Creatures and beasts

At the time Shakespeare was writing, the universe was seen as a hierarchy, known as the Chain of Being:

Just as God is at the top of the hierarchy in the universe, so is the head, the seat of reason, within the human body. Indeed, Shakespeare frequently stresses that it is reason which informs the soul of man and makes humans higher than animals:

In Othello, Shakespeare therefore conveys the tragedy of a great person’s degradation by frequent use of animal imagery.

 

There are forty-five mentions of creatures or beasts in the play: dog (x5), hound, horse, hobby horse, jennet, toad (x2), ass (x2), monkey (x2), baboon, cats, wildcats, wolves, puppies, ram, ewe, goats, flies (x2), locusts, moth, snipe, (jack)daws, raven, parrot, lion, crocodile, bear, minx (x2), cod, salmon, asp and viper (both snakes), beast (x4), and monster or monstrous.

In the first two acts, almost all the animal references come from Iago, and the majority of the creatures mentioned are not particularly attractive ones. This helps convey the degradation of his own character. We agree with Brabantio’s reaction, ‘What profane wretch art thou?’ after Iago has compared Othello’s relations with Desdemona to the copulation of animals: 

 

  

Iago’s own low moral nature is reflected in the way in which he alludes to those creatures with negative connotations. Animals he mentions include goats and asses, which both had reputations for low intelligence and sexual voracity, as well as snipe (Act 1 Scene 3) which has a double meaning of a wild bird or a fool/contemptible person. He also refers to animals known for being either mischievous or dangerous, such as monkeys, baboons and also wildcats, whom he likens to housewives (Act 2 Scene 1). 

 

It is clear that Iago has a contemptuous view of other people by the animals to which he likens them. He is supercilious in likening both Desdemona and Cassio to demeaning dogs (Act 2 Scene 3). His greater contempt towards Othello is demonstrated by twice comparing him to an ass, a creature used as a metaphor for a stupid, worthless person:

 

In the first half of the play, Othello speaks respectfully and demonstrates wisdom and diplomacy. Once Iago has tormented him with the idea of Desdemona being unfaithful, Shakespeare alters Othello’s language and thought processes. The wellspring of love becomes filled with the poison of deadly snakes (‘aspics’). Othello calls his wife a ‘minx’, a pejorative term (derived from the name for a small dog) for a perverse or flirtatious, untrustworthy woman. In Act 4 Scene 1 he refers to his wife’s ability to lie by callously claiming she can ‘sing the savageness out of a bear!’ He states that her tears were all ‘crocodile tears,’ and finally claims that her actions have poisoned his love and imagination so that it becomes ‘a cistern for foul toads / To knot and gender in!’ His mind has been contaminated by Iago’s lies and now he imagines for himself the sordid images of hateful, unpleasant, dangerous creatures associated with his ensign’s perspective.

The words dog, monstrous and beast are used pejoratively by Othello, Iago, Roderigo and even Cassio. A person likened to one of them would be hated and scorned. Thus Roderigo calls Iago an ‘inhuman dog’ just as Iago murders him (Act 5 Scene 1). Lodovico calls Iago a dog, and Othello calls himself a ‘monster and a beast’ for becoming a cuckold. Montano describes Desdemona’s murder as a ‘monstrous act.’ Iago describes Othello’s and Desdemona’s love-making as ‘making the beast with two backs.’ But perhaps Cassio summarises the play’s tragedy best when he says:

 

 

Although he is referring to the detrimental effects of alcohol, the sentiment can be applied to the poison Iago feeds Othello.