Othello
Iago is a gardener—or at least, that's how he describes himself.
Our bodies are our gardens,
he tells Roderigo,
to the which our wills are gardeners...
if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up thyme...
why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills.
He's saying you choose what grows in you. Plant virtue or plant vice—it's all cultivation.
Except that Iago plants poison. Nettles sting. They look harmless but they're covered in tiny venomous spines. Iago plants them everywhere—in Othello's mind, in Roderigo's hope, in every conversation. And the thing about nettles? They're useful plants, medicinal even, but only if you know how to handle them. In the wrong hands, they just burn.
The handkerchief embroidered with strawberries is the thing that destroys Desdemona. Strawberries grow low to the ground, heart-shaped, sweet—symbols of love and purity. But Iago turns them into evidence of betrayal. He makes Othello see corruption in something innocent.
When Othello finally understands what he's done, he says Desdemona's skin was
whiter... than snow,
And smooth as monumental alabaster.
Earlier he called her his rose, but he's already killed her.
When I have pluck'd the rose,
I cannot give it vital growth again.
Once you cut the flower, it's dead. Iago knew exactly what he was planting. And the thing about nettles is that they always win if you let them.
The Story, Told in Plants
Iago describes himself as a gardener — someone who chooses what grows in a person. What he plants are nettles. The strawberry handkerchief that destroys Desdemona was embroidered with innocence; Iago turned it into evidence of betrayal. The nettle, Shakespeare tells us, hurts most the hand that flinches.
This video was created by members of the Colorado Shakespeare Gardens and narrated by longtime CSF actor Chuck Wilcox.
For more information on (CC) artwork in this video, click here.
Not every plant Shakespeare mentioned will grow in Colorado.
These are the ones that do; currently growing in our Othello garden.
Curious about a specific plant?
Visit our Plant Library for the full story.
