Symbols

• Handkerchief

  • In European medieval and renaissance love poetry, the handkerchief is typically a symbol for a woman's romantic favor
  • There was a particular ritual in which a lady would drop her handkerchief for a knight to pick up and keep as a token of her regard
  • The handkerchief that Othello gives Desdemona is, similarly, a love-token and a symbol of their love
  • The handkerchief, which originally belonged to an Egyptian sorcerer, also comes to symbolize the illusions that Iago is "casting" through his plotting
• Animals

  • Animal language is used to describe Othello, the "Barbary horse," or the "beautiful creature" Desdemona
  • In each case, the animal language is connected to prejudice - describing a person or group in animal terms is a way of defining that person or group as being less than human, something that deserves to be humiliated and controlled