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Summary: The very best Shakespere has to offer.
Review: Normally, I'd be the first to say that Shakespere is nothing more than an overrated, dead British guy who wrote a few good plays a long time ago. Then, I read Othello. It is a tragic tale of betrayal and lust, with the greatest villian the stage has to offer: IAGO. Iago, in a fit of jealosy after not being promoted by his General, who is Othello, and spreads nasty rumors about his wife and Michail Cassio. The rest is history.Shakespere uses his characters for everything they're worth. He manipulates and tosses in such great dialoge and deciet that there is no turning back. A great read, even for not Shakespere fans.
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Summary: Challenging, but good!!
Review: The book was very good, but it was hard to understand the language. The story is alot like today's times. Desdemona's father did not believe in her chose of a husband, because of the race issue.
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Summary: a story about black people.
Review: actually, i haven't read the book but seen the movie, the theme is really good, one of
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Summary: A must-read for Shakespeare fans!
Review: Well-written play by William Shakespeare that includes all emotions. Appeals to everyone from children to adult.
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Summary: Very interesting characterizations
Review: Othello isn't my favorite Shakespeare play, but I found the characterizations in it extremely interesting. I think that Iago's wife, Emilia, is one of the most complex and fascinating female characters Shakespeare ever created, as she is torn between her husband and Desdemona throughout the play. It all comes down to the question--why did she give Iago the handkerchief?? Emilia is certainly worthy of more critical attention than she seems to receive these days.
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Summary: Needs No Introduction
Review: "Hamlet," "Othello" and "Macbeth" are the best Shakespeare plays ever written. They are filled with deceit and betrayal, especially "Othello," which is the most interesting and easiest to understand. Once you read it you'll understand how gullible Othello is, how betrayed Desdemona feels (and for good reason) and how truly evil Iago is, and also learn how the lives of six people are ruined by a misplaced handkerchief. Now I want to see the movie.
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Summary: Amazing
Review: Only Shakespeare, the great master of drama, could sculpt such a fabulous scheme. This play introduces one of the most tragic of characters, Othello. Othello is not the villain, but instead is a noble man who is entangled in a plot in which he knows nothing about and which eventually leads to the downfall of all those directly and indirectly involved. This is a masterful work of art that weaves both suspense and comic relief into one. Even "Macbeth" cannot compare to the tragedy found in "Othello." Othello is a tragic figure in that he is a good and honest man with a single fault that leads to his own destruction. He is too trusting and by trusting in everyone around him he leaves himself open to trickery. Because he himself would never lie and deceive he can never believe that others would lie to and deceive him. Iago, the villain is the perfect evil mastermind who controls the events surrounding his plot with great precision (and a little luck) until the final scenes of the play. I recommend this play to any drama fan and certainly to anyone interested in Shakespeare's great genius.
Rating:
Summary: pretty good book
Review: the book Othello was alright i think that it would of been better if it spoke the way that we speak in present day. It is a book that deals with alot of controversy in tragedy and romance it also deals with betrayel. Iago Othellos best friend betrays him during the whole book. towards the end of the abook it gets better though.
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Summary: An excellent edition of one of Shakespeare's best tragedies.
Review: "Othello" is one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, and since most people, even those who have not read or seen the play before, probably already have a basic idea of the plot, I will keep my synopsis short. The military general Othello is a Moor, a black man, who has just married a Venetian woman, Desdemona. Theirs is a marriage of opposites in many respects - race, age, upbringing, etc. - and yet they have overcome all this and are happy with each other. But Iago, perhaps Shakespeare's most infamous villain, is determined to ruin Othello, who has promoted another man, Cassio, to the lieutenancy, a position Iago feels should have been given to himself. He therefore sets about poisoning Othello's mind against his chaste and loving wife, convincing the Moor that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. The events that follow lay out one of the most masterful and heartbreaking examples of dramatic irony. 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.
Rating:
Summary: A fine edition with many helps for the reader
Review: This edition is from the 3rd Arden Series and may have a more modern feel to readers than the previous series did. For example, modern scholars believe that Shakespeare's plays were performed without break between scene and act so this edition does away with the ACT I Scene 2 headings and instead merely inserts 1.2 in the text where the change occurs. There is a fine introductory essay that gives important cultural information to help the reader understand the moral climate in Venice in Shakespeare's time and the context of the play in the author's career and times. This edition has the many good notes one expects from Arden editions. The longer notes are moved to the back to avoid too great an interruption to the readability of the text. There is also music for the two songs in the play and an index. A fine edition that I am glad to own and refer to.
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