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"Othello" by William Shakespeare




                                               
                      The story of William Shakespeare's Othello is set in 16th-century Venice and Cyprus. Othello the Moor, a noble black general in the Venetian army, has secretly married a beautiful white woman called Desdemona, the daughter of a prominent senator, Brabantio. When he finds out, he is outraged, and promptly disowns her.

                     Othello’s ensign, Iago, harbours a secret jealousy and resentment towards the Moor, partly because another soldier, lieutenant Cassio, has been promoted ahead of him, and also because he suspects that Othello has had an affair with his wife. Intent on revenge, Iago hatches a devious plan to plant suspicions in Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. He orchestrates a street fight, for which Cassio is wrongly blamed, and is then dismissed from his post by Othello. Desdemona takes up Cassio’s case with her husband, which only further inflames his suspicions that the pair are lovers.


                           Misrepresentation largely controls this play. Iago’s “I am not who I am” foreshadows much of what follows. Iago’s “honesty” in particular is the undoing of most of the characters. He demonstrates the evil in others, while hiding the evil within himself. The word “demonstrate” is related to the word “monster” through Latin etymologies, and Iago arouses the green-eyed monster – jealousy – in Othello by pretending to demonstrate that Desdemona herself was the greatest monster in the play.

                          If only someone had thought of seeking agency on things other than Iago’s. If only someone had uncovered reality. By someone I mean Othello. The tragedy that befell Othello wasn’t exactly the direct result of his race. But in a way it was the indirect result of it. Despite his standing and military prowess, Othello cannot let go of his insecurities about his ‘otherness’. He was never a ‘savage’ or one of the many animals he is compared to, but he became one when he let his insecurities be exploited by Iago. The tragic consequences are brought about because underneath all the aplomb and confidence, Othello hides his own awareness of him being an outsider. There was a vulnerability in Othello that was only intensified by his love – almost devotion – for Desdemona. If the factor of race is not figured it is almost impossible to imagine how Othello went from being entirely in love, supremely confident and trusting, to being in the agonies of a violent, destructive, and ultimately murderous jealousy.

                              The one character that I really loved in the play was Emilia. Her speech about unchaste women doing only what men have taught them brings to mind the Jew’s speech in The Merchant of Venice about his actions being no different than that of a Christian. It was such an empowering speech, and my favourite in the play.


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