Othello Act IV Foreshadowing

              In Act IV, scene iii of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Shakespeare utilizes foreshadowing by indicating the imminent death of Desdemona through the song she sings about a willow. Desdemona explains that she learned the song from her mother’s maid. She remarks, “My mother had a maid called Barbary. She was in love, and he she loved proved mad and did forsake her. She a song of “willow”—and old thing ‘twas, but it expressed her fortune, and she died singing it. That song tonight will not go from my mind” (Shakespeare, Act IV, iii, 25-30). Desdemona then proceeds to sing the song, which tells of lady sitting at the foot of a willow tree, crying in misery about the fact that the man she once loved no longer returns that love to her. The reader can tell that this is clearly foreshadowing by the fact that the situation of the lady in the song very much resembles the situation which Desdemona is currently dealing with. While she knows that she is completely innocent of every crime her husband suspects her of, she also can clearly see that he has lost all love and respect for her. Since the woman in the “willow” song is miserable and lonely, the reader might also presume that this represents the lack of happiness which Desdemona will always be burdened with forevermore. Furthermore, the aspect of this song which makes it an even stronger source of foreshadowing is the fact that Desdemona’s mother’s maid was reminded of the song after experiencing a similar situation and then died singing it. Moreover, Desdemona admits to not being able to get the song out of her head that night. Therefore, when considering the fact that the “willow” song was sung by a woman Desdemona knew going through the same situation as herself at the moment she died, and that, on top of this, Desdemona cannot help but think of the song that very night, the fact that Desdemona is likely to meet her own death that very night becomes evident. Consequently, Shakespeare employed foreshadowing through the “willow” song in order to build suspense. This also contributes somewhat to dramatic irony, considering that the audience is aware of Othello’s intentions to murder Desdemona, whereas Desdemona suspects no such action of her husband whatsoever.