Othello vs O the Modern Spin Essay

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 is one of the brilliant plays written by William Shakespeare. It is the story of man named Othello and how his mind was twisted and manipulated by a man named Iago and how Iago made Othello think that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him with his lieutenant Michael Cassio, which results in many deaths. Tim Blake Nelson has creatively restructured ‘Othello’ into a film to appeal to a teenage audience. It still contains the same central ideas which are racism, jealousy and deception which will be analysed on how they are portrayed in ‘Othello’ and are creatively reshaped in ‘O’.

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?”

Othello’s race and regression of speech (from calmness to rudeness), Iago’s victims (Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, etc.) being unravelled with manipulation and slyness, Desdemona’s struggling voice and false blame, etc., all participate in the damage the “power of language” causes. Therefore, by exploring the three language devices – “words as power”, “words as character” and “words as conversation” – it is possible to conclude that the language devices are used significantly in the play, “Othello”, because the human behaviour of the characters (Othello, Iago, Desdemona, etc.) is either positively or negatively influenced, and their characteristics and destinies are

Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’ and the contemporary appropriation of a film ‘O’ by Tim Blake Nelson are based on the societal values and morals of their time. Issues such as racism, the use of language and deception are timeless making them evident throughout both contexts, hence the engagements in both textual forms.

Geoffrey Sax’s modern-day appropriation of the Shakespeare’s 2001 Othello is a chariot which transcends time and updates the theme of appearance and reality and the power of language to give meaning to these themes in modern times. Iago’s deceptive nature and his “two faced” personality are the building blocks which shows us the difference between how the world looks and what happens behind the scenes. Both Geoffrey Sax and Andrew Davies have created a film with the ability to take Shakespeare’s ideas relevant in 1601 and allow them to be relevant in the modern age.

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.

After Othello trusts Iago about the affair, the actors both successfully show the gradually revealling characteristics, including impulsion and irritability. The plots and details in both versions are following the written play. The Shakespreare language is better used in the Fishburne version as there are more fluent original lines in the play than the BBC version, which includes more rearrangements and explainations of the original lines. Overall, the Fishburne version is better in acting as the actors and actresses, with fluent Shakespreare lines, create an accessible Othello world and bring the audiences into the story by following their

“When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself.” – Jodi Picoult. Othello is a very well-known Shakespearian text and is still relevant to today’s audiences. The themes in “Othello” are still applicable to today’s many audiences; Betrayal is a key theme presented in Othello, and is also still relevant to today’s audiences. Racism is a significant addition presented in the play, and unfortunately still pervades contemporary society. Madness and jealousy drive the action as it thrives in the play; these destructive emotions are still

Film vs. Play Shakespeare’s famous play, “Othello”, has caught the attention of many movie directors and thus creating many adaptations of it. The film, “O”, is an example of one of the many adaptations of the play and consists of many similar elements. Instead of the movie taking place in a 16th century setting, it takes place in a 20th century setting in a high school. Seeing a movie based off a story is always going to be different, but it can enhance the understanding of the text.

Only by considering a range of perspectives can we truly appreciate the world of Shakespeare’s Othello. It is through my exploration of these perspectives and their relationship with changing morals and values that has enriched my understanding of the play. One such reading of the play challenges the marginalisation and objectification of woman in a patriarchal Venetian society, while taking into account the changing role of women in modern society. Another interpretation of Othello examines its post colonial elements through the protagonist Othello, and his insecurities of being a black man in a white society. My interpretation of the play as a portrayal of the values existing in Shakespeare’s time is filtered through these

   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 teaches us much about our current postmodern culture. The play connects to our ideas of sexism, male-bonding, racism and capitalism. Shakespeare uses these universal and timeless flaws in humanity along with our use of language and truth to tell his tale. Iago, over a period of about three days, uses these facets of humanity to turn Othello against his wife Desdemona and his friend Cassio. Othello reveals both the struggle of the British people of the early 1600's and Americans in the late 1900's with sexism, capitalism and racism.

In the following I will comment wther Othello is relevant to today’s society, based on the given quote.

Within this play, fundamental questions about humanity, as well as situations, attitudes, and problems that continue to hold strong universal meaning to this day are explored .It shows Shakespeare’s ability to create characters who resemble real life individuals and reflect lifestyles and personalities accurately.  You could not help but be moved by the dark despair and utter wretchedness of Othello’s downfall! Shakespeare has dramatically explored many aspects of the human condition in this play, The Tragedy of