Myself
will straight aboard, and to the state
This
heavy act with heavy heart relate.
-Lodovico
Othello Act V, Scene ii, Line 372
This is the rhyming couplet that ends the play. There’s a
few things worth mentioning here, without actually getting into the specifics
of the words used.
First off, let’s talk about rhyme and rhyming couplets. Will
likes to end scenes, long speeches and almost always plays with a rhyming
couplet. I’m not sure why, but he does. It’s kind of a weird little thing. And,
of course, there are some plays where he goes into extended rhyme. Again, I’m
not quite sure why he does this. It’s interesting, but sometimes a bit
perplexing. And whilst people don’t usually talk in rhyme, you have to remember
that this is first and foremost written as a stage production. And it’s safe to
say that whole groups of people don’t suddenly break into a choreographed song
and dance production. And yet that’s what you’ll see in a Broadway musical. So,
keep that in mind: it’s a stage production.
Secondly, about these two lines. It occurs to me as I read
them that they could be used as the ending rhyming couplet for any number of
Will’s tragedies. Don’t you think? There’s always a bunch of dead people and
some survivor or other with the last words. Hmm.
One last thing: perfect iambic pentameter. I’m just saying.
We took a pic of this guy right before we went straight aboard. We weren't going to the state, nor did we have heavy hearts (we were on vacation!). Either way, this guy wasn't coming with us no matter where we were going. And I'm pretty sure that his name wasn't Othello, and that he was still alive. Also, I don't remember if we left him with a rhyming couplet, but I'm thinking probably not.
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