aspect of her character as it is present, even when she is tested to this extreme. Her loyalty is furthered in the repetition of 'ay,' yet this repeated utterance of agreement may indicate her sense of duty and obedience rather more.
Throughout the play, Desdemona grows to believe that her love is a sin and it is in this exchange that the sin of it is confirmed for her. She pleads to ‘heaven’ in the hope that she can be saved yet it is Othello’s angry words, which cause her to believe that her love is a sin. Othello tells Desdemona to 'Think on [her] sins.' which would reinforce the thoughts that Desdemona has already developed. Desdemona’s perception of her love as a sin is displayed for the audience through the quick exchange between her and Othello, in which they see her innocence dissolved by Othello’s unrelenting accusations. Othello’s longer speeches with the use of enjambment contribute to the increase in pace and as the scene progresses, there become even fewer opportunities for Desdemona to protest her innocence. Yet, even to the very last moment, she expresses her love for Othello in the hope of appealing to the man she once knew. The accusations Othello directs at Desdemona and the sinful feelings she experiences, can also be reflected back to the criticisms her father made about their relationship in Act 1 Scene 3, which encourages her to perceive her love to be a sin in her final moments in the play.
Desdemona is defensive throughout the scene saying, 'Send for the man, and ask him,' in response to the accusations about her supposed affair with Cassio. This imperative suggests that her headstrong nature that the audience saw in Act 1 Scene 3 when she defied her father are still present to some extent. Othello uses sibilance to show Desdemona arguing back in a slightly more aggressive tone than usual in order to subdue Othello’s temper, She observes that ‘some bloody passion shakes’ him and she hopes that it does not have anything to do with her. Desdemona continues to proclaim the irrational nature of Othello’s behaviour, declaring that ‘Death’s unnatural that kills for loving.’ The juxtaposition Shakespeare uses between ‘death’, ‘kills’ and ‘loving,’ is Desdemona’s attempt to reinforce her pleas but due to the proleptic and dramatic irony used throughout the play, mainly in Iago’s soliloquies, the audience know that there will be no escape for her.