Othello

[[image:othello.jpg width="359" height="521" align="right"]]About Othello
Shakespeare's famous play using the theme of love, which has turned bad by unfounded jealousy and betrayal, begins in Venice with the antagonist Iago. The manipulative Iago, who hides his real nature under the veil of 'honesty', befriends the protagonist Othello, gaining his trust to feed him lies.

Othello is an adaptation of the Italian writer Cinthio's tale, "Un Capitano Moro", which may have been based on an actual incident occurring in Venice about 1508. But Shakespeare has his definite differences from Cinthio's tale. Shakespeare's most striking departure from Cinthio is the manner of his heroine's death. In Shakespeare, Othello suffocates Desdemona and later kills himself, but in Cinthio, the Moor commissions his ensign, or the officer directly below him (in our case Iago), to bludgeon his wife to death with a sand-filled stocking. Cinthio also describes each gruesome blow, and, when the lady is dead, the Moor and his ensign place her lifeless body upon her bed, smash her skull, and cause the cracked ceiling above the bed to collapse upon her, giving the impression its falling rafters caused her death. This differs from Othello who knew and didn't care who found out about him murdering his wife.

There is also, oddly enough, no consensus over Othello's racial classification. The character is normally portrayed by a black person and is commonly refered to as the "Moor", a term used during the English Renaissance to refer to dark-skinned people in general. But E.A.J. Honigmann, the editor of Arden Shakespeare edition, disagrees.

"He concluded that Othello's race is ambiguous. Various uses of the word 'black' (for example, "Haply for I am black") are insufficient evidence, Honigmann argues, since 'black' could simply mean 'swarthy' to Elizabethans. Moreover, Iago twice uses the word 'Barbary' or 'Barbarian' to refer to Othello, seemingly referring to the Barbary coast inhabited by the "tawny" Moors. Roderigo calls Othello 'the thicklips', which seems to refer to European conceptions of Sub-Saharan African physiognomy, but Honigmann counters that, arguing that because these comments are all insults, they need not be taken literally."

Musical Characters:

Othello - Fanfare for the Common Man (Aaron Copeland) media type="custom" key="4961363" align="right" This song emphasizes the power that Othello's character evokes. He is powerful and respected physically and socially. The dominating brass section helps to convey this power and respect.

Iago - Jaws Theme Song (John Williams) media type="custom" key="4961381" align="right" The eerie, disturbing, and frightening, chords played in this song help to show the true side of Iago. He has a veil, manipulative, and crafty mind which should bring fear to anyone who knows him.

Desdemona - Fur Elise (Mozart) media type="custom" key="4961383" align="right" The beauty and elegant flow of this song, helps to remind us of the loving description that Othello provided of his beautiful wife Desdemona.

Cassio - Flight of the Bumble Bee (Beethoven) media type="custom" key="4961385" align="right" The Flight of the Bumble Bee cycles many times through a fast, ravaging phrase and a slower steady phrase. This describes the ups and downs of Cassio's characteristics through the story. He has fast, ravaging battles and fights and then slow, steady moments when he is at peace with Othello or Iago.

Roderigo - Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven) media type="custom" key="4961391" align="right" This sad song helps to convey the loss Roderigo feels towards Desdemona and his life. Roderigo, throught the play has torn himself apart, giving everything to, who he thinks is, Desdemona and receiving nothing in return. Here is to his loss...

Emilia - Long Trip Alone (Dierks Bentley) media type="custom" key="4961393" align="right" Long Trip Alone describes the hard times of being alone, not knowing anything, and slowly moving through life. This is a song that describes the new theme of her life after learning how her husband betrayed Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, and even herself.

Bianca - I Need You Tonight (Backstreet Boys) media type="custom" key="4961399" align="right" Loving someone is hard, especially when they don't feel the same way. I Need You Tonight describes this feeling of having a deep passion for someone. Bianca's need for Cassio continued to grow but was consistently left unanswered.