Othello Act V, Scene ii

"Then must you speak of one that loved not wisely but too well; of one not easily jealous, but, being wrought, perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand, like the base Indian, threw a pearl away..." - Othello.

For this blog, I am going to answer a question found on p. 1119 of my text book.

What themes does the play present?  To what extent do the thematic materials of the play have an effect on the dramatic experience?  Does the power of the ideas increase or decrease the pleasure of the theatrical experience?  Does the play seem either too didactic or insufficient in its presentation of important human concerns?


One theme this play presents is that jealousy can have the power to destroy something that is good.  Othello had everything he ever wished for when he married Desdemona.  She was the perfect wife for him and loved him with all her heart.  However, Othello let his jealousy get the best of him and it ended up ruining everything.  He killed his one true love for reasons he felt were important but that ended up not even being true.  Another theme found in this play is the perception of reality.  Things are not always as they may seem.  Everyone believed Iago was a pure and decent man.  He was even called "honest Iago" by many of the other characters.  In reality, Iago was an evil man full of hatred and resentment.  People thought he was there to help and serve them when he was actually there hurting and betraying them.  These themes effect the dramatic experience because they are themes we can relate to in our own lives.  These themes are timeless themes that even people today can learn from.  The power of these ideas increases the pleasure of the theatrical experience because we feel we can learn form them.  I believe that this play is neither too didactic or insufficient in its presentation of these important human concerns.  Although the entire play might be considered focused around these themes, I did not feel like they were being forced upon me.  These themes are so relevant to our everyday lives that it is only natural to learn from them.  However, the play was not insufficient in its presentation of these themes because I knew exactly what the themes were.  If it was insufficient, then it would probably be incredibly difficult to even know what those themes were.