Soft you; a word or two before you go.
I have done the state some service, and they know ‘t.
No more of that. I pray you, in your letters,
When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,
Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate,
Nor set down aught in malice.
– William Shakespeare
Othello, Act 5, Scene 2. In the moments before he kills himself, Othello appears to be more concerned with his reputation and the legacy he will leave behind than with the death of Desdemona. He believes that the service he has done for Venice should be weighed against his crime of murdering his wife. Before he is led away by Lodovico, he asks of his horrified countrymen, when they are writing the story of what happened, to do it honestly. They must speak of him as he is, neither minimizing not exaggerating his crime. With the play coming to its tragic close, Othello is attempting to recover some of his lost reputation and pride. Wanting to shape how he will be remembered, he reminds the Venetians of the honorable role he played as a soldier and warrior.