Blog Post 11

Act 4 Scene 3 [44-51]

“The poor soul sat singing by the sycamore tree, sing all a green willow, Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, sing willow, willow, willow. The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans, sing willow, willow, willow; her salt tears fell from her, and softened the stones.”

This song, sang by Desdemona has clear correlations to the willow tree. The willow tree, often referred to as the “weeping willow”, is given that name for the way it looks when rain falls down the leaves. Is the song simply representative of Desdemona’s sadness? The willow tree is also representative of strength and stability, is this theme more representative of Desdemona’s characteristics as she shows strong conviction, willingly facing Othello, or as she maintains a quiet yet strong role in the face of Othello’s anger and accusations? Do the themes combine to represent women within the story? Desdemona and Emilia show their sadness in dealing with their abusive husbands (Iago and Othello) while maintaining conviction in the truths that they know and stand by, even when questioned.

Weekly Think Piece: Storytelling in Othello

Q: Why does Othello tell Desdemona this origin story about the handkerchief?

Othello, after being tricked by Iago, is grappling with Desdemona’s infidelity, possibly having cheated on him with Cassio. The story is utilized by Othello to test Desdemona’s convictions about loyalty and faithfulness to one’s significant other. The missing of the handkerchief, in Othello’s mind, is foreshadowing his distrust and future loathing of Desdemona. Othello wishes to hear Desdemona’s response, with Iago’s words in the back of his head about how her mindset towards the handkerchief and Cassio mirrors her faithfulness.

Simply put, Othello is trying to guilt Desdemona in to caring about the handkerchief and express some distress towards misplacing it (although it’s really been taken by Emilia upon Iago’s request).