Othello Lyrics Project

1. Iago:
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on; (3.3.15)

Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley:
Why can't you see
What you're doing to me
When you don't believe a word I say?

Analysis:
Centered around the commonly shared notion of jealousy’s damages to relationships, these two quotes warn another person of jealousy’s potential destructiveness. Iago seeks to enkindle in Othello this fiery emotion by suggesting it’s presence through his insincere warning. In this song “Suspicious Minds”, the speaker sincerely warns his lover against falling into jealously which is painfully driving the wedge of estrangement between them.

2. Iago:
Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ: this may do something. (3.3.33)

Jealous Heart by Dolly Parton:
Mine is a jealous heart
Imagines things that never are
Builds a fire from a tiny spark
But that's the way of a jealous heart

Analysis:
Both of these quotes speak of the hypersensitive nature of one who has become ensnared by jealous feelings. Iago, in his monologue, reveals to the audience that he is aware of this hypersensitive nature and seeks to exploit it. The speaker in Dolly Parton’s song, however, is a jealous person fully aware of the hypersensitivity from which she suffers.

3. Duke of Venice:
And, noble signior,
If virtue no delighted beauty lack,
Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.' (1.3.22)

Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top:
They come runnin' just as fast as they can
Coz every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

Analysis:
The wise and noble Duke of Venice in rhyming couplets issues another moral of life telling Brabantio that his daughter has chosen a man of great character and virtue as her husband if it is true that good men attract beautiful women. Likewise, the speaker in “Sharp Dressed Man” asserts that all of the women are attracted to him, not because of his character but, because of his dress. Both of these quotes seek to simplify the nature of women into a two-line maxim.

4. Brabantio:
Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceived her father, and may thee. (1.3.10)

Runaround Sue by Dion and the Belmonts:
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town

Analysis:
Both of these warnings come from men who have been hurt by the reckless behavior of a woman. Desdemona eloped with Othello without the consent of her farther Brabantio and Sue saw other men after committing to the speaker of Dion’s song. The fact that Brabantio’s warning to Othello comes in the form of rhyming couplets, as most truisms of Shakespeare’s time period resembled perfection in both form and substance, emphasizes the nature of the events which it foreshadows. Likewise, Dion’s lines rhyme yet lack the formal diction and context which surrounds the words of Shakespeare.

5. Desdemona:
That love’s unnatural that kills for loving.

Lover, Lover by Jerrod Niemann:
girl but before I get to going, I've got to say
I know you used to love me but that was yesterday,
And the truth, I won't fight it,
When the love stops burning you got to do what's right,

Analysis:
These two quotes insightfully point out the contradiction of being cruel towards the person whom one claims to love. However, both quotes diverge in that Desdemona will accept the fate that awaits her either through weakness or a purer form of love whereas the speaker in “Lover, Lover” seeks “to do what’s right” and leave the abusive lover.