Is Othello Still Relevant Today Essay

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Would we say that the issues of love, revenge, honour, good versus evil, madness, appearance versus reality and jealousy, to name but a few, have not been with us since mankind began? Well, of course they have, the Biblical book of Genesis tells us so. Geoffrey Canterbury, in his thirteenth century text, The Canterbury Tales, also wrote on such issues. Some three centuries later we have William Shakespeare conveying such thematic concerns in his works. And if such themes are no longer relevant to a contemporary audience, then why do we still have theatres all around the globe featuring Shakespeare’s plays, to packed houses? It’s because Shakespeare’s themes are both universal and perennial, and are therefore relevant to any age.

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Embedded in ‘Othello’ are the universal and perennial issues of prejudice, appearance versus reality, and jealousy. So, just how relevant are these issues to you and I today?

We’ll start with appearance versus reality. Throughout the works of Shakespeare, this is a much-used theme. In the play ‘Othello’, specifically, Othello falls because of his inability to distinguish truth form falsity, appearance from reality. Iago is a perfect example of one who is not truly as he appears. As the only character in Shakespeare’s works who can lie in a soliloquy, Iago presents many different faces to those he interacts with. Towards Othello, he present a mask of loyalty and love, then drops part of that same mask with Roderigo, proclaiming his hatred of Othello, while professing friendship and loyalty to Roderigo instead. He acts as a loyal friend to Cassio, pretending to help him regain the favour of Othello, while in reality, he is only stoking the forge of Othello’s own jealousy and hatred towards the lieutenant. Unfortunately, this issue can be quite easily found in today’s society. Examples of this can be found on the internet, where a person will pose as someone they are most definitely not and prey on those who will least suspect it – mostly, children.

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