Assess to What Extent Identity is a Product of Language in Act 2 Scene 1 of Othello
             It is clear that in this scene identity is very much a product of language. Shakespeare manipulates the type of language he uses to portray the characters' social class, personalities and underlying traits.
             Shakespeare has written Cassio as speaking almost entirely in verse. The fact that he conducts his everyday conversation in poetry makes him sound educated and well mannered, which clearly suggests that he is of high social standing and has an aristocratic background. Notably, in this scene Cassio uses two types of verse. On the subject of Othello and his ship, his speech comes across as being very brisk and formal:
             "His bark is stoutly timbered, and his pilot
             of very expert and approved allowance".
             This sort of direct and unembellished verse reflects his position as a business-like and grounded Lieutenant of high class and therefore of power. However, at the mere mention of Desdemona, Cassio's verse becomes truly poetic and extremely elaborate: "One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens
             And in th'essential vesture of creation
             Shakespeare's use of precise imagery and a broad and complex vocabulary for Cassio clearly illustrates that Cassio is flaunting his education and class, as well as belying the fact that he has thought about Desdemona for long enough to have mentally prepared such detailed and poetic descriptions of her. The only point in this scene where Cassio speaks in prose is when he is criticising Iago, as if he cannot be bothered to use polite and intelligent speech when belittling someone of Iago's status: "you may relish him in the soldier more than in the scholar." It is Shakespeare's use of language for Cassio that gives the character the identity of lieutenant, and that shows him to be a Venetian who is well educated and of high so
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