Ere I would say, I would drown myself for the love of a guinea-hen, I would change my humanity with a baboon.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 1, Scene 3. Love is a concept that is alien to Iago. This is seen in his cynical and misogynistic response to Roderigo, who has threatened suicide over Desdemona’s marriage to Othello. Iago uses crude animal imagery, saying that he would rather be a baboon than drown himself for the sake of a woman. Guinea hen in Shakespearean times was another term for a prostitute, which is how Iago sees women in general.