preview

Meaning Of Soul In Shakespeare's Othello

Good Essays

The various forms of the word soul occur throughout Othello thirty-seven times, and as the reader recognizes the perpetual repetition, a veiled meaning and symbolism of the word is discovered. It is oftenly used by Othello and Iago, especially in regards to Desdemona. Soul is defined by the dictionary as, “The spiritual part of humans regarded in its moral aspect, or as believed to survive death and be subject to happiness or misery in a life to come.” This is the basis of the meaning in any context, but William Shakespeare’s Othello allows readers to embrace an alternate meaning of soul that revolves around Othello’s love for Desdemona and Honest Iago’s cunning plans. Othello is madly in love with Desdemona and “his soul is so enfettered …show more content…

His usage of the word, soul, is to provide a sensation of guiltiness to the person he is conversing with. He uses this tactic to turn people against each other, like Desdemona and Othello. An individual’s soul is parallel with their morality, so by attacking an individual’s morality, he is undermining their perception of other people. The soul of an individual is the most potent aspect of that person, and that is why the verbal assailment and accusation of an individual’s soul can be mendacious. He tells Brabantio, “Your heart is burst, you have lost half of your soul”(1.1.84). Iago’s super objective throughout the play is to seek revenge against the Moor. When he tells Brabantio, that he is lacking soul and should be ashamed of letting his daughter elope with the Moor. Iago acknowledges that Brabantio will be very irascible after being informed of this, but he uses the ideal words, like soul, to ensure that action against the Moor will ensue. This is a paramount aspect of the book because Iago’s plans revolve around him lying to people and attempting to gain people’s trust. The usage of the word, soul, his oftenly used when he is describing his plans, and trying to put them into

Get Access