Othello explication

ExplicationOthello: 3. 3. 258-271. “ Why did I marry? …

… I do beseech your Honour. ” 1. Determine the context of the passage. Othello is doubting Desdemona, and Iago is trying to plant the idea that Desdemona has a hidden agenda with trying to persuade Othello to reinstate Cassio.

2. Describe the passage in its most overt form. (Does it rhyme, does it repeat phrases, words, etc. This passage does not have a rhyme scheme. The only repeat phrases that seem to really show up in the passage are when Iago does call Othello “ Your Honor”. Iago does pause four times when he is speaking in which brings more seemingly innocence to Iago’s character. 3.

Do these issues (especially the diction) reflex upon the rest of the text and how so? Yes, This text reflect in the passage and the rest of the text due to Iago urging and pointing out that Desdemona and Cassio are something more then just friends. 4. Describe in detail how the passage works. Does it use questions and why? Does it repeat and why? Does it contain antitheses of any kind and why? ’ Does it contain an oxymoron (or more than one) and why? Does it rely on Petrarchan devices and why? What are the main metaphors (or similes) and why? Are there puns or double entendres and why? You will not find all the devices, but you must show a strong understand of how the language serves the text. Declare your evidence and offer a logical critical reason for the evidence being probative (or proving something worthwhile) in the text. In the passage both Othello and Iago are talking to each other. Othello is questioning why he married Desdemona and questions if she is in fact if she is virginal and virtuous.

Iago being very manipulative tells Othello light-heartedly to wait and see what Cassio and Desdemona do. If Desdemona pushes earnestly to have Cassio reinstated back that there could be a back story and they are having an affair. This Passage does not have any Petrarchan devices, but I feel that the Pauses in lines 262, 263, 269, 270 are quite significant to the passage. Iago, calls him self “ busy” in which according to the text he is calling himself too officious, which I feel is a double entendres. 5. Summary your findings in the form of a concluding remark that makes your reader understand that the passage has a relevance to the rest of the text. This section may prove the most difficult, but it is the kind of “ summary” that can lead to a thesis statement for an essay.

You need to convince your reader that the passage under scrutiny holds a significant clue to the text as a whole. This clue may mean anything from teaching us how to read the play to what we should be seeking throughout the language and / or devices of the play. I actually found myself playing the both Othello and Iago as a monologue. In which I began to think this is what they were thinking and how the passage should be portrayed, I began to feel that Iago’s plea was a very good actor.