Play Reflection: Othello
Lies. An ever destructive force booth in this play and in everyday life. I'm not saying that I lie as much as Iago. However, I have realized I do so more often than I would like to admit. Reading, watching, and mock acting "Othello", reestablished for me exactly how destructive lies can be. Fairy tales, media, and weary parents will tell you that love is a force to be reckoned with, and "Othello" proved that lies are an equivalent if not overpowering force in comparison. I'd like to point to the illustrations above for clarification. On the left we see those compelled by love. Othello risked his position and hos life for his love of Desdemona. Desdemona risked her relationship with her father, and thereby her comfortable life of wealth and prosperity, for her love of Othello. Emilia both sacrificed her best friend's life for whatever remnants of love for Iago she had left, and sacrificed her twisted wretch of a husband for the love of her dearly departed friend, Desdemona. On the right we see a depiction of Iago's control of the other characters. In his right hand is a limp Emilia. She remained unaware and hardly involved in a majority of his deceit. However, he holds her strings with his entire hand, and holds her closer than the others. This implies that he wished to keep her as close as possible regardless of what lengths he'd have to go to. In his left hand, he is controlling three dolls with minimum effort. On the right we have Othello in a guarded position, in the middle is Roderigo depicted as the clown we'd grown to see him as, and finally on the left is Cassio, who appears as a carefree participant. This illustrates how Iago perceived them when weaving his lies. Roderigo was simple and easily tricked. Othello's trust would have to be gained before his guard would be lowered. Cassio, unlike his fellow participants, would be apart of this whether he realized it or not. In the end the only survivor is Cassio, who in the drawing, almost appears to be prepping for a fall.
Overall, I enjoyed Othello immensely. Though I may be a bit biased for I enjoy a lot of Shakespeare's work. There is death, intrigue, love, suffering, betrayal, innuendo, and cursing. All of which typically happens in the first act or two of a Shakespearean play. "Othello" is an excellent example of how Shakespeare makes you shift your perspective. Even though the clear antagonist throughout the play is Iago, you can easily dislike other characters just as much if not more. Othello himself starts out as a noble warrior and leader who just so happened to fall in love with a woman of another race. Later you could easily see him as an easily manipulated, untrusting, misogynistic fool. Desdemona fell for Othello for his ability to tell stories. She fell in love with him for his ability to spit out easily manipulated or fabricated words. When this was further investigated by myself and other classmates, I came to the conclusion that she truly was not the grown independent woman she was original portrayed as. She was instead the dumb girl we yell, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", at while watching horror movies on Netflix. She made a series of stupid and romanticized decisions because she "felt" like it. At some points a deep, dark part of me was routing for Iago!
Overall, I enjoyed Othello immensely. Though I may be a bit biased for I enjoy a lot of Shakespeare's work. There is death, intrigue, love, suffering, betrayal, innuendo, and cursing. All of which typically happens in the first act or two of a Shakespearean play. "Othello" is an excellent example of how Shakespeare makes you shift your perspective. Even though the clear antagonist throughout the play is Iago, you can easily dislike other characters just as much if not more. Othello himself starts out as a noble warrior and leader who just so happened to fall in love with a woman of another race. Later you could easily see him as an easily manipulated, untrusting, misogynistic fool. Desdemona fell for Othello for his ability to tell stories. She fell in love with him for his ability to spit out easily manipulated or fabricated words. When this was further investigated by myself and other classmates, I came to the conclusion that she truly was not the grown independent woman she was original portrayed as. She was instead the dumb girl we yell, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", at while watching horror movies on Netflix. She made a series of stupid and romanticized decisions because she "felt" like it. At some points a deep, dark part of me was routing for Iago!