By adding the word “intended” at the beginning of the word “slaughter”, Behn further emphasizes what Oroonoko did to his beloved. In OED, “slaughter” is defined as “To kill, slay, murder (a person), esp. in a bloody or brutal manner.” As you can see, one of the synonyms that the dictionary provides for “slaughter” is “murder”. Since murder cannot be done unintentionally, and because “slaughter” is already a very powerful word to describe what Oroonoko had done, adding the word “intended” before the word “slaughter” further intensifies the incident. In my opinion, Behn might have wanted to add “intended” to help the reader further empathize with Oroonoko. Since Oroonoko is having a very difficult time trying to comprehend what he had done to Imoinda, Behn adds this word to convey the chaos and the confusion in Oroonoko’s mind. Besides his mind, he also feels remorse deep down in his heart. And the only way to make the reader feel and empathize with these extreme feelings is to add words that further highlight the incidents. Additionally, item number 129, “Oroonoko Goes Crazy” is one of the items in the Enlightenmens Gallery that is relevant to my interpretation. This art piece is a depiction of Oroonoko after being sold into slavery. He is attempting to fight the slaveholders and escape. Even though the scene that is drawn isn’t the scene that is annotated, the chaotic atmosphere of this image reminds me of Oroonoko’s confused mind. Also, his face that appears in the bottom left corner portrays similar emotions, such as confusion and fear, to what he feels after he kills Imoinda.

"slaughter, v." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/181460. Accessed 11 February 2020.

https://enlightenmens.lmc.gatech.edu/items/show/129

The usage of the word “resolution” in this context creates a contrast with its preliminary meaning. In the OED “resolution” is defined as “Renewed or repeated solution; the process of passing back into solution; an instance of this.” If we read what is written immediately after this word, we notice what Behn suggests Oroonoko as a “resolution” is “to go immediately after her”, which can be translated as committing suicide. However, as all sane people suggest, the one thing that cannot be indicated as a “resolution” is committing suicide. So, Behn’s usage of these two contradicting words in the same sentence creates an oxymoron and bewilders the reader. Additionally, item number 114, “Pontius Pilate Prepares to Kill Himself in Remorse” is an art piece from the Enlightenmens Gallery that is strongly correlated with this annotation. The engraving created by Fiorella Gambetta is a depiction of Pontius Pilate, holding a dagger to himself as he prepares to kill himself. Underneath the image is lettering in Italian which reads, “Pilato oppresso dai rimorsi, si uccide da se stesso”, which can be directly translated as “Pilate oppressed by remorse, he kills himself.” What Oroonoko feels, which is mainly remorse, is I believe almost exactly the same with what Pontius Pilate feels. Even though the reasons why they feel remorse might be entirely different from each other, what passes through both of their minds is exactly the same, which is to end their lives. And this is what makes the two figures quite similar to each other.

re-solution, n.2." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/163722. Accessed 11 February 2020.

https://enlightenmens.lmc.gatech.edu/items/show/114

In order to accurately describe Oroonoko’s rage, remorse, and grief, Behn selects word that are highly brutal and violent. The reasoning behind her word choice also reflects Adam Smith’s idea regarding sympathy in The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In the OED “tear”, “rave”, and “roar”, are defined respectively as “To pull asunder by force, usually so as to leave ragged or irregular edges'', “To be mad, to show signs of madness or delirium”, and “A full, deep, prolonged cry uttered by a lion or other large (typically wild) animal; (also) a loud and deep sound uttered by a person or crowd, esp. as an expression of pain, anger, or approval”. As we read the phrase just before the highlighted one, we come across the expression “his grief swell'd up to rage.” After Oroonoko realizes what he had done to Imoinda, he feels several different highly intense feelings at the same time, and those feelings also transform into one another. In order to convey those strong and intertwined feelings much more accurately, she puts three extremely violent verbs one after another. This shows us how hard it’s to demonstrate what Oroonoko is going through, and also the difficulty in empathizing with him, which reflects Adam Smith’s idea regarding the role of imagination in sympathizing. The excerpt in item 422 “Excerpt from Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments"” from the Enlightenmens Gallery is the piece where Smith claims that there is no way to directly understand the experience of others beside relating their experience to your experience. In this case, anyone who didn’t sacrifice a loved one due to protect them wouldn’t be able to understand what Oroonoko had been through, thus making his feelings almost impossible to comprehend and feel.

"tear, n.2." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/198388. Accessed 12 February 2020.

"rave, v.1." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/158622. Accessed 12 February 2020.

"roar, n.1." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/166555. Accessed 12 February 2020.

https://enlightenmens.lmc.gatech.edu/items/show/422

Behn’s word choice in the highlighted phrase depicts the high level of Oroonoko’s uncertainty about the lethal actions that he is planning to perform against his beloved. The OED defines the word “intermit” as “To leave off, give over, discontinue (an action, practice, etc.) For a time; to suspend.” It also defines the word “irresolution” as “The condition of not having arrived at a settled opinion on some subject; undecided opinion, uncertainty, doubt.” These two words reveal the discontinuity and uncertainty of Oroonoko’s mind about his actions, and how undecided he is about whether to sacrifice his loved one or not. However, the following phrase after these two words is “being adjusted.” “Adjusted” is defined in the OED as “To put (something) to a person for consideration; to bring forward, suggest.” This implies that what was highly uncertain of Oroonoko at the beginning is much more clear for him now. He now knows what he has to do, and there aren’t any discontinuous or indecisive thoughts about the sacrifice anymore. His intentions are crystal clear in his mind now; first he will kill his loved one to save her and his child from slaveholders’ grudge and later he will take the revenge of it.

"intermit, v.1." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/98030. Accessed 8 February 2020.

"irresolution, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/99782. Accessed 8 February 2020.

"adjust, v.1." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/2450. Accessed 12 February 2020.

In terms of its severity, the violence of this scene is very similar to the one at the end of the book, where Oroonoko is brutally executed. One of the definitions that the OED provides for “fatal” is “Producing or resulting in death, destruction, or irreversible ruin, material or immaterial; deadly, destructive, ruinous.” From the rest of the sentence, it’s clear that Oroonoko strikes Imoinda’s throat with a knife and kills her. And this is one of the most vicious ways to kill someone. Later in the book, after they hardly capture Oroonoko in the forest, they bring him back to the whipping post and tie him up. Behn describes the rest of the story on page 76 as follows, “…and the executioner came and first cut off his members, and threw them into the fire. After that, with an ill-favour'd knife, they cut his ears and his nose, and burn'd them…” As you can see from the description above, the way that Oroonoko is executed is similar to Imoinda’s death in terms of its ruthlessness. Also, the weapon that is used in both of these cases is a knife, which carries the similarity of the deaths a step further. In addition to this, item 433 from the Enlightenmens Gallery, “Flogging and Murder in the 18th Century” is an image that is closely related to this topic. The art piece is a depiction of Elizabeth Brownrigg abusing one of her apprentices. An image of Brownrigg flogging a young lady that is hanging from the ceiling evokes similar feelings from the viewer as the brutal scenes from Oroonoko.

"fatal, adj." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/68476. Accessed 9 February 2020.

https://enlightenmens.lmc.gatech.edu/items/show/433

One of the definitions offered by the Oxford English Dictionary for "deplorable" is "To be deplored or lamented; lamentable, very sad, grievous, miserable, wretched. Now chiefly used of events, conditions, circumstances."

"deplorable, adj. and n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/50310. Accessed 7 February 2020.