Understanding diction is essential to being a solid reader of literature. Diction teaches us many things. One of these is “character values.” A person’s choice of words directly or indirectly tells us what he or she considers important.
Find an example of diction (a word, phrase, or set of words) that reveals a character’s values. Explain your choice.
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Diction, meaning the way something is worded, can be very omportant to our understanding of a story, poem, or play. In othello, act three, scene four, lines 24 to 26, Desdemona is fratically searching for her hankerchief, the first present othello ever gave her, and which is very precious to her. She says to emilia "Believe me, i would have rather lost my gold purse, full of crusadoes". She means that this mere hankerchief is so important to her, not just because othello would become enraged to hear of it, but also because she treasures it. This reveals just how pure and thorough her love is for him, and how she would never even think of committing adultery against him. She truly loves him with all of her heart, unconditionally.
Diction gives us as the readers a deeper meaning to the story or play that we are reading. It shows the character's true feelings and is very powerful. One line that I think is a very good example of diction is Act 1, scene 3, lines 394-395. Iago is talking to the audience and revealing his plan. He says "Hell and night Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light". He is talking about how he wants to take away Cassio's position and separate Cassio and Othello. By doing this, he will put his plan into action.
The diction in this quote shows how sinister and evil Iago really is. He wants to break the bond between Cassio, Desdemona, and Othello. The wording like "hell and night" and "monstrous birth" show that Iago may even have an insane part of his mind. In showing what his plan is, the reader now knows that Iago's plan and his mind are both crazy, and selfish.
Diction can give a different or deeper meaning to a sentence. In Act III scene 3, Iago and Othello are debating whether or not Desdamona is cheating on Othello. Iago says, "Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys,
As salt as wolves in pride, and fools as gross
As ignorance made drunk." He refers to Desdamona and Cassio three times as being animals. As we discussed in class, the choice of words by Iago to refer to others as animals shows us that he thinks of himself as much higher up than other people. He does not think that the people surrounding him are people, just players in a game, or animals in a farm. He thinks that the world revolves around him. He shows this to us by his diction.
Diction is very key to any situation, play, story etc. In Othello certain words definitely bring out certain characters feelings or values. When Othello Says "why did i marry? this honest creature doubtless see's and knows more, much more than he unfolds" (3.3.240-245)This line shows how upset Othello truly is, and shows how much he cares for Desdemona. The way it came across for me is that, he wants all of Desdemona, and if he can not have all of her, he does not want any of her. I don't think he means it in a negative way however, I truly think Othello cares deeply about Desdemona and this line shows how hurt he is by the thoughts and words Iago is putting into his head. This line also shows that Othello trusts Iago a lot more then he should, which will definitely get Othello into trouble as the play continues to unfold. His word choice of "why did i marry?" stood out to me greatly throughout the play.
Diction is a way of letting us know how people like to speak and say things. An example of diction with Iago is Act 2, Scene 3, Lines 359-360. Iago has just finished advising Cassio to go to Desdemona and ask her to talk to Othello about considering forgiving Cassio, and making him is lieutenant again. And then he has an aside, telling us his plan to ruin Desdemona's relationship with Othello. "...She shall undo her credit with the Moor. So I will turn her virtue into pitch..." Iago is stating that he will tell Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are secretly together, and then make him hate Desdemona and turn her goodness dark. And by that, he is saying he will make her seem like everything she said and believes is a lie.
Diction is the style of writing or speaking depending on the choice of words. At the beginning of the play, Brabantio has just found out that Desdemona has married Othello, and he is very upset about it. He warns Othello that "she has deceived her father, and may thee"(1.3.288). This line shows how hurt Brabantio is by Desdemona's choice of husband and the fact that she chose not to tell him about her marriage. In return to this line, Othello says "My life upon her faith"(1.3.299). This line shows how Othello has dedicated himself to Desdemona. He trusts her 100% and he feels that she would never do anything to hurt him. It also shows that he believes her faithfulness so much that he would go as far as putting his life at stake. He is basically saying that if Desdemona is not a loyal wife to me, then you can kill me. He would only say something as drastic as this if he knew that she would definately not do anything that was disloyal to him. This line is ironic because towards the end of the play Othello thinks that Desdemona did cheat on him with Cassio, and now he probably wishes that he didnt have as much trust in her as he did at the beginning of their marriage.
One of the many reasons Shakespeare's plays are regarded as some of the best of all time, is due to his exemplary use of diction to highlight characters personalities. One prime example of his skill can be observed in act 4. Othello is yelling at Desdemona because he thinks she is being unfaithful. Instead of getting angry for being falsely accused, Desdemona says "alas, what ignorant sin have I committed?" (4.2.73) She is such a kind person, that she automatically assumes she must of done something wrong if Othello is angry at her. In another scene when Othello slaps her, seemingly for know reason, she volunteers to leave just to make him happy. All of this attests to how selfless Desdemona is.
The same affect can be observed with "honest" Iago. When his plan was revealed by Emilia, he calls her "villainous" and "filth" and even claims that she "liest". Not only does this prove how evil and treacherous Iago is, but it also contains a lot of irony. He gets angry at Emilia for telling the truth and then claims that she is lieing. However throughout the whole play Iago continuously lied and tricked people. This irony even further proves Iago's evil intentions. Only a liar could get angry at someone who tells the truth.
Diction is the choice and use of words in speech or writing. Diction provides subtle yet important detail to whoever has chosen this word. For example, if one where to say something about a catastrophe as compared to an event, they would be similar however there is at least one important diction that separates these words from each other. A disaster is an unfortunate event that is caused from some astrological phenomena, hence the -aster at the end of disaster. In Othello this can be used as insight into the character's values. This is shown in Act five Scene two, between lines 350-355, Gratiano speaks immediately of the tragic deaths of Desdemona and Othello, saying "All that is spoke is marred." Why did he not just say has died instead of is marred? This is all because of his diction. He chooses marred to describe the short speech that Othello gives and how his words rather than merely fading after his death, will have an effect on him because of Othello's death. This gives Gratiano a value of pity, or perhaps respect sentimental conflicts.
An important part of the play is Act 1 lines 286-288 when Othello says, "My life upon her faith!". This quote shows us that Othello truelly loves Desdemona and he believes that she loves him back. This shows us that Othello is honest and faithful and expects the same from others such as Desdemona. This also shows how Iago is able to trick him in later in the book. If Othello believes that everything people say is truthful, he could easily be taken advantage of which is how Iago manipulates him.
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