Othello [Mass Market Paperback]

While I am not usually one to go in for tragedies, I do thoroughly enjoy this particular play. The story is expertly woven, with each twist in the plot simultaneously wrenching the reader's / viewer's heart. We know exactly what is going on, even though the characters do not, and this is what makes "Othello" such a very tragic story. And yet, in the end we are left with a sense of resolution and justice, not merely empty sorrow, and perhaps this is what appeals to me about this play.

Nevertheless, I do not think the play is perfect (though my 4-star rating here is in comparison with Shakespeare's other works, and not drama in general; against most other drama I would award it a 5-star rating). While I do think Iago is a brilliant character, I cannot help thinking that his hatred for Othello seems rather disproportionate to the wrongs he thinks have been done against him. He is upset over not being given the lieutenancy, but is this reason enough to bring about so many deaths? There is also the fact that Iago suspects his own wife, Emilia, has been unfaithful with the Moor, but Iago has no actual proof of this. However, this disproportionality is one I am willing to overlook for the sake of enjoyment of the play. What bothers me slightly more is that Othello, presumeably a very intelligent man, would allow a mere suspicion to grow into such an intense state of jealousy when he has no definite proof of his wife's infidelity. One would think he would do some investigation for himself, rather than being content to have Iago feed him all the "facts."

I now wish to comment on the particular edition of this play that I read - the 1993 "New Folger Library" printing, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. I have read several of of the Folger versions of Shakespeare's plays, and have found them unbeatable as far as making Shakespeare's works accessible to the layman. The book is laid out with the text of the play appearing on the right-hand page of each two-page spread, while the left-hand page contains textual notes that are of tremendous help in understanding the play. Words and phrases that have become obsolete since Shakespeare's day are defined clearly, and any allusions that would not be obvious to a modern reader are also explained. The fact that one can access these notes without having to flip back and forth through the pages makes it much easier to maintain one's place and train of thought.

Another thing I like about this particular edition is that it contains the entire play. Two versions of "Othello" were published in Shakespere's day - a Quarto, which was a small and slightly condensed version, appeared in 1622, and the longer Folio version was published in 1623. Each version is slightly different, containing bits and pieces not present in the other. This printing of the play contains the entirety of both versions combined into one, with brackets around those words that appear in only one or the other of the original printings.

In addition to the play itself, this book contains an excellent introduction, with information about the play, the language of the time, drama in general, Shakespeare himself, theater in Shakespeare's day, a bit about his other works, and some editorial notes on this particular edition of "Othello." Thus, even the rankest newcomer to Shakespeare will not be at a loss here, though the book is equally suitable for those already familiar with Shakespeare and his works. At the end of the book is a brief but interesting and well-written essay entitled "Othello: A Modern Perspective" by Susan Snyder which offers further analysis of the play. I highly recommend the Folger editions of any of Shakespeare's plays to all readers. They are wonderful for use in the classroom, and also make it much easier to delve into Shakespeare on one's own.

In "Othello," the "green-eyed monster" has afflicted Iago, a Venetian military officer, and the grand irony of the play is that he intentionally infects his commanding general, Othello, with it precisely by warning him against it (Act 3, Scene 3). Iago has two grievances against Othello: He was passed over for promotion to lieutenant in favor of the inexperienced Cassio, and he can't understand why the Senator's lily-white daughter Desdemona would fall for the black Moor. Not one to roll with the punches, he decides to take revenge, using his obsequious sidekick Roderigo and his ingenuous wife Emilia as gears in his transmission of hatred.

The scheme Iago develops is clever in its design to destroy Othello and Cassio and cruel in its inclusion of the innocent Desdemona. He arranges (the normally temperate) Cassio to be caught by Othello in a drunken brawl and discharged from his office, and using a handkerchief that Othello had given Desdemona as a gift, he creates the incriminating illusion that she and Cassio are having an affair. Othello falls for it all, and the tragedy of the play is not that he acts on his jealous impulses but that he discovers his error after it's too late.

It is a characteristic of Shakespeare that his villains are much more interesting and entertaining than his heroes; Iago is proof of this. He's the only character in the play who does any real thinking; the others are practically his puppets, responding unknowingly but obediently to his every little pull of a string. In this respect, this is Iago's play, but Othello claims the title because he -- his nobility -- is the target.