Othello (Blog 7)
By: William Shakespeare

At one point in Act IV of the play, Desdemona sings the "Willow" song as she gets ready for bed.  This song is about a woman that gets betrayed by her lover.  "I called my love false love, but what said he then?  Sing willow, willow, willow.  If I court moe women, you'll couch with moe men" (IV.iii.53-55).  When Desdemona sings it in Act IV, she is just singing it because she remembers learning it from one of her mother's maids.  However, this song ends up bearing a great deal of symbolism in Act V.  In this scene, Othello's plan to kill Desdemona is executed.  He wakes Desdemona and tells her to prepare to die.  "Well, do it, and be brief.  I will walk by.  I would not kill thy unprepared spirit.  No, Heaven forfend!  I would not kill thy soul" (V.ii.30-32).  Othello does actually end up killing his once-beloved wife.  The song is symbolic of this.  Desdemona was betrayed by her own husband.  He killed her, even when she tried to explain to him that she and Cassio never slept with each other.