I call’d my love false love; but what said he then?
Sing willow, willow, willow:
If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men!
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 4, Scene 3. Desdemona sings "The Willow Song" about a woman’s lost love and heartbreak, which very much mirrors her own situation. The willow is the tree of sadness and grief. Like the woman in the song, Desdemona is brokenhearted at having lost Othello’s love. Just as the man in the song has spurned the woman, amid accusations of infidelity, Othello has cruelly accused the innocent Desdemona of adultery. The song’s words "couch with moe men" means to sleep with more men.