Act 1 Scene 2 Line 76-79: "Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them. Good signior, you shall more command with years than with your weapons."
These lines are really interesting to me because we see how Othello is treating Brabantio in this tense situation. Othello flat out tells Brabantio and his men to put away their swords (I guess "keep up" translated to sheathe) as they were threatening him with "bad intent." Othello talks his way out of this attack on him by telling Brabantio that he doesn't need to use his weapons, but he can command with his years. I was wondering if Othello meant that Brabantio's experience was enough of a weapon or if Brabantio will eventually lead many years into the future? Either way, Othello used his words to talk his way out of this situation. To me, it seemed like Othello was extremely casual in this situation. He calmly told the men to put away their swords so that the dew does not rust them. I feel like Othello was saying this just to lighten the situation. It did not seem like a serious request, but almost like a joke. Of course their swords are not going to rust so quickly, but Othello is just messing with the soldiers. I could be interpreting this incorrectly (because language has changed over time), but in my reading, Othello was calm and light hearted and ready to get out of this situation.
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