Then, must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely but too well;
Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought
Perplex’d in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 5, Scene 2. The veil of blindness is finally lifted from Othello’s eyes as he realizes he has been manipulated and duped by Iago. But the terrible truth dawns on him too late and only after he has smothered his innocent wife. In his final suicide speech, he takes responsibility for his actions, putting them down to his too passionate a love for Desdemona and being tricked into extreme jealousy. A metaphor compares Desdemona and her purity and preciousness to a white pearl, which Othello acknowledges he threw away by killing her. Using derogatory and racist language, he likens himself in a simile to a low-class savage, viewing himself as very much the outsider from a different race. In Shakespeare’s Folio version of the play "base Indian" reads "base Judean," sometimes taken as a reference to Judas who betrayed Jesus. Othello is attempting to salvage some of his good name and reputation here.