I do beseech you,
Send for the lady to the Sagittary,
And let her speak of me before her father:
If you do find me foul in her report,
The trust, the office I do hold of you,
Not only take away, but let your sentence
Even fall upon my life.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Othello, taken before the Duke and Senators for questioning, stakes his life on Desdemona’s love for him. He asks that she be sent for to address her father’s charge that she was seduced by Othello’s witchcraft. If she speaks badly of him, Othello invites the Duke to take away his office and even sentence him to death. Othello puts his life on the line here, confident that Desdemona will provide proof that her father’s allegation is false.