Desdemona Literary Elements

Desdemona Literary Elements

Genre

Play

Language

English

Setting and Context

Written in the context of Desdemona’s life exploration

Narrator and Point of View

The narrator is not part of the play.

Tone and Mood

Fascinating, hilarious, buoyant and compelling

Protagonist and Antagonist

The central character is Desdemona.

Major Conflict

There is a conflict between Desdemona and her mother, who puts her in a cage.

Climax

The climax comes when Desdemona says that her name means desolation and kismet.

Foreshadowing

Local arrangements by his father foreshadowed the marriage between Desdemona and Othello.

Understatement

The irresponsibleness of Desdemona’s mother is understated.

Allusions

The story alludes to coming of age and arranged marriages.

Imagery

The description of the cage where the abusive mother locks up Desdemona depicts sight imagery.

Paradox

The main paradox is that Desdemona's maids see her as naïve, arrogant and privileged. However, Desdemona is a courageous, outspoken and confident woman.

Parallelism

N/A

Personification

N/A

Use of Dramatic Devices

Dramatic irony is used when Desdemona is assumed to be naïve by her maids. On the contrary, she is outspoken.

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