June 26: On Othello

Though Hamlet’s Mousetrap shows a regicide

By deadly poison dribbled in the ear,

Far crueler is toxicity implied

By cunning tongue believed to be sincere,

A weapon won’t discriminate; a knife

Will slay without regard for class or wealth,

But slander visited upon a wife

Is an attack by proxy via stealth.

For Shakespeare knew the greatest tragedy

Was hurting those whose standings were precarious

By goading paramours to jealousy;

The innocent destroyed by the nefarious.

Four hundred years ago he understood

T...