Journal: Othello

Othello written as a play by William Shakespeare is a tale of greed, love, power, and conformity. Placed in Venice and Cyprus, the tale is centered around the Moor, Othello, and of the greedy Iago seeking revenge on Othello for giving the lieutenant position to Cassio, and on Cassio for stealing the position. The situation could be better explained by saying that it is as if Iago is the enlisted long member officer, while Cassio is the near fresh officer out of a service academy, and Cassio was given the position over the experienced Iago.

            Being a Moor, or black, he is not the most common man in Venice or Cyprus. He won the heart of Desdemona, daughter of senator Barbantio, and they married in secret to her father. Of course, this caused the typical outrage that would occur when a black man married a white woman; the hand of evil must be at work. Accused of witchcraft, Othello had to appeal to the court. The claims were obviously void and ridiculous, but in a more realistic society of the time, would a Moor have even been given a trial? Or would the claim be taken as true from the start and the man be lynched by the hands of the people? In our society, the latter would have most certainly been the case.

            Iago is a crafty man, twisted by his lust for power, his greed for position, his covet for Cassio. Iago somehow decides that he will take revenge on Othello, Cassio, and Desdemona in one fatal game. By sparking the fear of faithlessness in the heart of Othello against Desdemona with Cassio, he caused the long consuming doubt that eventually forces Othello into murdering his wife. When Cassio, wounded by an assassin sent by Iago, tells Othello of the conspiracy, he is now overwhelmingly pushed over the edge and kills himself and dies atop his love.

            Confucius said when seeking revenge, dig two graves. Iago should have dug five graves; one for Othello, one for Desdemona, one for Cassio, one for his assassin, and one for himself. Iago’s twisted hatred and jealousy drove him to commit such a dastardly plot. Truly, not being lieutenant is a very weak reason to kill four people. It seems that Iago would have some sort of an emotional or mental complex. Or perhaps it is solely the downfall of Shakespearean literature plays. Written in Iambic Pentameter, it is rather difficult to create a play in such a manner, especially one with a completely sensible plot. Perhaps the actions of Iago are ridiculously rash for the provocation, yet it is still a remarkable story written as a poem. The plot is touching, and most people can empathize with the pain that Othello can feel, while all the while suffering the dread from the dramatic irony.

            Some criticize Shakespeare for being boring, repetitive, and pagan. His stories are all the same, some may say. All the tragedies are the same, named after the main character, who falls into an infatuated love which leads to their deaths. Yes, this is all true, yet there are different themes to all the stories. Othello is a tale fighting against racism and greed. Romeo and Juliet denounces hubris and tradition. Perhaps they all follow a similar plot skeleton, but all humans have similar skeletons, and that does not make us a repetitive and boring species. It is the features and mind that show the differences and make us truly unique. The same is for the tragedies and works of Shakespeare.