thisnthatwithatwist

            In Othello, Shakespeare created a powerful drama of a marriage that begins with an attraction between the Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona, with their elopement and with strong mutual devotion that ends hastily with jealous rage and violent deaths.  Shakespeare sets this story in the romantic world of the Mediterranean, moving the action from Venice to the island of Cyprus and giving it an even more exotic coloring with the stories of Othello’s African past.  Shakespeare builds so many differences into his hero and heroine  - the differences of race, color, age and of cultural background - that you should not be surprised that the marriage ends in disaster.  Most people who read or see this play will feel the love represented between Othello and Desdemona is so strong that they could have overcome all these differences were it not for the words and actions of Iago who hates Othello and sets out to destroy him by destroying his love for Desdemona.

            As Othello starts believing Iago’s insinuations that Desdemona is unfaithful, his fascination with her turns to horror.  The reader is confronted by a generous and trusting Othello in the grip of Iago’s schemes and of a trusting Desdemona who has given herself up entirely to her love for Othello only to be subjected to his horrifying verbal and physical assaults.

            The reader will feel that the play’s fascination and its horror may be greater than ever before because we have been made so very sensitive to the issues if race, class, and gender.  Desdemona is white and Othello is black and because of this, their interracial marriage is a source of slurs from Iago that runs throughout the play.  The issue of gender is especially noticeable in the final scenes of the play, which are vivid reminders of how terrible the power traditionally exerted by men over women can be.