Othello Foreshadowing Quotes

RODERIGO: Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate.
IAGO: Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp’d to him: and, by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:
But he; as loving his own pride and purposes,
Evades them, with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuff’d with epithets of war.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 1. Iago confides to Roderigo how he hates Othello after three powerful men failed in their pleas to Othello to make Iago his lieutenant. Feeling wronged by a prideful Othello who promotes Cassio instead, Iago’s resentment and jealousy set the tone for the rest of the play. Foreshadowed here is his plot to exact vengeance and destroy Othello.

Call up her father,
Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight,
Proclaim him in the streets; incense her kinsmen,
And, though he in a fertile climate dwell,
Plague him with flies: though that his joy be joy,
Yet throw such changes of vexation on ‘t,
As it may lose some colour.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 1. In his bid to ruin Othello, a vindictive Iago hatches a malevolent plan to recruit the easily manipulable Roderigo to do his dirty work for him. He incites Roderigo to wake up Desdemona’s father in order to destroy Othello’s marital bliss and enrage her family by shouting in the streets about the pair’s secret marriage. Iago’s use of poison and plague imagery and metaphor associates him with corruption and disease and foreshadows how he will poison Othello’s mind in Act 3. His racism is also suggested in his wish that the black Othello’s joy will "lose some colour."

If I be left behind,
A moth of peace, and he go to the war,
The rites for which I love him are bereft me,
And I a heavy interim shall support
By his dear absence. Let me go with him.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Desdemona so loves Othello that she doesn’t want to be separated, even in war. Here she pleads with the Duke and his court to allow her to accompany Othello to Cyprus. In a metaphor she compares herself to a "moth of peace" if she is left behind. This demonstrates Desdemona’s strength of character, But just as moths fly towards light and flame, this also foreshadows how Desdemona is flying towards danger and death.

Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Brabantio warns Othello that Desdemona has deceived her father and will likely betray Othello as well. Brabantio is unfairly painting his daughter as a deceiver, and perpetuating the stereotype of women in general as deceivers of men. He is also planting a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind about his wife’s trustworthiness, foreshadowing later tragic events when Iago uses Brabantio’s words to persuade Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful to him.

My life upon her faith!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Othello’s answer to Brabantio’s warning that Desdemona may deceive him is filled with irony and double meaning. Swearing his complete trust in Desdemona, he says he would bet his life upon her faith. But it is Othello’s own faith in Desdemona that is later questionable, when he believes the lies about her infidelity drip-fed to him by the duplicitous deceiver Iago. It is Othello’s lack of faith that prompts him to kill Desdemona. When Othello realizes that she has been faithful all along, he kills himself, literally giving his life for what he believes was her lack of faith. Othello’s statement also draws attention to the duplicity of language and of character in the play, the greatest example of this being Iago. There is also foreshadowing in Othello’s words, which turn out to be strangely and tragically prophetic.

Methinks the wind hath spoke aloud at land;
A fuller blast ne’er shook our battlements:
If it hath ruffian’d so upon the sea,
What ribs of oak, when mountains melt on them,
Can hold the mortise?

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. This act opens at a sea port in Cyprus, where Montano, the island’s Governor, is watching a fierce storm raging across the sea. He uses personification to describe how the wind "spoke aloud." In a metaphor, he compares the huge waves to "mountains" that "melt" and threaten the enemy Turkish ships, putting paid to their invasion plans. Montano’s description builds up a sense of pathetic fallacy, suggesting the chaos and conflict in the characters’ lives. Othello and Desdemona’s ships are still at sea. While they survive this storm, foreshadowed here is the fierce domestic storm that awaits them in Cyprus.

The chidden billow seems to pelt the clouds;
The wind-shaked surge, with high and monstrous mane,
Seems to cast water on the burning bear,
And quench the guards of the ever-fixed pole:
I never did like molestation view
On the enchafed flood.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. A huge sea storm off the shores of Cyprus that scatters the invading Turkish fleet prompts this metaphor from the Second Gentleman. He compares the tempest to an attack by the sea on the sky, with waves rising up to quench the constellation Ursa Minor ("burning bear") and North Star ("ever-fixed pole"). This is a good example of pathetic fallacy, the tempest symbolizing and foreshadowing the coming domestic storm in Othello and Desdemona’s lives.

He hath achieved a maid
That paragons description and wild fame;
One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens,
And in the essential vesture of creation
Does tire the ingener.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. Cassio shows himself to be quite the romantic as he describes Othello’s wife to Montano and waxes lyrical about her. He says that Desdemona has been perfectly made by God, suggesting that the words of poets are not adequate to describe her level of perfection. The way Othello is said to have "achieved" such a maid objectifies Desdemona as a kind of trophy wife, which speaks to the theme of gender and male attitudes towards women. Cassio obviously likes and admires Desdemona very much, something Iago will use against him. Foreshadowed here is Cassio being falsely put in the frame for having an affair with Desdemona.

Tempests themselves, high seas, and howling winds,
The gutter’d rocks and congregated sands –
Traitors ensteep’d to clog the guiltless keel, –
As having sense of beauty, do omit
Their mortal natures, letting go safely by
The divine Desdemona.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. Cassio’s respect for Desdemona stands in sharp contrast to the derogatory way Iago speaks about women. He sees her as a goddess. Her inherent beauty and goodness are so great that nature and the rocks and sands hold back in awe and allows her ship to pass safely through the storm. Cassio personifies nature, the rocks and sands in this hyperbolic speech, which he makes to Governor Montano and Gentlemen. His language in praise of Desdemona is excessive and extravagent, foreshadowing that Iago will later use their friendship to falsely allege a love affairs between the two.

O, behold,
The riches of the ship is come on shore!
Ye men of Cyprus, let her have your knees.
Hail to thee, lady! and the grace of heaven,
Before, behind thee, and on every hand,
Enwheel thee round!

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. Does Cassio unintentionally help set himself up for Iago’s plot against him with claims that he is having a love affair with Desdemona? Cassio’s very public and effusive praise for Othello’s wife certainly provides ammunition for that. His gallantry and courtesy are open to misinterpretation and make him vulnerable to accusations of flirtation and worse. Announcing Desdemona’s arrival in Cyprus, Cassio kneels to greet her and demands that the men of Cyprus do the same. In a metaphor he compares her to "the riches of the ship." He seems to worship her as a Virgin Mary-like figure in his use of heavenly imagery – "grace of heaven" – in his welcome speech. Future events are foreshadowed by Cassio’s words.

If it were now to die,
‘Twere now to be most happy; for, I fear,
My soul hath her content so absolute
That not another comfort like to this
Succeeds in unknown fate.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. An overjoyed Othello meets up with Desdemona after surviving the sea storm off Cyprus. He describes it as the happiest he has ever been and will ever be. If he were to die now, it would be at the most joyful moment of his life, he says. This shows the intensity of the love between the two. But there is tragic irony in Othello’s words, for they never will be this happy again as that love comes under strain. Foreshadowed is how their love will be tested to breaking point by Othello’s jealousy and Iago’s manipulations, leading to a horrific fate for both.

Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me.
For making him egregiously an ass
And practising upon his peace and quiet
Even to madness. ‘Tis here, but yet confused:
Knavery’s plain face is never seen till used.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 1. In Iago’s second soliloquy he reveals his scheme to revenge himself on Othello. He will do this by pretending to be Othello’s friend to gain his love, so that he can destroy Othello’s peace of mind and drive him to madness. Foreshadowed here are Othello’s jealousy-driven descent into madness and the tragic events and deaths that follow. The important theme of appearance vs reality is captured here, as Iago removes his mask to show the "plain face" of his knavery, but only to us the audience. Themes of deception and treachery also feature strongly in Iago’s plotting to destroy his master. He dehumanizes Othello by using an animal metaphor to compare him to "an ass."

For whiles this honest fool
Plies Desdemona to repair his fortune,
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,
I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear,
That she repeals him for her body’s lust;
And by how much she strives to do him good,
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 3. Iago’s devious plan to bring down Cassio, Desdemona and Othello is revealed in one of the most important passages in the play. He uses a disease metaphor to describe how he will whisper poisonous words into Othello’s ear as Desdemona pleads Cassio’s case to her husband. The treacherous Iago aims to use Cassio’s honesty and Desdemona’s good nature to cast her as an adulteress with Othello’s sacked lieutenant. In this soliloquy Iago is delighted with his own badness.

So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 2, Scene 3. Iago in the final lines of his soliloquy uses metaphors of pitch and net to describe how he will bring about Othello’s downfall. He will turn Desdemona’s goodness in helping Cassio against her and ensnare them all in his diabolical revenge plan. The symbolism of light and dark appears here as Iago speaks of turning Desdemona’s shining virtue into pitch, or sticky black tar.

Ay, but, lady,
That policy may either last so long,
Or feed upon such nice and waterish diet,
Or breed itself so out of circumstance,
That, I being absent and my place supplied,
My general will forget my love and service.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. Cassio urges Desdemona to act quickly to plead his case with Othello. If he is not around to remind Othello of his loyalty and love then Othello might replace him, Cassio warns. This foreshadows that Othello will indeed forget Cassio’s love and appoint Iago as his lieutenant.

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. The devious Iago is being ironic when he warns Othello to beware of jealousy. In a powerful metaphor that has become part of modern English vernacular, he compares jealousy to a "green-eyed monster" that mocks the victims it devours. The cunning Iago is using reverse psychology here. His purpose is not to help guard Othello against the mental torture jealousy can bring about. It is to drive Othello to madness by inciting his jealousy over his wife Desdemona. This is foreshadowed in Iago’s speech.

O curse of marriage,
That we can call these delicate creatures ours,
And not their appetites! I had rather be a toad,
And live upon the vapour of a dungeon,
Than keep a corner in the thing I love
For others’ uses.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. Here Othello uses the word "appetites" as a metaphor for women’s unrestrained lust, despite their marriage bond. Driven by jealousy and provoked by Iago, he offers a misogynistic and demeaning view of women’s sexuality and unconstrained behavior. Using ugly animal imagery, he voices his disgust at the idea of sharing "the thing I love" Desdemona with other men for their sexual gratification. Comparing himself to a toad in a dungeon foreshadows his later Act 4 speech, in which he likens Desdemona to "a cistern for foul toads To knot and gender in."

If it be not for some purpose of import,
Give ‘t me again: poor lady, she’ll run mad
When she shall lack it.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. When Iago snatches Desdemona’s handkerchief from Emilia, she says that Desdemona will become very upset because it is gone and demands it back from Iago. She is aware of the symbolic love bond that the handkerchief represents between Othello and Desdemona. But Iago doesn’t return the handkerchief to Emilia, instead bidding her go and saying that he has use for it. Emilia unknowingly plays a role in Iago’s plan to bring about the downfall of Othello and the people she loves. Desdemona’s anxiety and upset in the next scene when Othello asks for the missing handkerchief is foreshadowed here.

O monstrous! monstrous!…I’ll tear her all to pieces.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. Othello has become so brainwashed by Iago that he has becoming like him, losing his own mind and self and using destructive and ferocious language. Consumed by rage, he says that he will destroy Desdemona. His bestial animal imagery shows how his love for her has has been replaced by pure hatred. Murderous revenge is being suggested here, foreshadowing the violence to come. Othello’s ugly threat is also an example of the abuse of male power and toxic masculinity found in the play.

OTHELLO: I will withdraw,
To furnish me with some swift means of death
For the fair devil. Now art thou my lieutenant.
IAGO: I am your own forever.

– William Shakespeare

Othello, Act 3, Scene 3. The murder of Desdemona is foreshadowed here, as Othello plots to kill his innocent wife. He promotes Iago to his lieutenant, while Iago pledges loyalty to his master. This is a false loyalty, a manipulation tool used by Iago to control Othello, now completely under Iago’s power. There is irony in Othello’s use of the metaphor "fair devil" to describe Desdemona. For it is he who has joined in a pact with the devilish Iago when they kneel and exchange vows of evil.
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