Colorado Shakespeare Gardens
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Othello

In his speech about gardening, Iago talks of planting nettles. Those are the stinging nettle, a common plant that grows everywhere. It is a plant of much virtue. It can amend many diseases and is very good for purifying the blood. But its stalk has many frail sharp spines, each with a little pouch of burning venom at its base, awaiting any unwary hand that merely brushes it.

Othello

 

In Othello, plants are employed to enhance themes of jealousy, love, and betrayal. The most notable reference is to the rose, which symbolizes the beauty of love but also its fragility. Iago uses the metaphor of “green-eyed jealousy” to describe Othello's growing suspicion, likening jealousy to a poisonous weed that can corrupt love. Additionally, Desdemona’s handkerchief, embroidered with a strawberry, serves as a crucial symbol of love and fidelity, becoming a tool of manipulation in Iago's scheme. In this play, Shakespeare uses plants point to the destructive power of jealousy and the transformative nature of love itself.

 

Special thanks to longtime CSF supporter and thespian Chuck Wilcox for voicing the part of The Bard in our video series. Full production credits available here. All photos copyright Colorado Shakespeare Group except those in the public domain, published under Creative Commons (CC) licensing. For more information on (CC) artwork in this video, click here.

Enjoy this slideshow of the plants we have in our Othello garden: