Probably my favorite part about reading Shakespeare, if it is so required, is the rich metaphors he uses and how they so clearly outline the theme for the audience. The one metaphor I noticed in this case is a passage by Iago on pg 28. Iago in this scene is trying to instill reason in Roderigo that he should not give up hope for wooing Desdemona.
Iago argues, "Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners; so that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce...why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills..." (lines 319-326 I.3)
Here Shakespeare is comparing our bodies as something to cultivate with our mentality or our will. I think Shakespeare also means we can control our own mental stability with our will too. His line labeling our will as the gardeners clears up this point. The gardeners have the power over the garden, what goes in, how much water it receives, how it's harvested etc etc. The metaphor can be applied many different ways. It also reminded me of the cliche "mind over matter" where our bodies are the matter (gardens) and our minds are the will (gardeners). It's important that Shakespeare throws in these metaphors because they separate themselves from the text with the unusual wording and thus causes the audience to pay extra attention. The theme of willpower runs strongly throughout the text so obviously we would need to tune into this advice Iago is giving.
3 comments:
I nominate Alex's post for the post of the week. I really enjoyed hearing what she had to say about Shakespeare's use of metaphors. I too had contemplated about the garden metaphor, but did not have the courage to discuss it in my blog. I think she analyzed it very well.
I nominate this blog. I remember reading this metaphor. I have noticed Shakespeare has a gift for language (as hard as it may be to understand at times). When looking deeper into his complex and ornamental style I am starting to see a lot of things I didn't before.
I nominate this post for post of the week. Like Alex, I am intrigued by the metaphors throughout Othello. This metaphor mentioned by Alex, is one that I failed to recognize, and I appluad her on this find. This post truly represents attention to detail in reading. Her ability to flesh out this point puts her blog post above all the rest.
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