At the beginning of the play, Othello conducts himself well; he speaks in a measured meter and respectful tone, such as when he addresses the Venetian council: “Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors, [...] I will a round unvarnish’d tale deliver / Of my whole course of love” (1.3). However, once he is engulfed by his jealousy, he loses these qualities. As Iago’s lies take hold, he “falls in a trance” and Iago tells Cassio not to disturb him, else “he foams at mouth and by and by / Breaks out to savage madness” (4.1). As well as a cruel, racist remark, it is foreshadowing what is to come for Othello. He “strikes” Desdemona in public (4.1), and his speech becomes littered with oaths (“damn thyself”, “thou art false as hell”) and gruesome imagery (“a cistern for foul toads / To knot and gender in”). Othello’s fall from grace is mirrored in his speech, as Shakespeare alludes to the contemporary belief that rational thought was the only thing separating man from beast. The transformation in Othello’s character shows how potent and powerful jealousy and hatred can be.