Form and Structure GapFill

The following quiz relates to Shakespeare's use of language in the play.

Most of the play is written in   blankfreerhymingheroic verse, the type of verse being   iambicdactylicaeolicanapestic pentameter. There are episodes of   soliloquycoupletsdoggerelprose spoken by Othello and Iago to indicate inner turmoil or instability, such as in Act 3 Scene 3, when Iago tells Othello that Desdemona and Cassio have been sleeping together.

Shakespeare uses metaphors and symbolism throughout the play. For example, there are numerous uses of  imagery associated with  starswarriorsnatureanimals. In the very first scene we see Iago refer to Othello as the ‘old black   dogwolfgoatram and ‘  a Trojana Calgaryan Ottomitea Barbary  horse’,  while Desdemona is described as a ‘white  foxlambyearlingewe. Another example of animalistic comparisons being made is in Act 3, Scene 3. Once again it is Iago speaking, saying that Othello would never see Cassio and Desdemona together, even if they were ‘prime as  pigsramsgoatsdonkeys, as hot as  monkeysdogsbearswildcats, / As  bittersoftripesalt as wolves in pride’. The animal metaphors serve to exaggerate the sexuality of the people referred to. The fact that animals are usually used in a negative way also clearly highlights the   racistunculturedsuperiorlazy attitude of the characters, as it is frequently  IagoDesdemonaOthelloCassio who is the subject of these metaphors.

There are many other examples of figurative language, for example Iago's use of   ironicunintendedextendedoxymoronic metaphor in 'O, you are well tuned now, But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music, As honest as I am' in Act 2 Scene 1, and Iago's use of  personificationironyallusionmetaphor is describing Cassio as 'a soldier fit to stand by Caesar' in Act 2 Scene 3, and the use of   personificationmetaphorhyperboleallusion in 'Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land' in Act 2 Scene 1.