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Yuika Yoshida

Ms. McLellan

AP English Literature (3)

4 October 2018

The Green-Eyed Monster

Life is a combination of free will and destiny, but sometimes it’s easier to blame

misfortunes on the latter. In an excerpt taken from Shakespeare’s ​Othello​, Othello is tricked into

believing his wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful to him. He struggles to emotionally come to

terms with the alleged affair and voices his internal conflict. While Othello initially searches for

ways he might’ve caused his wife to stray, he progressively begins to reassure himself that it was

inevitable and bound to happen. Shakespeare conveys Othello’s complex stance on the affair

through two distinct halves of the soliloquy—reflecting both his insecurity and intense denial.

Towards the beginning of the soliloquy, Othello has difficulty grappling with the rumor

and initially blames himself for driving Desdemona to cheating. By comparing her “jesses” to

Othello’s “heartstrings” in a metaphor, Shakespeare expresses Othello’s inner turmoil and how

much anguish he would go through if he was forced to let her go. Despite believing his wife has

been unfaithful, it’s clear he still loves her and is heartbroken by the news. Much like anyone

who goes through a significant break up, Othello suddenly obsesses over his flaws and

inadequacies in his attempt to understand why Desdemona would ever leave him. He wonders if

it was due to him being “black”, lacking “soft parts” of conversation, or him being “declined”

that drove her away. Shakespeare’s choice of these negative descriptors give insight into just
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how self conscious Othello is. It’s evident Othello is confused by Iago’s deceit and he is driven

to get to the bottom of the rumor.

By the second half of the soliloquy, Othello abandons this insecure, confused state of

mind for a more fatalistic point of view as a coping mechanism. He unexpectedly accepts that

“she’s gone”. Compared to the longer sentences from his earlier ramblings, Shakespeare’s use of

the brief sentence shows how Othello has made up his mind. He no longer analyzes what

could’ve went wrong, or how he might be at fault. This simplistic way of thinking is resolute,

and rather than agonizing over the endless possibilities, he settles for accepting the end of their

marriage. In this stage of denial, Othello begins to emotionally detach himself away from

Desdemona to save him from heartache. He refers to Desdemona as a “thing” and a “creature”,

both separating himself away from her, and blaming her animalistic instincts as a woman to

pursue pleasure. Shakespeare’s use of dehumanizing diction used to describe Desdemona is cold,

lacking any sort of love. It is a stark contrast from the emotional suffering Othello went through

in the first half when he spoke about how much it would hurt him to cut Desdemona out of his

life. Shakespeare continues to utilize extreme language to convey Othello’s coping mechanism,

emphasizing he has made up his mind on the rumored affair. Othello says he’d rather “be a toad”

than only have a part of Desdemona. In a way, his fatalistic way of thinking is self-serving and

helps him justify what’s happening to him.

Throughout the soliloquy, Othello experiences a complex range of emotions when he

hears about the alleged affair. Shakespeare’s use of various literary devices to convey Othello’s

shift from blaming himself, to blaming external factors to cope with the heartbreaking news.
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Othello speaks to the universal idea that sometimes it’s easier to distance yourself from the

person you love in order to spare your own feelings.

Othello Q2 Draft Reflection:

1.) I earned an 8 on the summer essay, and I think it’s because while I was able to recognize

where the shift in the excerpt was, I didn’t actually explain the effects of the literary

devices used.

2.) My recommendations were to focus more on the author in my analysis, and explicitly

analyze the effect of the devices. I think I’ve improved my body paragraphs by

explaining why a certain piece of evidence is important, and emphasize that these were

all decisions made by the author.

3.) I think my essay would earn around a 6 or a 7 because I feel like I’ve adequately

addressed the prompt and provided a clear thesis. However, I still need to show deeper

understanding and constantly relate back to my thesis.

4.) I think the only concern I have at the moment is explaining how the literary devices help

the author express something without being repetitive.