Othello

Othello is set in the 16th century in Venice and Cyprus. Othello, a Moor and valiant army general, was commissioned as the governor of Cyprus because of his exceptional military abilities in the service of the maritime power of Venice. Othello appoints Michael Cassio as the lieutenant and Iago is quick to become jealous for he feels that he had more experience in the military. Iago tries to accuse Othello of stealing Desdemona but wins the sympathy of the duke and Senate. Othello is then sent to Cyprus to defend against the Turks. On the island, Iago continues with his diabolical plan; he makes Cassio drunk and has Roderigo provoke him resulting in the stabbing of Governor Montano. When Cassio requests to speak with Desdemona, Iago again makes it seem like there was a love affair between the two to make Othello jealous. Othello's immediate reaction is that he believes Iago and he convicts Desdemona of being unfaithful.

Later, Desdemona tries to mend lost of trust at dinner by giving Othello her handkerchief but Othello refuses still being in a state of fury. Emilia picks up the handkerchief and give it to Iago who puts it in Cassio's room to provide evidence of an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. In the evening, Othello demanded the handkerchief and Desdemona nervously responds that she does not have it. Cassio wonders why the handkerchief was in his room and asks Bianca (a prostitute) to sew a copy of it for him.

Iago tells Roderigo to kill Cassio but Cassio wounds Roderigo instead. Iago wounds Cassio and runs away. When he hears Cassio's cries, Othello assumes Iago killed Cassio and Iago pretends to be raged that Roderigo would attempt to kill Cassio and Iago kills Roderigo. After, Othello goes back to his room, ready to kill Desdemona where she pleads to be innocent. He kills her anyways. Shortly after, Emilia comes running in with news that Roderigo is dead and that Cassio is not.

Finally, Iago, Graziano and Montano enter the room and Emilia reveals the truth that she found the handkerchief and gave it to Iago and Othello is crushed. Iago kills Emilia but is caught by Lodvico and Montano.

Othello was so blinded by his jealousy that he ended up killing Desdemona which was all a part of Iago's allegations and deceit over a silly position. Iago's goal was accomplished because he made Othello's life miserable.

Othello

Shakespeare has done it again. The opening scene provides the reader with a subtle amount of information. This "Moor", "he", "him", "thick-lips" all refer to a black character in a Venetian society who is despised by Iago because he has promoted Michael Cassio to lieutenant and has married Desdemona (the senator (Brabanzio's) daughter). Iago quickly becomes furious because he was not promoted although he had served in countless battles and this Cassio fool has barely any credibility/ experience. As Iago expresses his hatred to Roderigo, the audience can automatically pick up that this guy is the deceptive villain always looking to make somebody's life miserable. Without thinking twice, he decides he wants to ruin Othello's marriage by turning Desdemona's family against him. At the same time, Roderigo wants to get back at Iago because he thinks that his wife may have cheated on him with Iago and therefore says, "In following him I follow but myself, Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty/ But seeming so for my peculiar end."

The reason this quote struck me was because it made me think of my own life. I was reflecting the overly demanding hard work that we go through in school everyday and what our motive behind it all is. Although our motives are not revenge like in Roderigo's case, a lot of what we do (whether it's doing whatever it takes to get an A on a report card or trying to break 2000 on the SAT's) is ultimately to fulfill a desire. And in a teenagers case, it comes down to trying to get into the best college that they possible can, to increase the chances of a stable job, which will provide more money, which will allow us to buy more stuff, which will make us feel good when we show it off to other people and then we'll gain the approval of others and then we can die happily and that's it. The end. Is this really what our society has turned into?

This concept can be applied to all aspects of life. Think about it, why do we get upset? It's because there's something that got in the way of what we wanted and that's not okay. So what I got out of this was that if I change my heart when I don't get my way and seek the light that I should truly be living for, I will be much more at peace.

The Inspired