Othello is another popular Shakespearean tragedy. The main themes are jealousy and treachery, but race, too, plays a vital role. Othello is a Moor. He weds the Venetian Desdemona against her father’s wishes. Othello is a trusted general of the Duke of Venice, so the only objection between the union of Othello and Desdemona is race. It’s incredible to think that people are generous enough to bestow honours on a man based on merit despite his race, although ungenerous to ally through marriage. Othello’s race forms part of Iago’s jealousy because he feels that his superior is inferior to him in race.
“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster with doth mock.”
Iago utters these famous lines, the man who sowed the seed of jealousy in the mind of Othello. The irony is that he who warns Othello is also driven by jealousy and turns treacherous. Using false accusations, Iago poisons Othello’s mind against Desdemona. The result is that once a blissful and loving marriage ends in tragedy.
Iago is one of the wickedest villains in Shakespeare. His vile actions and far-fetched accusations were too painful to read. Yet, I think I disliked Othello more. He is so gullible – a “credulous fool” as Iago calls him. Indeed, he is a fool, a weakling, who couldn’t honour the trust Desdemona placed on him for love and protection. He destroyed the woman who came to him, giving up her family and country. Unfortunately, we see too many Othellos today and Iagos in both male and female forms.
Reading the play was a painful experience. The injustice done to poor Desdemona was too much to endure passively. The only way to vent my frustration was to curse the villain, Iago, and his imbecile victim, Othello, which I did quite generously. Having said that, I enjoyed the play since it was full of drama and poetry. Othello was both beautiful and tragic. Can a tragedy be beautiful? Read Othello; read Romeo and Juliet, and tell me.
Rating: 4/5
