All 3 Uses of
perdition
in
Othello, the Moor of Venice
- It is Othello's pleasure, our noble and valiant general, that upon certain tidings now arrived, importing the mere perdition of the Turkish fleet, every man put himself into triumph; some to dance, some to make bonfires, each man to what sport and revels his addiction leads him: for, besides these beneficial news, it is the celebration of his nuptial:—so much was his pleasure should be proclaimed.†
Scene 2.2
- Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee!†
Scene 3.3 *
- I did so: and take heed on't; Make it a darling like your precious eye; To lose't or give't away were such perdition As nothing else could match.†
Scene 3.4
Definitions:
-
(1)
(perdition) hell (in Christianity: where Satan resides and non-saved suffer eternal punishment)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) In literature as old as Shakespeare, perdition can also refer to destruction, ruin, or suffering.