19. In which Shakespeare play does the phrase, "the green-eyed monster" appear?
From Quiz Literature in Colour
Answer:
Othello
"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on"
Thus spake Iago in "Othello", warning the title character not to fall victim to his fears over losing his wife, Desdemona, to another man. Iago is, of course, complicit in the events that lead Othello to jealous rage, the irony being that his actions are driven by envy of Othello's position and that of the other man, Cassio, who has been promoted above him by his master.
Though Portia, in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (1600) speaks of "green-eyed jealousy", the phrase "green-eyed monster" is coined in the later published "Othello" (c.1603).