I think it's hilarious that Iago from Shakespeare's Othello is the antagonist of the play because, let's be honest, he's one of the most interesting and sassiest characters in the entire work. Iago just seems like the type of friend who you could talk smack about other people with and who would be always spittin' truth, even when it's not what you want to hear. (Wow, I can't believe I just wrote that sentence with those phrases...) Anyways, in this scene from Act I, Scene III of Othello, Iago convinces Roderigo not to kill himself over a girl, and he does a pretty great job of doing it.
TRANSLATION:
IAGO
[Your "love"] is only lust and a lack of willpower. Come on, man up. Don't drown yourself; save that for cats and blind puppies. I have reminded you of my friendship, and I'll stay by you always. I can not help you more than now. I advise you to save your money. Desdemona cannot continue loving Othello for long -- so save your money -- and he will stop loving her too eventually. It was a quick courtship, and it will be a similarly fast separation. Put some money in your wallet. These Moors change their minds very easily -- save money -- the "food" that seems sweet to him now will soon taste bitter. Desdemona will soon mature and realize, after losing interest in his body, her mistake. She will have to find a new man. Therefore, you need to have money for when that time comes. And if you're going to kill yourself, do it in a better way than drowning. Make all the money you can; I'll be able to get past religion and a weak vow between a barbarian and a Venetian, and you'll have her. Therefore, MAKE MONEY. Forget drowning yourself! It'd be better for you to be hanged for crimes in trying to get your girl than to drown because you can't have her.
RODERIGO:
Will you help me out then if I stay with you?
Figures of speech:
- "I confess me knit to thy deserving with cables of perdurable toughness." In this line, Iago claims that his friendship with Roderigo has a strength like tough strings; he is "knit" close to Roderigo.
- "The food that to him now is as luscious as locusts, shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida." Here, Iago describes how, although Othello might find Desdemona attractive now, he will later detest her.
- "not too hard for my wits and all the tribe of hell" Iago says in this line that he will use his clever nature and the evil of all the demons in hell in order to trick Desdemona and Othello... which is mildly terrifying.
- "A pox of drowning thyself!" This is a common figure of speech that basically says "To hell with ______!" In this case -- "To hell with drowning!"