I had rather be a toad
And live upon the vapor of a dungeon
Than keep a corner in the thing I love
For others' uses.
And live upon the vapor of a dungeon
Than keep a corner in the thing I love
For others' uses.
I had rather be .......... for others' uses.
REFERENCE
(i) Drama: Othello
(ii) Dramatist: William Shakespeare
CONTEXT
(i) Occurrence: Act 3, Scene III
(ii) Content: Iago plots against Othello and sends Roderigo to tell Brabantio that Othello has seduced Desdemona, Brabantio's daughter. After convincing Brabantio that he has won Desdemona's love, Othello is sent to Cyprus for a military command. Iago plants a handkerchief that Othello gave to Desdemona on Cassio to convince Othello that Cassio and Desdemona have an affair. Iago also convinces Roderigo to make an attempt on Cassio's life. He frames the courtesan Bianca and murders Roderigo. Mad with jealously, Othello smothers Desdemona, Iago's wife Emilia stumbles upon the murder and exposes Iago's plots, for which Iago kills her. Othello, realizing his error, kills himself.
EXPLANATION
These lines are seized on as an example of Othello's self-pity, and of his insensitivity to Desdemona as a person. When Othello is convinced by Iago that Desdemona has cheated on him, he is drowned in self-pity. He wishes he were the most loathsome toad in the filthiest basement than to have only a part of someone he loves, sharing the rest of her with others. He feels injured in his pride, and in his self-respect. The animal reference clearly shows Iago's influence on Othello. The toad analogy is also a hyperbole used to express the direness of his angst. Othello also uses depersonalizing words "corner" and "thing" for Desdemona which can be interpreted as misogynistic or simply terminology from Shakespeare's time. These words also suggest that if she is promiscuous, then she is indeed an object; attempting to push away from him the pain of the sexual hurt, or the disappointment of his conviction of her uniquely individual value.
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