Othello

I have read Othello for a class here at Western a couple years ago but this time I gained a better understanding of the tragic play. I was unsure of what the term “moor” meant but after reading some background information at Wikipedia I found that it refers to what people now call “black”. The term “moor” also referred to Arabs of North Africa. It was stated that this play was banned in the 1930s because the lead role of Othello is portrayed as a black man and being married to a white woman.

Othello is a play by William Shakespeare, which, if you don’t pay close attention, has many sub-plots involved. This is a play about deception, jealousy, and tragic deaths. I guess the old saying “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” would be a perfect fit for Othello. I know our class is focused on the Middle East but how is Othello incorporated into our overall topic of discussion? There are times when a reading is transformed into a film (sometimes easier to interpret), as this is also the case for Othello. I have seen the 1995 film starring Laurence Fishburne, although the dialogue compared to the play is difficult to understand.

Even though Othello is the title character of this play I feel that if he would have stayed calm he could have prevented this tragedy from occurring. His quick reactions caused him to over analyze what Iago had been telling him. Othello should have kept trust in his wife, Desdemona, instead of wrongly accusing her of having an affair with Cassio. Iago is the deceitful villain who ruins the lives of anyone who crosses his path. In the end, characters are knocked off one by one like a mobster movie and tragedy has struck again in Shakespeare’s Othello.