Act 5 Scene 2

Othello enters the bedroom where Desdemona sleeps, with a light. His deeply ingrained belief that she has been untrustworthy and disloyal in their short marriage is evident in “yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men.” Use of the definitive modal adverb “must” conveys how far gone his previous rationality is. Othello draws upon the motif of light in “put out the light” that has signified so many different things throughout the play, yet, here it means death. Though light has been used to deceive by Iago, here it is symbolic of how sure Othello is of his proceeding actions, and how he is ridding himself of the corrupting force and shameful presence of a disloyal wife.