'It is the crusade, it is the cause, my soul': so begins Act v Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Othello, with Othello'south spoken communication leading up to his killing of Desdemona. This is the last scene of the play; by the stop of information technology, Othello and Desdemona volition both be dead, the tragedy brought to its grisly decision.

Allow's have a closer await at the language of Othello's speech here by going through it, line past line, offering a summary and assay of its pregnant.

It is the cause, information technology is the cause, my soul,—
Permit me non proper noun information technology to you, you celibate stars!—

'It is the cause': in other words, this (the killing of Desdemona) is the cause to which he now devotes himself, the form he must take. Othello is raising himself to almost biblical heights by addressing his soul: something that figures in the Bible often do, but rare amidst Shakespeare's other heroes.

Othello refuses to state explicitly what his purpose is, now addressing the stars (and, through doing so, setting the scene as nighttime-time). The word 'chaste' is designed to contrast with Desdemona'southward (perceived) unchastity, or unfaithfulness to Othello.

Information technology is the cause. Yet I'll not shed her claret;
Nor scar that whiter pare of hers than snow,
And shine as monumental alabaster.

'It is the cause': this is the third time Othello has uttered this phrase in as many lines. Is he possessed by righteous fervour for his 'cause', or is he trying to summon the conviction to bear out his heinous act? Desdemona is, after all, innocent, simply even if she weren't, it is not Othello'south place to take her life.

Othello vows not to shed whatsoever of Desdemona'southward claret or scar her peel – prefiguring the strangling of her with his bare easily, which won't leave a scar or draw any blood. The reference to Desdemona'southward skin as being 'whiter … than snow' summons the old proverb about existence 'pure as the driven snow', which is ironic in low-cal of Othello'south belief in his married woman's lack of purity or chastity.

Just there is obviously also a contrast betwixt Desdemona's snow-white skin – polish and white as the alabaster or marble from which monuments are made – and Othello's dark skin. And Iago has weaponised the race-departure between Othello and Desdemona in order to plow Othello against his wife.

Withal she must die, else she'll betray more men.
Put out the low-cal, and so put out the low-cal:

Othello tries to rationalise his human activity as more than the insanely jealous behaviour of a 'wronged' or cuckolded husband: he is trying to salve other men from Desdemona's supposed infidelity. Then nosotros become another famous line: 'Put out the light, and and then put out the calorie-free'. Othello plans to put the candle out so he and Desdemona are in darkness, and then put out her light, the light of life within her, past killing her.

As a side-annotation, observe the importance of repetition in Othello's speech: 'It is the cause, it is the cause'; 'Put out the light, and so put out the light'. In a few lines' time, he volition practice this again: 'I more than, one more than.' It's almost like a grotesque parody of a lullaby, as if he is soothing his soul before he commits his colossal human action of murder.

If I quench thee, chiliad flaming minister,
I tin again thy former light restore,
Should I apologize me: only in one case put out thy light,
Thou cunning'st blueprint of excelling nature,
I know not where is that Promethean heat
That can thy lite relume. When I accept pluck'd the rose,
I cannot give it vital growth again.
It must needs wither: I'll smell information technology on the tree.
[Kissing her]

At present, Othello goes from addressing his soul and the chaste stars to addressing the candle ('grand flaming minister'). The divergence between the candle and Desdemona's 'light' is that, if he regrets putting information technology out, he can light information technology once more; merely (turning to address Desdemona now) if he kills Desdemona, he knows of no burn or heat stiff enough to restore her 'light'. It's like plucking a rose: once plucked, it volition never abound again.

The reference to Prometheus recalls the story (which we have discussed here) of the Titan from Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods and gave it to human being.

Ah balmy breath, that dost about persuade
Justice to break her sword! One more than, 1 more.
Exist thus when k art dead, and I will kill thee,
And beloved thee after. One more than, and this the last:

When Othello kisses Desdemona, he almost resolves to spare her: how can he kill someone whose breath smells and so sweet, like balm from a tree? He allows himself 1 more kiss ('One more, one more'), and and then another ('One more, and this the last'). There's a sinister connotation to the idea of killing Desdemona and swearing, if she looks this good as a corpse, that he will 'love' her after he's killed her.

So sweet was ne'er then fatal. I must cry,
Only they are savage tears: this sorrow'south heavenly;
Information technology strikes where it doth dear. She wakes.

Such a sweetness kiss was never so subversive and fateful before. Although Othello wants to weep considering he'due south putting to death such a sweet and cute woman, he knows they are as well cruel tears, because he will non swerve from the task ahead of him: killing Desdemona. For 'this sorrow's heavenly', E. A. J. Honigmann, in his notes to the Arden edition of the play, Othello: Revised Edition (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series), directs us to the Bible, and to Hebrews 12:half dozen: 'For whom the Lord loveth, him he chasteneth'. Othello is dressing up his deed equally an act of love, which may seem hard to have. But in i sense, it is: he truly believes his wife has been unfaithful to him, so his love for her has turned to anger considering she has (he thinks) made a mockery of his devotion to her.

But annotation, of course, how Othello one time once more adopts biblical language here. At this point, Desdemona wakes up, and the mortiferous final chat takes place between them.