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The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, is a classic, as the title suggests, tragedy play by William Shakespeare. Though unlike what the title suggests, the play starts out with an argument between Iago and Roderigo, the two main antagonists of the story. Othello is a military general who passed Iago over for the position of lieutenant while instead promoting an inexperienced soldier, Cassio, for the position. Othello is also married to Desdemona, whom Roderigo is in love with. Both Iago and Roderigo, each holding their own grudge against Othello, plot their scheme of revenge for the downfall of Othello, while trying to achieve their own, personal goals: demoting Cassio and winning Desdemona’s hand in marriage. Slight spoiler Iago, the mastermind behind the revenge scheme, plans to achieve both goals by fabricating an affair between Cassio and Desdemona. For the most part of the story, the audience frustratingly witnesses as the scheme plays out and gradually traps Othello into jealousy and distrust, and ultimately brings upon his downfall. 

Othello is a classic tragic hero: defined as a great or virtuous character who is destined for a downfall because of his tragic flaw, or weakness. Othello’s tragic flaw is a couple of things. First of all, Othello does not know who to trust. In the story, Othello blindly puts his faith in the malevolent Iago who plans revenge, yet suspects the loyalty of Desdemona who stays true to Othello, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Othello’s other flaw is jealousy, which is central to Iago’s revenge as it torments Othello and compels him to make bad decisions. The legendary playwright William Shakespeare masterfully string together these themes along with many more, such as deception, treachery, and men’s bilateral nature, into an as compelling narrative. 

I especially like William Shakspeare’s discussion of human nature, in particular, about jealousy. Spoiler My favorite scene is when Iago tries to suggest Desdemona’s adultery and Othello commands Iago to let out his thoughts, Iago responds by warning Othello of jealousy: “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.” While the plot of the story is quite good enough, Shakespeare’s addition of deeper themes on human nature makes the book even more interesting.

However, with all my praises, I would like to warn the readers of the language from seventeenth-century England. Shakespeare, among many teenage readers, is notoriously known for his employment of old English in his plays, which is why I would recommend Othello to readers with enough proficiency in the English language. However, if some of the readers have never read a play or are fearful about the famous Shakespearean English, Othello is a great book to start with. Along with the aid of explanatory notations, which are often provided within the book itself, it should not be too difficult to understand the story. For those that have read Shakespeare, Othello will also be a nice addition to that list.

Something from myself personally, I like to picture an actual play performing in my head, so I would have imaginary persons read the lines and perform the instructions from the book, which I think is a good way to make the story more interesting if some readers find it boring.

Check out Othello from the Newport Beach Public Library.