Emilia declares Desdemona's innocence at the opening of
Act IV, scene ii. Othello is grilling her as to whether she has seen anything between
Desdemona and Cassio, and finally Emilia says:
I durst, my lord, to wager she is
honest,
Lay down my soul at stake: if you think
other,
Remove your thought, it doth abuse your
bosom;
If any wretch ha' put this in your
head,
Let heaven requite it
with the serpent's
curse...
The
irony here, in the lines I have bolded, is that she is referring to exactly what has
happened. The audience knows this to be true, since they have seen Iago work his evil
"serpent's curse." So, it is dramatic irony as well, as Othello does not know what the
audience knows, that Emilia speaks the truth about the "wretch" who put the idea of
adultery "in [his] head."
It is also a great moment to
wonder how much of what is happening Emilia suspects (or actually knows). If she does
know what's going on, it is hard to see her as so loyal to Desdemona as she professes to
be.
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