Othello, abridged:OTHELLO: I love my wife!IAGO: She gave Cassio her handkerchief.OTHELLO: OMG THAT CHEATING WHORE!DESDEMONA: Hi honey!OTHELLO: I KEEL YOU!DESDEMONA: *dies*EMILIA: Dude, what is WRONG with you?OTHELLO: Huh?IAGO: Yeah, I totally made that whole wife-is-cheating-on-you thing up. PUNK'D! OTHELLO: OMG I KILLED MY WIFE FOR NO REASON! I KEEL MYSELF!and...scene.

Will you, I pray, demand that demi-devilWhy he hath thus ensnared my soul and body?-Othello, end of Act VWhen I was about 9 years old, I put a healthy, live mouse into my parents' microwave oven. It was a summer day and I was all alone. I had this devilish feeling inside me. I knew it was wrong, but I had to do it. I grabbed a kitchen chair, dragged it across the floor, stood on it, opened the door, and threw the mouse in. Then I hit start.At first it was no big deal. The light turned on inside,...

''Soft you, a word or two before you go.I have done the state some service, and they know ’t.No more of that. I pray you, in your letters,When you shall these unlucky deeds relate,Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate,Nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speakOf one that loved not wisely, but too well.''

I’ve always believed that Iago is one of the greatest literary villains ever! A nemesis who was so twisted by hate and even acknowledged that he had no good reason for wanting to destroy the hero. Iago is the archetype for so many modern villains.Whenever I reread “Othello”, I picture a cinematic version where Denzel Washington plays Othello, Cate Blanchett plays Desdemona, and Tim Roth plays Iago…the movie wouldn’t even have to be titled “William Shakespeare’s Othello”, it could simply be named...

Othello and Macbeth have long been competing for the title of my favourite Shakespeare play. I'm still not sure. The protagonists are similar in that they both instigate their own downfall through fear and paranoia and jealousy - that's what makes their tales so wonderfully tragic. The fantasy aspect of Macbeth works in its favour, but then, it doesn't have Iago. It's a difficult one.

I have always admired this play as Shakespeare's most theatrical tragedy, but I also feel that it often veers too close to melodrama. Shaw remarked that Othello is written "in the style of Italian opera," and it shares with Verdi and Donizetti the same big emotions, the same clear demarcation of good and evil, that give Lucia and Trovatore their emotional intensity--and their lack of essential seriousness too. During this reading, however, I began to realize that Othello is much more than the gr...

The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, William ShakespeareOthello is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. It is based on the story Un Capitano Moro (A Moorish Captain) by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. The story revolves around its two central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army and his unfaithful ensign, Iago. Given its varied and enduring themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and repentan...

Hands down the worst pillow fight in history.

Not trying to upset Proust or Joyce, but these days, it's Shakespeare who's been taking me to bed every night. He's become part of my daily routine and his are my last conscious thoughts before departing to dreamland. Granted, it could be another playwriter or even a regular book. All I need really are small chapters that I can finish quickly when slumber's tentacles start to wrap my body and their calming effects slowly soothe my mind. But it's been Shakespeare... and any insomniac who's recent...

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mockThe meat it feeds on." This famous quote made my 14-year-old son, reading Othello for the first time (it was his first Shakespeare ever), come into my room to complain. He was deeply frustrated with the sweet tongue of the evil Iago, speaking in one way and acting in another, spreading fake news and rumours while pretending to be supportive and unselfish. "Iago is even worse than Uriah Heep", he said, referring to a co...

Book Review 4+ of 5 stars to Othello, a tragic play written in 1603, by William Shakespeare. When it comes to writing a thorough review about this Shakespearean work of art, it could take weeks and days to craft perfection; however, I've already stumbled upon a few across Goodreads, and the world doesn't need another interpretation by a middle-aged white guy. Nor does it need my opinion about what this says of a person's ethnic background, skin color or personality traits. But what th

Jealousy, "The green -ey'd monster," that is what the wise Shakespeare wrote...Othello loved his wife, Desdemona, too much so, nothing could continue that fever, emotions lessen over time....The mighty general was a very capable soldier of Venice, commanding respect on the battlefield, he could do no wrong, brave, ferocious, dynamic, his sword deadly, still life is more complicated than just war, though, the Moor was a fish out of water, in a quite different, and strange culture, becoming a Chri...

Othello is considered not only the greatest of Shakespeare's tragedies but also the timeliest. This might be a play written hundreds of years ago, but all the themes discussed in it are even entirely relevant today. We can see multiple manipulation levels, betrayal, jealousy, and even racism in this book if we read between the lines.Iago's maudlin concerns and jealousy force him to plot against general Othello and his wife, Desdemona. Othello, a battle-scarred yet lovable person, turns into a me...

The thing with Othello is that he's a fuckin’ idiot and he sucks. There's this towering scene, Act 3 scene 3, it’s the centerpiece of the play. Iago's convincing him that his wife Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio, and he has this whole complicated plan worked out involving handkerchiefs and innuendo, but he needs none of it: at the first drop of poison in his ear, Othello's like,"Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore.Be sure of it, give me the ocular proof."Mekhi Phifer and Josh Ha...

“The trust, the office I do hold of youNot only take away, but let your sentenceEven fall upon my life.” Act I, Scene 3.This is the Othello the reader meets at the beginning of this tragedy. The Renaissance ideal, an archetypal hero, sure of himself, valiant and honorable, in complete self-control when falsely accused of forcing fair Desdemona, the daughter of a nobleman, to marry him. When confronted by the Duke, his defense plea shines with splendid poetry, calm dignity and the voice of reaso...

Here's my thing:Who am I supposed to root for?Othello? Who doesn't seem to know how to communicate with anyone? He gets so jealous and infuriated by conjecture about his wife (of less than a week, I believe) that he has a seizure. Then proceeds to treat said wife absolutely horribly? Desmonda? In her first speech, she defends her marriage to Othello then does nothing else. She seemed constantly determined to please everyone. Joking with Iago, defending Cassio, repeatedly proclaiming her love for...

*Reread for class January 2016*This is the first Shakespeare play I read on my own and rereading it and studying it in class is giving me a whole new perspective on it which makes me love it even more!

Over breakfast this morning, Not and I invented a new game. It's called Insensitive!™ and the rules are very simple: in twenty-five words or less, write a summary of a book, movie or play that offends as many socio-economic groups as possible. My first entry is below. Not will be posting hers in due course.OthelloItalian bitch with learning disability and daddy issues gets involved with mentally unstable armed forces type and becomes another victim of black-on-white domestic violence.(24 words.

I have now read Shakespeare's Sonnets and 9 of his 38 plays, mostly the better known ones, slowly working my way through his canon. Othello was, compared to some of the others, an easy read. The themes running through the play are familiar ones with jealously being primary. But interracial prejudice and racism is what sets this play apart from the others, and probably defines it for most modern day readers.