Singing Obedience, Speaking Violence: Desdemona’s “swansong” in Othello

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Commonly referred to as “the Willow Song,” this part does not appear in the Quarto published in 1622 and first appears in the Folio published in 1623 (McManus 99).

2 Furthermore, the Willow Song they sing is not an original creation of Shakespeare. He modified an existing song and assigned it to his female characters. To see more, see Brennecke and Sternfeld.

3 Desdemona’s song also replaces “Let nobody blame me, her scorns do I prove” with “Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve” (Lindley 150, emphasis added), which cements her role as a silent and obedient victim.