Othello: “One that loved not wisely but too well”

I know it's 2 days late for this review, and this month we'll have Wilde instead for LRP Event. But I've finished tha book and I have another to read for the next Tragedy Month, so I think it's better to do this now than later.

I love Othello. He's an amazing man, full with high spirits and lots of sufferings. I also love Desdemona. She's a fine, sweet lady, who, behind her calm and solemn manner hides courageous heart. I hate Iago. That's it.

Othello is one of the most well-known of Will Shakespeare's plays. It tells a story about Othello, a Moor who served as a military general in Venice. He married a noble and virtuous girl, Desdemona, much against her father's will. Nevertheless, Desdemona loved him so much and was very eager to marry him.

Then there was Iago, a subordinate of Othello, who, out of envy towards Cassio, and anger towards Othello, slandered Desdemona by telling Othello that she had an affair with Cassio, another Othello's subordinate – leading to disaster. Without him, the play would end like a fairytale.

I must confess that I read this play quite hastily in the middle, not because I didn't have much time, but rather because I couldn't stand the conflict. For me, Iago's slander is most wicked and unfair. I pity Othello, for as Lear, he was 'more sinned against than sinning' kind of hero.

Apart from all these personal ramblings, I need to underline also how Othello reflects people's view on non-Europeans in Shakespeare's era. Desdemona's father, for example, loathed to marry her to Othello, just because he was a Moor. Few, though, would share the same view as the Duke, who was so kind to Othello, treated him with respect and appreciation. Maybe that's why, in this world of prejudice and injustice, the play stays popular despite its age.