The play Othello contains a number of symbols and recurrent motives which help in our comprehension of the play's most important themes. Symbols are actual objects, whereas Motifs are abstract tools used to build the play's thematic issues. 


A handkerchief:

There are always things in human relationships that have meanings drawn from the nature of the relationship itself. It is a trait that all people share.

The handkerchief is one of these in the Othello-Desdemona relationship because Othello presented it to her at their first encounter. Desdemona cherishes it just as much as Othello, although she was unaware of its significance until after she lost it.

For Othello, it is something that carries the lineage's past, having been passed down through his mother for 200 years with holy elements that assist sustain loyalty.

As a result, it becomes a sign of faithfulness to him, whilst Desdemona loves it as a sign of affection. Iago uses the handkerchief as a tool to take advantage of all these symbolisms.

Song of the Willows:

It is too difficult for Desdemona to accept the rupture in Othello's love for her. Through music and other artistic expressions, we attempt to cope with unexplainable heartbreaks.

Desdemona sings a song that she acquired from Barbary, her mother's maid, towards the close of the play. In the song, which is mostly about men and women being disloyal, her sufferings are expressed.

The song serves as a metaphor for Desdemona's crumbling faith. Desdemona also begins to doubt her own loyalty and its value at this point, and Emilia responds in her own banal and ambiguous ways.

Motifs:



Plants:

As a lyrical character, Othello frequently refers to and ponders symbolic plant imagery throughout the play. Even though other things grow well in the sun, he asserts, "fruits that blossom first will be ripe first."

He states earlier in the play, "Our bodies are our gardens, and our wills are the gardeners; therefore, if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop, and weed up thyme"

Similar to this, the play uses images of the plant to reflect the character's personality. Othello appreciates beauty, whereas Iago views such things as poison.

Monsters and animals

Iago presents Othello as an ageing black ram at the start of the play. The majority of the images for Othello are animals. Ironically, Othello imagines himself as "a horned man" who transforms into a monster and a beast when he is the victim of Iago's manipulation.

Iago rebukes Cassio in relation to Baboon or Cats and blind puppies. This recurring return to animal imagery tells us of the age in which the play was written and performed and the sensibility of such an audience.