Devin M

I thought of a soap opera too while I was reading this play! It annoyed me that everyone had their insecurities and there was little trust among the characters. I thought it was really interesting that Shakespeare chose to write a play like this actually. It seemed to be really caught up in rumors, drama, etc. and usually Shakespeare seems to focus more on revenge, evil, death, etc. in his other stories. Maybe he was going for a different route with this one?

I think that the jealousy battle going on between Othello and Iago is typical Shakespeare because he always insists that love makes people crazy. Revenge is still in play in this story. Ultimately, Iago wants revenge on Othello because he is angry that Cassio has been given the position as lieutenant. Iago uses jealousy as a device to seek his revenge on Othello and Cassio. Iago tried to have Cassio murdered, but that backfires, and Roderigo is killed, instead. In the end, Othello is destroyed, killing his wife and himself, but Iago is to be excuted, too. Maybe Shakespeare wanted to emphasize how drama and jealousy can really mess things up for everyone.

Throughout the play, it really seemed like Richard loved himself when he spoke of how successful he was in manipulating people to believe his lies. In the beginning, he seemed more self-conscious about his appearance and inability to woo women, which I think was his motivation for doing all that he did. I think as his plans were successful, he became more confident and then began to really love himself until he realized what he had done and felt guilty for about one second.

I think that Richard lost confidence by the end of the play. The scene where he is wooing Lady Anne at the funeral is the creepiest thing ever, but SHE GOES FOR IT! He killed her husband, he is physically grotesque, but his wit still manipulates and charms Anne. At the end of the play, Richard almost seems desperate, begging Queen Elizabeth to help him woo Princess Elizabeth. There is no question, however, that Richard loved himself above all.

I felt sorry for Queen Margaret, too, but then I found out some information in from the footnotes that made me think she is just as evil as the rest of the villain's in Shakespeare's works. Richard makes a comment in Act 1 scene 3, lines 174-181 about Margaret giving Richard's dad a handkerchief soaked in the blood of a guy named Rutland. The footnote said to refer to Henry VI, Part 3, act 1, scene 4. Apparently Rutland is Richard's brother. Margaret has Rutland killed, then soaks a hanky in his blood to give to Richard's father, who is crying, and then has him killed. I did not look into this very deeply to find out why she did this, but if anyone else knows, I would be interested. Regardless of why Margaret did this, it would seem that Richard had some reason to hate Margaret; she's not a total victim like she claims to be.

I think that even though Antoino wasn't physically involved in the play as much as you would expect a title character to be, he was the center of the main plots of the play. Antonio is the reason Bassanio is able to court Portia. The loan being guaranteed by Antonio's flesh leads to the entire scene of the trial with Shylock and the drama of Antonio's life at risk. Antonio is a means of connecting the main characters. I think that Shylock was a bitter man. Antonio seemed kind and laid back, while Shylock was uptight and greedy. I think that he was treated poorly not solely due to prejudice, but also because he treated others poorly.