In the complex world of literature, William Shakespeare's "Othello" remains a timeless masterpiece that delves into the depth of human emotions such as jealousy, love, trust, and betrayal. The drama embarks on a poignant journey through powerful dialogues and pivotal quotes, resonating with audiences for centuries. In this article, we explore ten unique facets of "Othello" through various quotes, providing insights into human nature and the psychological intricacies that Shakespeare so deftly illuminated. This exploration not only serves as an homage to the bard’s genius but also invites contemporary readers to reflect on their own emotional experiences through the lens of Shakespeare's enduring words.
Quotes on Jealousy
"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on."
"Trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ."
"Jealous souls will not be answered so; They are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they are jealous."
"I see you’re moved with passion, I see you’re jealous as hell."
"Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls."
"It is a monster begot upon itself, born on itself."
"She that, so young, could give out such a seeming, to seal her father's eyes up, close as oak."
"But jealous souls will not be answered so; they are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they are jealous."
"O monstrous! Monstrous!"
"My lord is fallen into an epilepsy. This is his second fit; he had one yesterday."
"I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove; and on the proof, there is no more but this,—Away at once with love or jealousy!"
"The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief; He robs himself that spends a bootless grief."
Quotes on Love
"She loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them."
"For thy escape would teach me tyranny, to hang clogs on them."
"But that I love the gentle Desdemona, I would not my unhoused free condition put into circumscription and confine for the sea's worth."
"If I were to die right now, I would say that I am in heaven, being held by you in paradise."
"Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee! and when I love thee not, chaos is come again."
"O my soul's joy! If after every tempest come such calms, May the winds blow till they have wakened death!"
"When I have plucked the rose, I cannot give it vital growth again, it must needs wither."
"That I do groan withal. Thou art to die."
"Not out of absolute lust, though peradventure I stand accountant for as great a sin, but partly led to diet my revenge."
"I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this, killing myself, to die upon a kiss."
"Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners."
"This look of thine will hurl my soul from heaven and fiends will snatch at it."
Quotes on Trust
"Put money in thy purse."
"Whate’er you be, I am obedient."
"Men should be what they seem."
"I am not what I am."
"I had been happy if the general camp, pioneers and all, had tasted her sweet body, so I had nothing known."
"Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation, the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial."
"Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw the smallest fear or doubt of her revolt, for she had eyes and chose me."
"I am glad of this, for now I shall have reason to show the love and duty that I bear you with franker spirit."
"Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls."
"O Spartan dog, more fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea, look on the tragic loading of this bed."
"The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest that but seem to be so."
"He is much changed."
Quotes on Betrayal
"Now, forever farewell the tranquil mind!"
"I am bound to thee forever."
"I will chop her into messes. Cuckold me!"
"Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands."
"Thus do I ever make my fool my purse."
"So will I turn her virtue into pitch, and out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all."
"And what’s he then that says I play the villain?"
"Thou hast set me on the rack."
"Even then this forked plague is fated to us when we do quicken."
"For I will make him tell the tale anew: Where, how, how oft, how long ago, and when he hath, and is again to cope your wife."
"Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore; be sure of it."
"The Moor already changes with my poison."
Quotes on Fate
"Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners."
"What wound did ever heal but by degrees?"
"I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at. I am not what I am."
"The handkerchief bespoke is hers indeed."
"The raven o'er the infectious house boding to all."
"My message can no further go."
"Demand me nothing: what you know, you know."
"It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul."
"From this time forth I never will speak word."
"When devils will the blackest sins put on, they do suggest at first with heavenly shows, as I do now."
"Such a handkerchief I am sure it was your wife's—did I today see Cassio wipe his beard with."
"Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men."
Quotes on Manipulation
"I follow him to serve my turn upon him. We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly followed."
"The Moor already changes with my poison."
"For I am nothing if not critical."
"O, you are well tuned now but I'll set down the pegs that make this music as honest as I am."
"Out of her own goodness make the net that shall enmesh them all."
"Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: She has deceived her father, and may thee."
"Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me, for making him egregiously an ass."
"And what’s he then that says I play the villain, when this advice is free, I give and honest."
"Oh, would you had had never seen him!"
"My lord shall never rest; I'll watch him tame and talk him out of patience. His bed shall seem a school, his board a shrift; I'll intermingle everything he does with Cassio's suit."
"What’s he then that says I play the villain?"
"Demand me nothing: what you know, you know."
Quotes on Revenge
"If thou canst cuckhold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport."
"I am affianced!"
"Oh foolish woman, there is no man so devious that can be completely trusted."
"He, woman; I say thy husband. Dost understand the word? My friend, thy husband, honest, honest Iago."
"I'll pour this pestilence into his ear."
"O vengeance! O sweet vengeance!"
"To have a foolish wife."
"Confess yourself freely to her, Importune her help to put you in your place again."
"As he shall smile, O’er dead bodies - love should lie."
"He that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed."
"I’ll have the work ta'en out and give’t Iago."
"Strangle her in bed, even the bed she hath contaminated."
Quotes on Power
"I am not what I am."
"O brave Iago, honest and just, That hast such noble sense of thy friend's wrong. Thou teachest me!"
"Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus."
"Put out the light, then put out the light."
"Come, swear it, damn thyself, 'lest being like one of heaven the devils themselves should fear to seize thee."
"Why, he drinks you with facility your Dane dead drunk; he sweats not to overthrow your Almain."
"Cassio, I love thee; But never more be officer of mine."
"Do not rise yet."
"But I do think it is their husbands' faults if wives do fall."
"O, now, for ever farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! Farewell the plumèd troops and the big wars."
"I know a lady in Venice would have walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his nether lip."
"Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them."
Quotes on Identity
"I am not what I am."
"Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls."
"But I do love thee; and when I love thee not, Chaos is come again."
"Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago."
"By heaven, you do me wrong."
"I thank you, valiant Cassio."
"Jewel my lord, as soon as the Moor parted from here, daughter of their mother, did see too and lament together."
"Let me go with him."
"For naught I did in hate, but all in honor."
"To suckle fools and chronicle small beer."
"If virtue no delighted beauty lack, your son-in-law is far more fair than black."
"It is merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will."
Quotes on Death
"Put out the light, then put out the light."
"It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul—let me not name it to you, you chaste stars."
"This sorrow’s heavenly; it strikes where it doth love."
"One that loved not wisely but too well."
"My soul hath her content so absolute."
"Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men."
"I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this, killing myself, to die upon a kiss."
"I am glad thy father's dead: thy match was mortal to him, and pure grief shore his old thread in twain."
"I will kill thee and love thee after."
"Demand me nothing: what you know, you know."
"Promising the death of her starved eyes."
"Cold, cold, my girl, even like thy chastity."
Final words
"Othello," through its rich tapestry of quotes, offers profound insights into the human psyche, exploring timeless themes of jealousy, love, trust, betrayal, fate, manipulation, revenge, power, identity, and death. Each quote selected from this Shakespearean tragedy serves as a window into the emotional and psychological experiences of its characters, illustrating the universality of these themes. The play's complexity challenges us to reflect on our own emotions and actions, urging us to understand the deep-seated motivations that drive human behavior. In this examination, we find that despite the passage of time, the nature of human emotions remains remarkably consistent. As we navigate the intricacies of our own lives, Shakespeare's "Othello" provides an invaluable lens through which to ponder the intricate dynamics that shape our thoughts and deeds, inviting us to heed its lessons of introspection and empathy. Through the timeless wisdom of its quotes, "Othello" continues to be a mirror reflecting the human condition, universally relevant and eternally poignant.
浙公网安备
33010002000092号
浙B2-20120091-4