If Othello Had Been Written in Modern Times How Would It Differ

The issue of race is one filled with controversy and passion, even today in the twenty-first centaury. In today’s day and age it is more shuttle and underground then it was in its most recent ‘hay-day’. In our time today we see it as more of a shameful, offensive and intolerant thing, but it was the norm in the early 15th and 16th century. Today those people that are outwardly racist are seen as outcasts. In this essay I will tempt to show how even though it was the norm in Victorian England, Shakespeare already had another mind set, and was trying in this creative way that the mind set of the people was not correct even for that time. How and why did Shakespeare purposely portray Othello the Moor as a tragic hero, like Hamlet or King

Othello is the protagonist of the story, he is married to Desdemona and is general of the army in Venice. Othello has a growth and fixed mindset simply because if he falls he’ll try again to do better. Othello shows having a

Many people prefer the book version of a story rather than the film it tries to become. This is due to the fact that the author’s intent of his own story is much more intriguing and familiar to its readers than just another film version. However, some versions portray the story better than others. Hollywood seems to have taken up the responsibility of creating complicated and compelling characters on screen. Unfortunately, doing so can easily take away a story’s rich, necessary detail. For instance, Shakespeare’s Othello has a few different movie versions of his story. Both movies, the 1990 version by Trevor Nunn and the 1995 version by Oliver Parker, are great productions carried by strong casts. However, there are areas in which the movie and the play differ. These differences tend to interpret the film in a different way compared to what Shakespeare intended. The film portrayals of Shakespeare’s Othello by Parker and the other by Nunn both display the character of Desdemona in very different ways. The Nunn version of this play did a much better job of portraying Desdemona as Shakespeare

• A fear of foreigners during Elizabethan times fostered misogynistic and racist values, which is evident in the way Othello’s blackness becomes a symbol of alienation to which all characters in the play must respond.

determine as to which one will win, so that is why one cannot exist without the other. However, there are some whose emotions are unbalanced, which causes them to near towards one side more than the other one ­­ and many times the side a lot of people prefer to lean on is evil. Shakespeare’s play O​thello​is set in 16th­century Venice and Cyprus. Othello, a noble black general from the Venetian army has secretly married Desdemona, daughter of Venice senator Brabantio. Othello chooses inexperienced Cassio to be his lieutenant, while he decides to give the ensign position to Iago, a malicious but very experienced man who, with his stealth and knavery, will ultimately ruin almost everyone’s life since for a long time, he was desiring the position of lieutenant just like Cassio. At the end of the play, Othello, Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia, and his sidekick Roderigo die due to his revenge against Cassio, for obtaining the position he wanted and Othello, for being the man who he hates the most. The play ends with Iago being told that he will be punished and tortured for his actions. However, despite the fact that Iago is punished at the end of the play for doing all of the malicious things he did, he still manages to wear down Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, get Cassio demoted from his lieutenancy, and cause Othello to show his cowardness by

Othello has been described as one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays because the play focuses on its themes of good and evil, military, politics, love and marriage, religion, racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality; but the controversy and debate surrounding Othello is “Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?”

The tragedy of Othello, written by William Shakespeare, presents the main character Othello, as a respectable, honorable, and dignified man, but because of his insecurities and good nature, he is easily taken advantage of and manipulated by his peers and alleged friends. The dynamic of Othello’s character significantly changes throughout the play. The contrast is most pronounced from the beginning of the play to its conclusion, switching from being calm and peaceful to acts of uncontrolled venomous rage. Othello’s motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end.

Othello is set during the Elizabethan era, where men were considered to be the leaders and women their inferiors. Women were often regarded as the ‘weaker sex’. This patriarchal society and theme of male superiority is portrayed throughout the play. These themes are depicted through the relationships between the characters. Brabantio and Desdemona’s relationship shows how he believed the traditional Elizabethan view, that men were to control and dominate their wife’s or daughters. He is furious at Othello for stealing his daughter from him. Also, Othello’s masculinity is destroyed through the poisoning of his mind against Desdemona, his wife. Iago also treats his wife

Othello by William Shakespeare raises the issue of how rampant beliefs and attitudes in a society can cause a person to question their sense of self. In a society where racial equality is near non-existent, Othello, a black skinned foreigner in the Venetian society, is constantly reminded of his status as an outsider. Othello, however, is not depicted in a stereotypical manner and despite occupying a highly respected position he is often confronted with blatant racism throughout the play. The prevailing attitudes and beliefs of Venetian society towards Othello are exploited by Iago in order to manipulate Othello’s self confidence and emotional state.

   Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.

The language and literary techniques used in William Shakespeare's Othello enrich the settings, plot, characters, and themes. Othello is a complex tragedy about good versus evil, loyalty, love, sexual jealousy, appearance versus reality, and intrigue, told in a first person point of view. The play takes place during the Renaissance in Venice, Italy and in Cyprus over three days. It is written in blank verse, usually unrhymed iambic pentameter. The protagonist, Othello, is a Moor well respected by senators for his valiant service in war and married to Desdemona, a Venetian woman. The play is entitled Othello and the plot and action encompass him, thus supporting his position of

However the textual integrity of the play can be questioned. In terms of its pacing, Othello’s transition from a love that overcame social boundaries to murderous hate is almost too abrupt, to the point that it is unconvincing and unrealistic. The fact that Othello blindly follows the words of Iago, without once consulting Desdemona, takes away the play’s realism. On the other hand, this can be attributed to the gender system of the time, and Othello’s insecurities about his race and age. Stage directions instruct Othello and Iago to kneel, and to modern audiences this symbolises that the bond between the two men is stronger than marriage representative of the patriarchal society of Shakespeare’s time.

Racism seems to be a big concern in Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello. Because the hero of the play is an outsider, a Moor, we have an idea how blacks were regarded in England, in Elizabethan times. There are many references that bring about the issue of racism from the very beginning to the end. In the tragedy, where Othello is coming from is not mentioned, yet through the descriptions the reader is informed that he belongs to one of the Eastern nationalities such as African, Ottoman Turk or Arab. In this paper I am going to analyze some episodes involving a prejudicial, racist attitude and try to discuss whether Shakespeare was a racist or not. Even though the play is full of offensive definitions of black

   The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains a number of themes; their relative importance and priority is debated by literary critics. In this essay let us examine the various themes and determine which are dominant and which subordinate.

Othello has suffered less in its modern interpretation than any other of Shakespeare’s tragedies, it would seem. So insistently did Shakespeare keep this tragedy unified about the theme of jealousy and the central victims of the passion, so obviously did he mould his plot about the black Moor and the