Vocabulary in Othello

Mating with — used here as a crude, animalistic way of saying Othello has had sex with Desdemona, deliberately chosen to shock and enrage her father.

A term used in Shakespeare's time for a person of North African or sub-Saharan African descent; in this play it marks Othello as a racial outsider in white Venetian society.

Experienced or lived through — referring to the hardships, battles, and adventures Othello has survived and told Desdemona about.

To feel deep compassion and tender sympathy for someone's suffering or hardship; here it is the emotion that drew Desdemona to love Othello.

A small bag used to carry money; Iago repeatedly urges Roderigo to keep his money ready, using it as a symbol of practical self-interest over romantic idealism.

In harmony — used metaphorically to describe Othello and Desdemona's happy, loving agreement, which Iago intends to destroy.

To loosen the tuning pegs of a stringed instrument so it goes out of tune; Iago uses this as a metaphor for his plan to destroy the harmony between Othello and Desdemona.

Like a beast or animal — without reason, morality, or human dignity; Cassio uses it to describe what he becomes when he loses his good name.

Lasting forever, beyond death; Cassio calls his reputation his immortal part because he believes it survives him and defines him more lastingly than his body.

A vivid metaphor for jealousy — the 'green-eyed' quality suggests envy, and 'monster' conveys how jealousy is a destructive, consuming force that torments the person who feels it.

Does cruelly taunt or torment; jealousy is said to mock 'the meat it feeds on' meaning it tortures the very person it possesses, not just the object of suspicion.

A squat, warty amphibian regarded in Shakespeare's era as loathsome and poisonous; Othello uses it to say he would rather be the most repulsive creature alive than endure a faithless wife.

Damp, foul air or mist — especially the stale, poisonous air imagined to rise from a dark underground prison cell.

A dark underground prison cell, typically beneath a castle; used here to evoke the most wretched, lightless existence imaginable.

The sky imagined as hard, cold, and permanent as marble — Othello swears his oath by it to emphasize that his vow of revenge is as fixed and unyielding as stone.

To pledge or bind oneself by a solemn promise; Othello uses it to declare that his oath of revenge is a formal, unbreakable commitment.

Fully capable and competent in every respect; the Senate once considered Othello completely equal to any task, making his breakdown all the more shocking.

Contemptuous rejection or disdain; in the willow song, Desdemona sings of accepting her lover's scorn without blaming him, reflecting her resigned, mournful state.

A tree traditionally associated in English culture with grief, mourning, and unrequited love; Desdemona sings the 'willow song' as a lament for her doomed marriage.

To be unfaithful in marriage, to commit adultery; Emilia argues that wives who stray are driven to it by their husbands' own neglect or wrongdoing.

Before — an archaic word meaning prior to a particular moment in time; Othello says he kissed Desdemona before he killed her.

To question or interrogate — used in the formal sense of requiring someone to give an account or explanation of their actions.

Forward from this point in time; 'from this time forth' means from now on, for all future time — Iago declares he will never speak again.

The proper, solemn respect owed to something sacred; Othello invokes it to show that his oath is not made lightly but with full ceremonial gravity.