Othello was a requirement for a class I recently took, but it made me fall in love with the works of William Shakespeare. I’m a sucker for symbolism and motifs, and as a general lover of dramatics, Othello quickly became a personal favorite of mine. Othello is predictable, a tragedy, meant to show our hero, a noble man of pure heart and strong morals, crumble into an antihero himself, becoming the person he so starkly was not. Throughout the play, the repetition of common motifs (monsters, birth, colors, gardens and growing, etc.) were highlighted in my study and I enjoy when authors and playwrights repeat their symbols and ideas throughout the work. The characters were very well thought out (of course, it’s Shakespeare), and I am forced to wonder how anyone could come up with the genius of the plot and characterization. I love how Othello’s transformation from the “perfect” man to a corrupt one was evident in even his speech. How he became more like Iago and less the man that Desdemona had fallen in love with. Iago was the perfect villain, someone who was never questioned and always trusted. He ran into little opposition and was able to work his plan as the audience could only watch in horror as he easily worked Othello into the mold he wanted him to be in. Part of this was due to Othello’s fatal flaw, the necessary weakness of any tragic hero, Othello trusted without question, unwilling to think badly about those he thought he knew and loved, but part of his downfall was due to the careful strategies constructed by Iago to manipulate and control all he encountered. One of these poor souls was a fan favorite for my classes, Cassio. I found it amusing how people were mildly obsessing over a fictional character written centuries ago, and how all at once we were cracking jokes about Cassio’s character, appearance, and attitudes.
Another reason why I loved the play was because Shakespeare knows how to control the audiences emotions. He has a perfect idea of how the audience feels and how much they can take emotionally. His comedic breaks were perfectly placed, though a little confusing for someone reading in the twenty-first century, and he had complete control over how the readers or play-goers would feel about certain characters. In my own reading I search for authors who understand their readers so well. There are many series I have read in the past that have been disappointing or altogether awful due to the authors lack of awareness surrounding the audiences emotions or character references.
Sorry about the overall rant about Shakespeare rather than the play in general, but I hope you enjoyed! If you have any suggestions, book or otherwise, please feel free to contact us!! Thank you for reading!
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