Literary devices = figurative language

Dramatic devices

One of the most important dramatic devices is the soliloquy. This is when a character speaks to the
audience and other characters are unaware of what is being said. It is like a character's thoughts coming
directly to the audience and we often get the impression that time has stopped. Each soliloquy is vital in
that we learn what is going through a character's head, and also what their plans are.

Another dramatic device is the aside. This is when a character reacts to something - it's not quite the
same as a soliloquy because it's a comment on what is happening around them. However, the other
characters are not aware of it and it's as if the speaker is confessing. So in Act 2, Scene 1 Iago sees Cassio
take Desdemona's hand and his asides tells us he has decided to 'ensare' Cassio with 'tricks', which is
exactly what he does later on.

Other dramatic devices include hiding or concealment - Othello hides away to hear Cassio talk, Iago
hides to watch Roderigo's attack on Cassio and even Desdemona's body is hidden until Emilia 'draws the
bed-curtain' to reveal her lying there.

The handkerchief is another feature of Othello - it seems completely unimportant at first, it is just a

handkerchief which Desdemona has dropped. But we soon realise that Iago has been trying to get hold
of it for a long time, and it is a symbol of loyalty, so losing it means Desdemona is unfaithful. Othello
even thinks it has magical properties. This shows how Shakespeare cleverly takes an ordinary object and
makes it the focus of the drama.

Repetition is also used frequently in Othello - repeating a word or phrase draws attention to it. For
instance, in Act 3, Scene 3 we have Othello talking about Desdemona and saying:

"Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her, damn her!"

In fact in the same scene Othello often repeats language when he is angry, like "O blood, blood, blood!"
or saying 'farewell' six times in just ten lines. Again, this is no accident - Shakespeare really wants the
audience to know the message, and to 'damn her' means to send her to hell.

If it is relevant, try to include a mention of the use of soliloquies as well in your answer (see Dramatic
effect for more information). Another technique to include is where Shakespeare is ambiguous - this
means that you can interpret things in different ways, so when Iago replies to Othello by saying "Think,
my lord?" it could mean all sorts of things - does he have an opinion? Is it his place to say it?

Imagery is used a lot in Othello. This is when strong pictures or ideas are created in our minds. For
instance, the play has lots of references to darkness, to animals, to disease and to hell. Imagery often
describes one thing in terms of another, and there are three main ways this happens:

Metaphors - when one thing is called something else. For instance, Iago says 'Our bodies are our
gardens' and uses different references to nature. He also calls Othello a 'Barbary horse' and later a 'ram'.
There are many other examples of metaphor, such as calling a person's reputation 'the jewel' of their
soul.

Personification - where something is described as if it is human, so jealousy becomes 'the green-ey'd

monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.'
Similes - when a direct comparison is made (with 'as', 'than' or 'like'), so Othello says Desdemona was 'as
fresh as Dian's visage (a goddess's face) and describes being 'as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys'.