How Does Iago's Use Of Puns In Othello

Shakespeare's use of puns in Act four of Othello carried out with a sinister tone of the speaker: Iago. Opposed to Acts I and II, where the uses of puns contributed to Iago’s slander of Othello, Iago is convincing Othello to be on board with his plans. I noticed that this was situational irony in the instance of puns because while they are used to destroy Othello’s reputation, Iago says them to acquire Othello’s trust. Meanwhile, Iago is bolstering his stature in the community, he is undermining that of other charActers. Othello’s first step at confronting Desdemona exhibits this when he questions “are not you a strumpet” (Act 4 Scene 2 line 94).” Othello infers that Desdemona is a prostitute, proving that Iago’s defamation of her is successful. The same is the case for Cassio, where Othello approves Iago being his undertaker. Undertaker has a double meaning of undertaking any task, but it held the definition at the time of a person that buries a body. From this, one can easily extrapolate that Iago plots on murdering Cassio, and Othello is contented.

This instance makes it incredibly obvious that Othello already prepared the entire process given that once he achieved his goal of Othello wanting Desdemona dead, he would appear rational for wishing Cassio the same fate. The other crucial element of the pun is that when the most evil element of the play thus far is unveiled, Iago says it behind the innocence of a pun. To put this in context, the pun in Act three where the clown asks, “are these, I pray you, wind instruments?” (Act 3 Scene 1 line 7) illustrates that a typical pun has a comedic intention, and although may be insulting, fails to even approach the wickedness of Iago’s pun. Again, an example of irony is present where a pun can be childlike joke, or a colossal