In this extract Barbantio accuses Othello in front of the duke and a senator of poisoning and kidnapping his daughter. This is a very important part of the play as its the first time Desdemonas love towards Othello is questioned. Barbantio makes Othello seem as a thief because he cant believe Desdemona would ever fall in love with a black person. The senator and the duke do not believe this as they think there is no evidence that makes the story true: To vouch this is no proof.
Othello uses persuasive language to make the others understand that he is telling the truth about their mutual love. He uses lots of adjectives in front of words that dont need them to contribute towards his persuasion such as very noble, good masters gracious patience or dearest action. He does this firstly to show respect towards the senator and duke and secondly for him not to be judged as a bad person and gain their trust.
One of his first arguments was that all his life he has been warrior, not a witch; that all his knowledge is about war. He makes this point by saying And little of this world can I speak more than pertains to feats of broil and battle This makes the senator and the duke double think Barbantios accusations. Othellos tone in all his speech is calm as he knows he is saying the truth. This way of speaking makes his side of the story more believable for the senator and the duke as it creates an effect of certainty and knowledge of the situation.
Othello uses phrases to create an effect of pity on him such as That I have taen away this old mans daughter it is most true; true, I have married her Which means that he has taken her daughter, but not by kidnapping which implies violence, but by marriage which implies love towards each other and compromise. Also by saying I won his daughter he makes it clear that it took a lot of effort and time to make her fall in love with him, that he won her fair and square and not by using witchcraft or poison.
Barbantio makes use of aggressive language towards Othello as he is trying to impose his social status and his dislike for black people. Barbantio cant believe that her daughter with years, of country, credit fell in love with a black warrior and so he makes up a story about Othello kidnapping her with previous poisoning, he describes Othellos actions as practices of cunning hell, portraying him as the devil in the story. Barbantio says Othello wrought upon her by using some mixtures or with some dram conjured, by saying this he created false images on the duke and the senator, and as witchcraft accusations were pretty serious at that time, these images were the worst possible for Othello. This, although Barbantio is not completely sure, is the way he wished it would had happened so he could make the Moor pay for his actions and Desdemona marry someone with a better social status. Barbantio acts very selfish on this extract as he doesnt think about his daughters feelings; he makes assumptions before knowing the truth about the whole thing.
Barbantios lexical choices like blood, feared, imperfect and hell denote his anger towards the Moor, and it can also make you think that his tone is kind of aggressive, abusive and loud. On Barbantios speech it is easy to denote a sense on racism towards Othello with phrases like most imperfect and Against all rules of nature he makes it seem as if he was disgusted with the situation. This may be the central point of his hate towards the Moor; the fact that he is black makes him feel frustrated and disappointed with Desdemona. By saying That will confess perfection so could err Barbantio makes clear that he thinks Desdemona is too perfect for her to be with Othello and that if he is telling the truth she is making a mistake by choosing him. Barbantio also questions himself with the metaphor A maiden never bold, which means that he knows her daughter pretty well; this gives strength to his arguments.
The use of exaggeration is essential for Barbantios speech as that is his way of persuasion. With phrases like practice of cunning hell and perfection so could err he exaggerates everything for it to be seen as a greater deal that it is. He makes Othello seem as a witch and his daughter as pure perfection. This behavior is used by him to demonstrate his social status over Othellos and with that idea on the duke and the senator make his story more believable.
Othello, as he is sure that he is telling the truth, asks them to send for the lady for her to support his story and discharge all the accusations upon him. He, at this point, his tone is very calm and confident so he even dares to say that he would lose his life if what he says is not the truth.
In this extract, Barbantios arguments are pretty personal and selfish, he doesnt have evidence for his accusations but he is making sure that the duke and the senator doubt about their marriage legitimacy. This shows that Barbantio has manipulative skills to achieve what he wants and a growing hate towards the Moor due to his social status and colour. Also it can be seen that Othello is pretty confident about his relationship with Desdemona and that he will not back up even if her father doesnt approve the relationship at that moment.
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