Othello - Othello 4 - The Foreshadowing of Bad to Come

There are a few times in Othello where Othello foreshadows the tragedy that is to consume his happiness. The first time is when Othello sees Desdemona for the first time after arriving at Cyprus: "If after every tempest come such calms, / May the winds blow till they have wakened death" (II.i.201-202). Here Othello is overjoyed at what a wonderful outcome came from a terrible storm, so joyful as to jokingly call upon one to form once more. However, this next storm is not literal, but instead the metaphorical storm of chaos that overtakes Othello through the false claims of Iago. At one other time before Iago claims Othello's ear and mind, Othello once again foreshadows the eventual unhappiness and confusion: "Perdition catch my soul / But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, / Chaos is come again" (III.iii.100-102). The "thee" in this sentence is Desdemona, and Othello is saying that he should be eternally punished unless he loves Desdemona. He then does on to state that he will love her until there is once again chaos. Again, there is no literal chaos that occurs in the nature of the world, but there is social chaos and, later in that scene, a murder plan for this same beloved woman. This turn of events is caused by chaos, which has consumed Othello's mind in jealousy and drowns the love he had for Desdemona, for he no longer sees her as the pure woman he fell in love with.