Othello

I don't think there is any point writing a formal review of Othello - there is nothing that a simple country boy such as myself can say that will add in any useful manner to the vast corpus of more worthy comment.

It is, of course, marvellous, yet simultaneously repulsive. The manipulation of Othello by the scheming of Iago is dreadful to see. Othello contributes to, indeed almost collaborates in, his own downfall, while Desdemona is left prey to malign forces entirely beyond her control, or even her understanding.

Quite frankly, I think I find it too dark and oppressive. There seems no let up, not even much in the way of Shakespeare's excruciating 'comic' roles. Iago may be my namesake (more or less) but, on balance, I think that when it show more comes to scheming, Machiavellian figures I prefer Bosola, Richard III or even Lorenzo from 'The Spanish Tragedy. show less

Iago has to be one of the nastiest villains in all of literature. Good, old, Honest Iago. In a matter of hours, he takes a happily married man and a successful general and turns him into a jealous, vengeful caricature of his former self. Iago uses innuendo to sow the seeds of distrust, then sits back to watch what he's set in motion. When it looks like things are straying off course, a gentle nudge from Iago keeps things moving in the direction he's set. I'd love to believe that people like Iago exist only in fiction, but I fear that there are too many Iagos in the halls of power, intent on corrupting any whose nature is too trusting.

The themes of love and betrayal (both actual and imagined), of jealousy and racism, of ambition and violence, are all still very much valid in this day and age. We have Iago who has been granted a position of trust but it's not what he thinks he deserves so he uses the power he has to undermine those around him. One of my most common plaints is that Office Politics is a game I very much prefer not to involve myself in as I have encountered so very viscous players in my time. Othello has achieved so much but still harbors self-doubt that Desdemona really wants just him. There was only the smallest sprout of a doubt initially, but there was enough for rumour to cause it to sprout and spread. He forms his beliefs on what he is told and how show more he perceives what he sees (and that's for certain still happening).

But this volume itself is beautiful. The illustrations were gorgeous and the weight of the pages enforced that this edition was special.

Not my favourite Shakespeare play by any means, and I would likely prefer to watch performances of it in the future (but I'm also thinking it could be fun to watch the 1990 film while reading the text) show less

I hate reviewing Shakespeare (as if I were qualified to criticize The Bard), but I have finished a third reading of Othello and no one gives us more to ponder and dissect than he does. I never read Shakespeare without saying to myself, “now how did I not see that before?”

This is obviously a story concerned with race. Othello is a Moor and as such the only black man present in the play and a representative of the unusual and unknown to his contemporaries. His marriage to Desdemona is spoken of as being “against nature” many times throughout the play and even Othello himself wonders at Desdemona’s willingness to go contrary to “nature.” The reason for his opposition to the marriage, as stated by her father, is:

and she, in show more spite of nature,
Of years, of country, credit, every thing,
To fall in love with what she feared to look on!
It is a judgment maim’d and most imperfect
That will confess perfection so could err
Against all rules of nature,...

While Othello is able to restrict himself to being a general and a statesman, he flourishes and prospers; it is only when he steps beyond the bounds and marries outside his race that chaos ensues and he is unable to think clearly. He is lead by the nose by an obviously inferior man in Iago, a man who could have never persuaded him against his own knowledge or instinct in choosing a battlefield or conducting a naval maneuver.

I found myself wondering if this had very little to do with Othello’s color and taking this one step further and wondering if it was not meant to be a commentary on class views and restrictions at large. The perils of stepping outside one’s class, outside one’s station, outside the duties to which one was born, could be extreme in this time. Desdemona twarts her father and society in general in her marriage. She rejects suitors who would have been more appropriate in terms of money and position for love of this man. The result is catastrophic--her death, the death of her father, the destruction of Othello. These are not star-crossed lovers, the fates do not destroy them, they destroy themselves. They choose.

As villians go, Iago is one of Shakespeare’s worst. Like MacBeth he is driven by ambition and envy; unlike MacBeth he attacks the weakest and most innocent and feels no tinge of remorse. This is betrayal, but the battle here is clearly between good and evil themselves.

So will I turn her virtue into pitch,
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all.

His misogyny is evident in his own words to both his wife and Desdemona, and destroying her, along with Othello, is no doubt a bonus for him. He is a written warning to suspect the sycophant and avoid the malicious gossip. And, yet, as so often he does, Shakespeare puts words of insight and wisdom into his mouth.

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on: that cuckold lives in bliss
But, O, what damned minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects yet strongly loves!

One wonders why everything else Iago says is gold to Othello’s ears, but this piece of advice he allows to sweep over him and die, just as Iago intends.

Again, it is Iago who says:

Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘tis something, nothing;
Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.

Of course, Iago knows, for it is Othello’s good name that he is intent upon stealing, and he succeeds in doing so. In the process, he brings destruction upon himself, just as he predicts, for his efforts, rather than enriching him, cost him all.

It is difficult sometimes to put oneself into the Elizabethan audience and not bring modern day sensibilities to the reading. There was no prejudice against Othello, per se. He was esteemed and recognized for his prowess and intelligence; he was valued as a leader, and the Duke is quick to say his own daughter might have been drawn to Othello’s story and to love him. He is never vilified, as Sherlock is in The Merchant of Venice, for being of a lesser ethnic group. What happens to him is a kind of madness. It is a perception of social order being broken that causes the strife. Nature does not intend the match and nature cannot be defied. While few of us would agree with the premise that this marriage was unnatural in any way, it would have been accepted as such by the Elizabethans--not as wrong but as too unorthodox. Perhaps, in a broader sense, it is a tale about wanting what one should not have and losing everything in an effort to attain and hold it. show less

Though I knew the names Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, Desdemona, and, of course, Iago, I realized very early on that I had absolutely no knowledge of Othello whatsoever, which I found weird. I normally have at least a basic sense of the plot.

Not this time. And that was a good thing. This one was a fun one to come in cold on.

And oh, what a story. Iago feels like the original scheming bastard, and all I could think of was Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood character in House of Cards. Iago is almost gleefully sociopathic in his unrelenting need to manipulate everyone.

While this is a straightforward plot, it was a lot of fun, and carried a fair amount of suspense throughout, especially around that damned handkerchief.

Really liked this one. show more Probably because I know and loathe a few Iagos of my own. show less

Another great tragedy from the Bard, part of a streak of stunning drama from his later years. It is very easy to follow – especially compared to my last Shakespeare experience, King Lear – with a very focused and contained plot. Iago is one of Shakespeare's straightest villains (as opposed to an anti-hero), and his presence dominates the play much more than the titular Othello. I was not often convinced of the affection between Othello and Desdemona – we never see the two of them together for any length of time, baring their souls in embrace as we do for, say, Romeo and Juliet – but Othello's jealousy ("the green-eyed monster" (pg. 82)) is extremely vivid and white-hot.

A lot is made nowadays of the inter-racial romance between show more the black Moor, Othello, and Desdemona, the fair noblewoman with skin like alabaster (pg. 121), but this is in truth only a small part of the play. It is an interesting part, especially for our modern politically-correct culture and its obsession with race relations, but Iago's distaste of Othello can just as easily be put down to Machiavellian manoeuvring as much as racism. The play Othello resolves itself in classic vengeance plotting and anguished love: it is cold, green jealousy that drives the play, not black and white.

Indeed, the play seemed more modern to me not for the racial stuff but because a lot of the harm caused in the play – from all major characters, but particularly Iago – comes from defamation. (Ironically, it is the slanderous Iago who says: "Who steals my purse, steals trash… But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed." (pg. 82)). In our shout-down, zero-sum, Twitter-mob society, it is the slurs and tunnel-vision and emotionally-charged misunderstandings of Othello which resonate with me. But regardless of what stands out for you, Shakespeare once again leaves a great wealth of things for us to unpick. show less

Shakespeare was a master story-teller, able to keep your attention with his plot twists and affect your emotions with his wonderful writing and keen insight into the human psyche. I admire his ability to weave poetry into his plays so casually that you hardly notice a poem spoken by a character among his other dialogue.

This particular play, Othello, was a heartrending tragedy. It portrayed to the worst degree how damaging the effects are when we choose to believe gossip without checking to see if there is a shred of truth to it. This tragedy also shows how devastating it is for one to succumb to caustic emotions like hate and jealousy. The play is a powerful argument against seeking out revenge because we can never be sure we know the show more whole story despite what seems like certain evidence. I love Shakespeare's works, and I love that you walk away contemplating your humanity after reading his plays. show less