Desdemona

[ dez-duh-moh-nuh ]

/ ˌdɛz dəˈmoʊ nə /

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(in Shakespeare's Othello) Othello's wife, murdered by her husband as a result of jealousy instilled by Iago.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

Maggie Smith was Desdemona, the victim of circumstance, in the 1965 Othello adaptation.
Shakespeare’s Movie Magic|Marina Watts, Malcolm Jones|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So let us be, with our Desdemona of rights, unlike Othello “that loved not wisely, but too well.”
P.J. O’Rourke: Who Really Actually Wants This Bill of Rights?|P. J. O’Rourke|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Desdemona, providentially finding employment at a Detroit mosque, witnesses the founding of the Nation of Islam.
American Dreams: “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides|Nathaniel Rich|November 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Their hit song, "Desdemona," was famously banned by the BBC thanks to Bolan's lyric, Lift up your Skirt and Fly.
'T-Rex' Will Never Be Extinct|Simon Doonan|August 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST

I sympathise with poor Desdemona when she had such a dangerous stream poured in her ear, even by a black man.
Dracula|Bram Stoker
It was surely the name of the maid who died singing, as Desdemona remembers, that lingered in the ear of Wordsworth.
Ceres' Runaway|Alice Meynell
The first woman who appeared in a regular drama, on a public stage, played Desdemona, about the year 1660.
The Plays of Philip Massinger|Philip Massinger
His poor mother gazed at him with extravagant envy and, like Desdemona, wished heaven had made her such a man.
The Real Thing and Other Tales|Henry James
Chatty cried, like Desdemona, suddenly clenching her soft hands in a passion of indignation and pity.
A Country Gentleman and his Family|Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant