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Othello

William Shakespeare

Start date: June 1, 2017

Finish date: June 30, 2017

Why we're reading this: June 2017 Old School Classic Group Read
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Nov 17, 2018 Brad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: about-power, read-in-2018, shakespeare

Somehow, after all this time performing in and directing Shakespeare, taking and teaching courses in Shakespeare, adoring Shakespeare, I have only managed to read Othello once. Now twice.

I recall not being a fan when I first read Othello as a teenager, which is odd since the relationship machinations should have been much more to my teen tastes than they are to my adult tastes, but what little I remember from that long ago first reading was that it was too soapy for me, too much like an episode Somehow, after all this time performing in and directing Shakespeare, taking and teaching courses in Shakespeare, adoring Shakespeare, I have only managed to read Othello once. Now twice.

I recall not being a fan when I first read Othello as a teenager, which is odd since the relationship machinations should have been much more to my teen tastes than they are to my adult tastes, but what little I remember from that long ago first reading was that it was too soapy for me, too much like an episode of Young and the Restless. So while other people declared their love for Othello, I would screw up my nose in disgust and move the conversation to some other Shakespeare play I was more interested in.

Fast forward to now, to my late-forties, and somehow that soapy spirit doesn't bother me nearly so much because there is much more depth at the core of Othello than there is in Days of Our Lives. Some of you may be thinking, "Well of course there is ... this is Shakespeare. Dumbass!" Maybe you're right, but there are times when old Billy Shakes can be a bit of a hack, and I thought Othello was one of his hackier pieces.

Not so, however. There is plenty to talk about in this play: male power dynamics, racial tensions, the religious underpinnings of society, the nastiness of monogamy, the fettering of women, the corrupting influence of military. So, so much. But I don't want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about Iago.

That in itself is nothing new. Plenty has been said about Iago, and possibly everything that needs to be said has already been said, but this second time through Othello I fell in love with him.

I don't give a damn whether anyone thinks he's evil, and I am not sure I even care what his motives are, what I do care about is his method and the final sheathing of his ultimate weapon -- his voice.

Iago is the embodiment of powerful speech. It is with his words that he manipulates, that he brings about the deaths of four people who put their trust and faith in him. And when he is captured, when he is called upon to explain himself, he becomes mute, refusing to ever speak again. It is an act of powerful defiance, and it is the perfect "fuck off" to all those who would condemn his actions, both in the play and in the audience. I find that magnificent.

Hmm ... perhaps he is the perfect soap opera villain after all. Not that there is anything wrong with that ;) ...more

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May 15, 2012 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, drama, read-2012, classics

From BBC Radio 4:
Northern Broadsides theatre company's version of Shakespeare's tragedy of love turned sour. ...more

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Oct 19, 2015 Kai Coates rated it liked it

And that, my good fellows, is why no one uses handkerchiefs anymore.

In all seriousness, I am usually a big fan of Shakespeare, but I found this one unsatisfying. Iago is great - best Shakespeare villain ever? - but Othello is kind of a snooze. You know, besides the whole (view spoiler). Shakespeare failed to make me care about Othello or Desdemona very much at the beginning, leading me to care a lot less than expected when their entire lives go to crap beca ...more

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