To be honest, I have never read Shakespeare’s work before. I also am not a big fan of Dramas or love stories. Othello has all of this, but it does also have a very suspenseful and dark side, which kept me interested. Shakespeare’s Othello is story that takes place in the 1600’s and is centers around four main characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife, Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio and his trusted ensign, Iago. I found Othello to be a great story, play and movie because it encompasses all of the things we all experience in life such as: racism, love, jealousy and betrayal. As I read Othello, I found that once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. I won’t lie, I did find the dialog challenging to follow at times. …show more content…
Iago shows no mercy and unlimited amount of cruelty. Iago’s destructiveness seems to all fall on the people that are closest to him. Another of my favorite scenes was right from the opening scene in the movie when Othello is in the boat crossing the river with Desdemona, Othello turns toward the camera and holds up a disturbing looking white mask to his face. I thought that was very symbolic of the story. It also gave me goose pimples because the scene was dark, foggy and depressing. The movie also shows the type of possessions that the character owned which does give you more of an idea of what type of possessions they used in their everyday life. Another example was when Othello was speaking with Iago while he was cleaning and assembling the guns. I thought that sent a message of violence as well. Although, I did not care too much for the background in some of the movie. An example of that would be the background at the end of the movie when they showed the ocean. You can tell it was not that realistic. I thought the actress Anna Patrick that played Emilia did a great job in portraying a woman of the times. Mr. Parker also does a great job in portraying the Othello’s weaknesses. These are all the reasons why I felt the movie had more …show more content…
He has a way of making you feel that you are really watching people from that time. I also seen a lot of the passion as Iago in him. When I read the play, I feel Kenneth Branagh nailed Iago’s image that I read in the play. In the play, Iago has to be two-faced all the time. He shows one side of him to one person, and another side to another. In the film, Iago works very hard to keep up his appearance with all the different characters. No character sees more than one side of him, and his plots are kept to himself. I think the role of Iago was a tough one to play because of the ability to make people truly believe how convening he was, but Branagh did a great job. I also noticed that when Othello was speaking, his facial reactions would visibly change when Othello looked the other way. It was incredible how quickly the change from an evil expression to a loving and loyal expression was made. In one scene, Iago and Othello are hugging, and Iago's face reflects contempt as soon as his face is beside Othello's face. This is another reason why I thought the movie brought more of the emotions out in me. I could actually see the facial reactions as well as eh facial reactions of my kids when they watched the movie with
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
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?”
In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, the Iago is the most important character. It is his dreams, hopes and desires that turn him evil, bringing out the worst possible characteristics in order to achieve all the things he wants. Iago’s manipulative traits, deceitful actions and love for Othello eventually cause the death Emilia, Desdemona and Othello himself.
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.
This next part of Iago’s character plays an equally important role in the play. An article says that a “... superb ability of Iago is that he has an acute eye for his victim's weaknesses and exploits them mercilessly.” (“Villainous Role of Iago in Othello”). Iago is able to use the characters weaknesses against them for his own selfish reasons. While the audience is aware of Iago’s plan, the other characters are oblivious to his evil
When Shakespeare composed the tragedy Othello televisions were not. Along with no televisions, life in the late 1500s had many different qualities than it does today. This time period had no war on drugs and no high school shootings. Peer pressure was not an issue. The audiences of Othello in the 1500s did not face the circumstances that we, American high school students, face today. With these significant differences in daily life, come the attempts of movie creators to help prevent our modern day tragedies.
He fears the exposure of his actual character and wants to execute his plan by keeping other individuals believing that he is an honest and a trustworthy man. Firstly, Iago undermines Emilia not to say another word in regards to the handkerchief that he utilizes as a major aspect of the arrangement to devastate Othello. He advises Emilia to “Be wise and get you home.” (Act 5.2.221). Emilia disagrees with what Iago says and soon after, Iago draws his sword. This shows Iago really thinks about his personality and notoriety, his trepidation of presentation is fierce to the point that it drives him to execute his own particular wife. Also, there is not a single line written in the play, which uncovers Iago presenting his reality to someone else. In spite of the fact that everybody makes sense of Iago's two-sided personality towards the end of the play, despite everything he doesn't have the quality to uncover his actual two- sided character or translate why he has done such offensive deeds. When Othello demands Iago for a reasoning behind his actions, he responds back saying, “Demand me nothing; what you know, you know. / From this time forth I never will speak word” (Act 5.2.300-301). Iago's instability of character is powerful to the point that is prohibits him to talk up and give a sensible reaction to Othello regarding why he has done such malevolence activities. Identity, as well as reputation, is what a man is acknowledged for, a wide range of wrong decisions will destroy this part of Iago
Oliver parker's Othello came out in 1995 with Laurence Fishburne as Othello this is also the first time Othello was played by a coloured actor, Kenneth Branagh as Iago and Irene Jacob as Desdemona. Parker kept the original plot and language intact, however the movie seemed to give Othello life through visual and audio aids. Parker's Othello enables the viewer to associate on a personal level and compliments to the anticipation and imagination of those who have read the play before watching the movie.
In each case, Iago manipulates Othello into seeing and believing what he wants him to, rather than the reality of what is actually happening. In this way, Iago becomes a kind of ‘director’.
Throughout the years the play Othello by William Shakespeare has been adapted both on the screen and on stage many times. The questions or race and racism that have quite often been a point of discussion with William Shakespeare’s play Othello can be seen through the bard, however some may argue that Othello’s skin colour was purely a plot device. This paper will look at two film that have been re-made since the 1960’s, which provides an analysis of the concept of race and how political ideas and events of that time have influenced each adaptation. It will be seen that the film version of Othello directed by Oliver Parker in 1995 compared to the film version directed by Geoff Sax in 2001 present’s race with differing degrees.
Iago is one of the most misunderstood villains in Shakespeare literature. We side with Othello from the start because his name is on the cover of our paperback, we read Othello when learning about heroes, so we expect Iago to be a villain, a ruthless manipulator. We don’t know why, he doesn’t state it plainly or in simple English, so we assume that he’s evil, that he’s just a disgruntled sociopath out to exact his exaggerated revenge on good and noble Othello. Iago’s misunderstood reputation is a result of not truly examining his character, and answering the “why” factor behind his actions. After all, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. His goal in the play was not just to destroy Othello for the fun of it. His objective,
Othello weaves a tragic tale of love, jealousy and murder. Set in Venice and progressing to Cyprus, Shakespeare’s Othello follows the cursed path of its namesake, a black soldier whose love for his wife ultimately results in her death. Woven into the socially and emotionally delicate plot is a multitude of key themes, including race (Othello’s colour), love, and jealousy.
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
This shows how Iago tries to make us have this illustration of how we see this big impression of Othello. This also shows how evil Iago is and what he'll do for pay back towards Othello. This begins to continue even more with the last character in
Shakespeare was somewhat difficult for me and was probably for most high school students. Many high school students will study some form of Shakespeare, play or sonnet in high school English. A lot of students don't know anything about him, so it wouldn't hurt to teach them about Shakespeare. Adaptations are m because they can take something original and make changes so that can be better understand. In this essay, I will compare and contrast characters and settings from the graphic novel and the movie “O”, to help decide which adaptation is better for high school students.