"Othello: Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore!Be sure of it. Give ocular proof, or by the of mine eternal soul, thou hast been better have been born a dog than answer my waked wrath!
Iago: Is't come to this?
Othello: Make me see't, or at the least so prove it that the probation bear no hinge nor loop to hang a doubt on, or woe upon thy life!
Iago: My noble lord-
Othello: If thou dast slander her and torture me, never pray more; abandon all remorse; on horror's head horrors accumulate, do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed for nothing canst thou to damnation add greater than that."
(Shakespeare 993)
In this section of the play Iago has already put doubt into Othello's mind about the fidelity of his wife. This scene shows how much Othello loves Desdemona and how much he doesn't want to believe that she would be unfaithful. Othello, his passion evident, orders Iago to prove his accusations or he will pay with his life for slandering Desdemona's name and for making him doubt her alliance to him. A few words that really caught my attention were, "on horror's head horror accumulate". This describes how horrific the punishment will be if Iago fails to prove proof, however, the way it is stated allows the mind to wonder about different venues of terror that Iago may receive. Othello reminds me of my husband in this scene. My husband doesn't like gossip so when people come over and start talking about things they are unsure of, he says "if you can't prove it don't open your mouth about it." Overall, I really liked this scene because it shows that Othello was truly in love and didn't want to believe that Desdemona was unfaithful.
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Hi, Sami. I like the phrase "ocular proof" from this bit of dialogue. Othello wants to see it for himself. Of course, unfortunately for him, Iago is able to engineer the "occular proof." Nancy
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