates his moving dialogue.
This simple metaphor, so strikingly appropriate to the occasion, is characteristic of Shakespeare's poetry. He typically favored common, natural imagery that would often echo thoughts that are familiar—albeit thoughts most of us have never put into words. When one plucks a beautiful flower one has actually killed it. At that point there is no way to undo the damage done, just as Othello cannot undo the murder he has committed. This scene in which Othello murders Desdemona is compelling because he is killing the thing he loves best in all the world. In fact, he later tells Emelia:
If heaven would make me such another world
Of one entire and perfect chrysolite,
I'ld not have sold her for it.
This scene in Othello explores a theme that Oscar Wilde later discussed in his 1897 poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol," which contains the following stanza:
Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!
Iago's villainy drives the action throughout the entire play, yet many people have wondered about his motivation. Here at the very end he is refusing to explain himself even under the threat of torture. He remains a mystery.
This is an example of enjambment. The preceding line runs into the following one without giving the speaker a logical place to take a breath. Notice how Othello inhales deeply after he says, "I'll smell it [Desdemona's fragrant breath] on the tree." Then the next line is crammed with words which force the actor to expell all his breath before coming to "Justice to break her sword," so that his voice will almost automatically crack as he has to struggle not to inhale, as if he is bursting into tears at the thought of administering "justice" to his wife. The words intentionally calculated to force the actor to use up all his breath in one line include "O," "balmy," "breath," "dost," "almost," and "persuade." The actor would probably choke on the word "Justice" and then inhale before continuing with "to break her sword."
This is an example of specious reasoning and rationalization. In all likelihood, Othello is not concerned about any "betrayal" of other men. More pressingly, he can't stand the thought of what Desdemona might do with "more men" if he were to divorce her or separate from her and allow her complete freedom to indulge in the sort of dissolute behavior of which he wrongly suspects her. Othello is characterized as a man who is governed by his emotions rather than by his reason.