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.

This play surprised me with how much drama there was. I felt like I was reading about a group of high school kids. There were so many rumors, so many paranoid lovers, it was typical drama from high school.

My mental image of Iago. Yup. And the text on the image is Othello!Iago perfectly.

This is too perfect for Iago

I think it is possible to fall in love after you get to know someone, even if the intentions are wrong from the beginning.

I thought this play would have been a little better than it actually turned out to be. I found it almost uncomfortable to read because of the stereotype of Jewish people. I would rather read Titus Andronicus over and over with all of the violence than read The Merchant of Venice and all of its cruel sterotyping.

Now that I read your discussion I want to go back and add to mine! Such a good point about colonialism. I didn't even think that Shakespeare was trying to send a message about that time with his play.

I think that Shakespeare used Miranda falling in love at first sight to show one of the strongest examples of fate in his play. I loved the romantic aspect of it, considering she had never seen another man before. It was more of a sappy love story way of writing.