Reviews with content warning for Death - Othello

As always I love the language and seeing the tables turn who joy ave the journey characters go on, but I still struggle with the concept of this story, which is my reaction to reading the play cold. I have never studied it or seen it performed where I could view it differently. The focus is the web of lies by Irago and the tragic fall of Othello, but I will always resonate most with Desdemona so will always struggle to be any thing other than angry.

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clapyourshands's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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perenian's review against another edition

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dark funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Shakespeare’s “Othello” reframes the classic tragedy—and in conjunction, the tragic hero—in a new, unorthodox light.

“Othello” is many things. It’s a morality play: Desdemona personifies good, Iago evil, and Othello is the ‘everyman’ of the story. It’s the tragic tale of a classical hero: Othello falls victim to his irrationality and emotion, and dies regretfully. It’s predictable, really: Othello’s emotional nature is manipulated through some cleverly dropped words by Iago, and his rationale is completely overridden by angry grief. He spirals into the waiting hands of Iago, and it is there that he meets his downfall.

But Othello, though he is the titular character, does not seem to be the focus of the narrative. Instead, Iago is the first character we meet, and this is a hint to how big his role truly is. He is the one behind all of the machinations that bring about Othello’s downfall, and the only one working to bring it about. It’s strange if the main character gets all (or most of) the soliloquies in a play—much more so if the primary antagonist does. Shakespeare seems to be suggesting that Iago, rather than Othello, is the main character.

Iago is the embodiment of the “appearance versus reality” trope: he fools everybody around him with his words and behavior, dropping personas as easily as a snake sheds its skin. Not only does he manage to alter perceptions of himself, he manages to do so for other characters as well: he convinces Othello of Cassio’s deviance, Roderigo of Othello’s inadequacy (and his own superiority), twists and twists people around until they are wrapped around his finger. He is so wholly evil with seemingly no good motivation, so much so that he seems almost like a caricature. He is Shakespeare’s most diabolical villain, by any and every measure. Iago detests all that is good, like Satan. He exhibits a sort of self-hatred or perhaps an envy of goodness, actively deceiving many. He is Satanic imagery personified, and makes the play interesting.

As always with Shakespeare, the play has many overlapping themes. The one I found most intriguing, though, was the commentary on humanity—specifically with Othello. The first time that Othello is introduced to us, he is presented as a noble, dignified general despite common belief. He is attributed with goodness and humility, despite the color of his skin. As the play progresses, however, his rage blinds him and makes him into a bull with horns for Iago to lead him by. He is driven to madness by Iago’s machinations, and the savagery that results from it proves the Venetian court’s worst suspicions: Othello was “revealed” to be the wild, animalistic man they had expected from the very start..

I also loved the way the theme of trust was woven in throughout the play. Trust is one of Othello’s greatest virtues, and Iago uses it as an Achilles heel. He, knowing full well the extent of the trust Othello has in him, pierces Othello right in the center of it. He uses his reputation as an honest man to backstab literally everybody without being discovered—until the very end. Othello’s trust in Iago outweighs his trust in Desdemona’s love and fidelity, and this proves to be the unhappy ending of the pair.

All in all, “Othello” was an enjoyable read. I had half expected to either dislike it or not comprehend anything about it, but to my surprise, I read it easily and liked it. I have to admit, however, that I didn’t feel much for the characters. I pitied the cast (save for Roderigo and Iago, at times) but there was nothing more behind that. Othello didn’t leave much of an impression on me—though perhaps there is a reason for it. “Othello” may have been a different take on the classic tragic hero, but it hasn’t left much of an impact on me. I enjoyed it, though, and perhaps that is all that one needs from literature.

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jasmine_0206's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

It’s pretty good I liked it better than Romeo and Juliet

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zanderthenerd's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

For my a level English literature year 1 course I had to read this and we've been studying it in class so I definitely think this affected my rating but not in a negative way! I read it initially on my own for the summer prep work and didn't enjoy it a whole lot. I thought it was cool but wasn't particularly interested. I knew the themes and ideas that Shakespeare explores but struggled to pick a lot of stuff out on my own but reading it in class and analysing and writing essays on it has really changed my point of view. Its so profound and I'll say it till the day I die, but Shakespeare was way ahead of his time. Still probably not going to be 5 star worthy, but mainly because it is something I'm going to have to study for the next 2 years so I'm already feeling a small hatred festering lolol

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