Shakespeare uses iambic pentameter throughout his works including Othello’s soliloquy in Act V. The text is composed in blank verse which gives it a more naturally spoken feel. The tone of the soliloquy is distressed, for he is trying to convince himself that his decision to kill Desdemona is the right one just prior to the killing.
| Line |
Literary Device |
Explanation |
It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul
Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars: |
anaphora |
Othello repeats the same phrase multiple times to represent the chaos in his mind as he is about to kill his wife for sins to which she is not guilty. |
It is the cause, yet I'll not shed her blood, Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow,
And smooth, as monumental alabaster;
Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men. |
simile |
He compares her skin to that of the stone statues of people on tombs.
He loves Desdemona yet he feels that he must kill her therefore he will do it in such a way as to prevent the damaging of her perfect physical image. |
Put out the light, and then put out the light:
|
atanaclasis (type of pun), epanalepsis |
structurally Shakespeare uses an epanalepsis.
The phrase is an atanclasis where the first light is a candle and the second is the life source. He must commit the act in darkness because the act itself is considered evil and therefore part of the darkness. |
If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,
I can again thy former light restore,
Should I repent me; but once put out thine,
Thou cunning pattern of excelling nature, |
poetic diction |
Othello's character uses poetice diction throughout the play due to his importance in the work. |
I know not where is that Promethean heat that can thy light relume: when I have pluck'd the
rose, |
enjambment, allusion |
enjambment emphasizes the idea of Desdemona being a flower about to be cut from the vine by another's wishes. A rose does not want to be plucked, but man in his selfishness will pluck the rose for its temporary beauty which will fade faster after losing its lifesource.
Shakespeare alludes to the story of Prometheus giving fire to man. The gods had hidden fire from man as the reincarnation of Desdemona is hidden from Othello. His act will be permanent just as cutting a rose from the vine. |
I cannot give it vital growth again,
It must needs wither; I'll smell it on the tree, |
syntax, diction |
The word order in the line is different in addition to the word choice makes for a hard interpretation. The line's meaning is that once plucked the rose will wither and die. Othello cannot bring it back once cut. |
| A balmy breath, that doth almost persuade Justice herself to break her sword: once more: |
symbol |
Justice is symbolized with a sword and scales. For her to break her sword would mean to stop serving her purpose, as Othello is trying to convince himself not to do. |
Be thus, when thou art dead, and I will kill thee,
and love thee, after: once more, and this is the last,
So sweet was ne'er so fatal: I must weep, |
parallelism, oxymoron |
Something sweet is usually something good not something that is fatal. Once again he possesses a great love for Desdemona and like God it pains him to have to punish the one he loves. |
But they are cruel tears, this sorrow's heavenly,
It strikes when it does love: She wakes. |
metaphor |
He compares the judgment of Desdemona to that of the Old Testament God on his people. |