Handkerchief: Symbolism, Role and Metaphor: (Essay Example.
Symbolism of the Handkercief in Othello: Essay. Sample Essay.. that white cloth spotted with red that Shakespeare no doubt intends to evoke the blood-spotted marriage bed. The handkerchief, with its mixing of chastity and sexuality, naivete and experience, concealment and revelation, is a symbol of the complex ways in which Othello is both.
Desdemona's handkerchief given to her as Othello's gift is a powerful symbol of love and trust. Originally it was Othello's mother, and his gift to Desdemona showed his love and trust for her. Othello even explained to Desdemona that a handkerchief allowed his mother to make her husband loyal to marriage. And the handkerchief represents loyalty.
William Shakespeare uses a strawberry embroidered handkerchief in the play Othello as a multifaceted symbolic item—a symbol of love, a symbol to showcase Desdemona’s role within her marriage, a.
The second description of the handkerchief which is given by Othello offers both a legend of the handkerchief and a description of its physical qualities. Both indicate that the handkerchief is symbolic of Othello’s race. The handkerchief is supposedly an Egyptian object with magical properties associated with it (3.4.65-74).
Othello claims that his mother used it to keep his father faithful to her, so, to him, the handkerchief represents marital fidelity. The pattern of strawberries (dyed with virgins’ blood) on a white background strongly suggests the bloodstains left on the sheets on a virgin’s wedding night, so the handkerchief implicitly suggests a guarantee of virginity as well as fidelity.
Another symbol was the handkerchief that was given to Desdemona from Othello. Desdemona thought of the handkerchief as Othello’s love for her. Last symbol was the song “Willow” that Desdemona sang when preparing for bed. The song was about a woman who was betrayed by her lover suggesting that men are unfaithful.
In the play, Othello by William Shakespeare throughout the entire play it had portrayed symbolism and foreshadowing. These had influenced the most of the characters to act in a foolish ways. This leads us to a suspense ending that caused loved ones to go against each other. By not realizing what is.