Iago’s capability of destruction of happiness is shown through poison imagery. Iago describes how his plan will affect Othello in Act 2, Scene 3, line 346 by saying ‘I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear’. The use of the word ‘pestilence’ conveys that Iago is giving Othello an illness, the action ‘pour’ indicates Iago’s words will poison Othello. Describing Iago’s actions as poisoning is apt as Othello’s jealousy spreads and becomes stronger throughout the play, eventually leading to death.
In addition Shakespeare uses imagery in ‘Othello’ to portray changes in Othello’s character. Othello’s speech begins to mirror Iago’s which could show Othello is increasingly becoming more like Iago as his impression on him grows stronger, Iago’s growing influence on Othello is due to his clever manipulation of situations such as planting the handkerchief on Cassio. Othello laments to Desdemona as he interrogates her about her supposed infidelity how his ‘life fountain’ is now for ‘foul toads to knot and gender in’ (Act 4, Scene 2, lines 60-6 1). By describing Cassio and Desdemona as ‘foul toads’ Othello is mirroring Iago’s earlier derogatory description of an ‘old black ram’ which described Othello himself, showing that he also now sees sexuality as brutal and degrading.
Othello also begins to use devil imagery similar to Iago’s. For example, he tells Desdemona she will ‘be double-damned’ in Act 4, Scene 2, lines 37-38 when he is accusing her of her affair. This could be an insult influenced by Iago as Iago uses the same imagery of ‘devil’ earlier in the play to insult Othello. Ironically, Othello casts himself here as God’s advocate as he sees his wife as a corrupt sinner, whereas in reality he will be ‘damned’ for her unjust murder.
Further evidence of Iago’s influence on Othello can be perceived as the imagery of monsters is also used by both Othello and Iago. In Act 1, Scene 3 line 402 Iago describes his plan to destroy the relationship as a ‘monstrous birth’ and later Othello describes Desdemona’s perceived betrayal as ‘monstrous! Monstrous!’; the repetition of the fact that it is ‘monstrous’ echoes Iago’s words and shows the success of the plan. The word ‘monstrous’ conveys that he feels that Desdemona’s betrayal is something inconceivable and something which will ultimately bring destruction.
Imagery used to describe Othello also changes throughout the play. After Othello murders Desdemona, Emilia describes him as ‘the blacker devil’ (Act 5, Scene 2, line 133). The description ‘blacker’ here means Othello is a greater sinner than Desdemona who he is accusing, and ‘devil’ is a strong conveyance of loathing used by Emilia. This can be linked to Iago’s imagery in the opening scene, as he calls him ‘devil’. The irony is that the prejudice people felt towards Othello as an outsider was unjust, but Othello becomes what he was accused of being by the end of the play. However, the devil imagery used at the end of the play contrasts to some earlier imagery used by those who respect and admire Othello. For example, when Othello is late arriving in Cyprus because of a storm Cassio cries ‘0 let the heavens give him defence against the elements’. ‘Heavens’ is a direct contrast to ‘devil’ and the use of the word shows that Othello is loved by Cassio, and gives the impression he is a good man and one who is not uncontrollably violent and lustful. Shakespeare may use this contrast between devil and heavenly imagery to show the deterioration of Othello’s character, as he becomes the barbarian he was first accused of being.
Another way Shakespeare uses imagery in ‘Othello’ is to show changes in Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Imagery of the sea is often used to show deep emotions. This recurring imagery expresses different kinds of emotion throughout the play, particularly emotions borne of Othello and Desdemona’s relationship. Near the beginning of the play, Desdemona expresses her passion for Othello in the lines ‘My downright violence and storm of fortunes/May trumpet to the world’ (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 248-249). By using the word ‘storm’ to describe her fortunes in marrying Othello, Shakespeare shows Desdemona has a great passion for him, as a storm is a gargantuan force. This is completely contrasted in the middle of the play, when Othello uses the sea to express his determination to murder Desdemona in the lines: ‘Like to the Pontic sea,/Whose icy current and compulsive source/Ne’er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on’ (Act 3, Scene 3, lines 451-453). In this instant, the reference to ‘icy current’ shows Othello is cold, even chilling. The fact that the sea ‘keeps due on’ shows he is unyielding in this murderous decision. From the beginning to the middle of the play there has already been a disintegration of their relationship from one of enormous passion to one where jealousy has driven Othello to murderous intentions. Moreover, Othello describes his love for Desdemona as ‘The fountain from which my current runs’ when he becomes angry about how their love has been corrupted by her (Act 4, Scene 2, line 258) but in the same speech says it has become a ‘cistern’ (line 260) which shows deterioration as ‘fountain’ is a beautiful image whereas ‘cistern’ hints at something more dirty. This image could be used to show that Desdemona has made their love impure, and Othello’s Christian faith would have supported this notion as Desdemona’s sin affects them both as they are a married couple.
The heaven imagery used at the beginning of the play contrasts to the imagery of hell and the devil used later. At the start of the second act Othello arrives in Cyprus and on seeing Desdemona he exclaims ‘0 my soul’s joy!’ (Act 2, Scene 1, line 179). By referring to Othello’s ‘soul’ Shakespeare shows Othello’s deep love for her. The association of soul with the divine is one of many instances in the beginning of the play where heaven and angel imagery is used to describe Othello’s love for Desdemona, showing how he is so infatuated that she is like a goddess to him and he adores her. This is a sharp contrast to Iago’s degrading animal imagery which he uses to describe Othello’s love. By Act 4 Iago has fully convinced Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity. He shouts at Desdemona ‘the devils themselves should fear to seize thee’ (Act 4, Scene 2, lines 36-37). This shows that Othello’s love for Desdemona is nonexistent, and she has become someone different to him, not the one who he first adored. The use of the word ‘devil’ asserts that she is a sinner, and the insult is worsened by the assertion that the devils ‘fear to seize’ Desdemona, implying she is more evil than the devil. Sometimes the imagery is mixed, and this could show Othello is confused. When Othello is accusing Desdemona he calls her a ‘rose-lipped cherubin’ (Act 4, Scene 2, line 62) but in the next line calls her ‘grim as hell’ (line 63). ‘rose-lipped’ shows he still sees her as beautiful, which is immediately contrasted by ‘grim’ which shows he thinks she is morally flawed. Secondly, ‘cherubin’ indicates he cannot stop seeing her as an angel even when he is accusing her of being unfaithful, but the reference to ‘hell’ contrasts this as it is devil imagery. In this act, Shakespeare could use imagery to express Othello’s confusion, as he believes Iago in that Desdemona is unfaithful but his instincts still seem to be telling him that she is pure.
In ‘Othello’, Shakespeare also uses imagery of the sea to convey to the audience the intensity of suffering experienced by the characters in the play. For example, Brabantio’s sorrow is expressed through sea imagery in the line ‘my particular grief is of so flood-gate and o’erbearing nature that it engluts and swallows other sorrows’. Brabantio says this after he hears about his daughter’s marriage to Othello. Here, the sea is used because of its size and force. The use of the phrase ‘o’erbearing nature’ shows Brabantio’s sorrow to be so acute he can think of nothing else. Othello expresses the pain he feels because he believes Desdemona is unfaithful through imagery of disease. He describes his thoughts of Desdemona’s infidelity ‘comes o’er my memory,/As doth the raven o’er the infected house’ (Act 4, Scene 1, lines 20-21). Ravens are associated with death and decay, so this morbid image shows that Othello is dying inside because of Desdemona’s betrayal. The sea and death images are both used to show the magnitude and extent of suffering. This can be linked to great emotions which are also shown through sea imagery to convey Desdemona’s intense passion and Othello’s unerring determination to kill Desdemona and Cassio as they are supposed to be the perpetrators of the crime.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses imagery in ‘Othello’ to reveal aspects of Iago’s character and to show changes in Othello’s. Desdemona and Othello’s relationship is perhaps the central focus of the performance and imagery is paramount in showing the changing dynamic between the couple, as sea imagery conveys overpowering emotion and racial prejudice is shown almost entirely through degrading imagery of animals and the devil which is used against Othello, highlighting the fact he is an outsider. The fact that the imagery is used again at the end of the play by Emilia on discovering the murdered body of her mistress might suggest Othello became the stereotype of the barbarian introduced to us in the opening scene.
