Othello.....so dated

I'm sure i'm not the only one out there that thinks Othello is dated. I'm studying the play for A2 and just feel i would receive a much better grade in the summer if i could relate to the plot. Personally i feel that in todays society, there is no way a wife would be prepared to die and then cover for their husaband like Desdemona. It is much more likely that Desdemona would have her secret lover "deck" him and have him reported to the police. The whole play is so old and for students aged 16-18 there must be something we can relate to more easily which would allow us to score better results. Come one examiners, theres making it hard and theres taking the mick eh!

I Can't Believe You Think That. What Makes You Think Othello Doesnt Relate To Us? It Sure Does, It Shows Us How Lucky We Are Not To Be Living In Those Times, How Badly Women Were Treated In The Past, And How Things Have Changed. You Need To Learn To Appreciate The Few Good Things Left, Shakespeare Was Amazing, A True Legend. Nowadays Everything Is Either About Sex Or Drugs, Theres No Originality. Shakespeare Shows Us How Even The Best Of People Can Fall, And How We Shouldn't Let Anyone Else Govern Our Lives And Emotions But Ourselves. He Shows Us That Jealous Can Bring About Destruction, And How Missunderstandings Can Have Drastic Effects. So The Next Time You Decide To Say Othello Is Dated, You Should Check Yaself Because U Couldn't Be Further Away From Reality, Lolz Maybe You Should Just Stick To Reading And Analysing Shrek Or Something, No Offense , I Love The Play Too Much To Allow Someone To Degrade It Like That.

"there is no way a wife would be prepared to die and then cover for her husband like Desdemona." Huh? I don't think that is what the play is about, but society is full of battered wives, who just take it, year on year, without deserting their husbands or reporting them.

Desdemona, of course, did not have a secret lover, and her husband was "the police."

My daughter, when she was a teenager, used to describe intrigues amongst her friends and misunderstandings every bit as devious as the plot in Othello - There were girls who told lies about people, just to stir things up, or out of spite or to get their own way about something; boys who tried to guard their girlfriends jealously, and flew in a rage if they so much as spoke to another boy; people, like Emilia, who just tried to smooth things over, or thought that they should not interfere, even if they could see what was happening.

Desdemona fell in love out of hero-worship. Would you say that there is no such thing nowadays? Maybe you'd be right, because the cult of trashy celebrities has overcome respect for heroes, but even so, you should still be able to understand a girl who fell in love with a man who had been everywhere, triumphed, saved his country, and still found time to stop and talk to her.

Maybe, if, nothing else, you might pick on the theme of inter-racial marriages.

Maybe, the difficulties faced in a marriage between an older, very successful husband and a naive and inexperienced young woman. How could she have met her husband's expectations, or he hers. How could she have managed him in the subtle way that good wives manage husbands? Are the only answers to deck your husband or be killed by him?

I've listed half a dozen themes that are touched on in the play that might be relevant today. To get the best out of it, you also have to try and put yourself into a world where such things as happen in the play could happen.
Read carefully what is said about Desdemona, by Othello, her father and herself. If you'd been brought up as she had, what would be your strengths and weaknesses? What would be your attitude to men in authority? How would you expect them to treat you?
How could Othello, the heroic leader, be deceived? And, if his wife was unfaithful, what options did he have, and why did he choose the one he did?

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Originally Posted by Whifflingpin

My daughter, when she was a teenager, used to describe intrigues amongst her friends and misunderstandings every bit as devious as the plot in Othello - There were girls who told lies about people, just to stir things up, or out of spite or to get their own way about something; boys who tried to guard their girlfriends jealously, and flew in a rage if they so much as spoke to another boy; people, like Emilia, who just tried to smooth things over, or thought that they should not interfere, even if they could see what was happening.

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This reminds me of a story told by British agony aunt, Claire Rayner. She once received a letter from a distraught mother who was worried about her son. He had become withdrawn, listless and terribly depressed since the death of his father. He had also started mistreating his girlfriend and had even dropped out of university. He could no longer see any point in anything and had developed a morbid interest in death, adopting a gothic style of dress. The mother confessed that her son had also reacted very badly when, a few months after his father’s death, she had remarried her late husband’s brother.

Rayner took the letter seriously until she received a follow-up from British chat show host, Michael Parkinson, confessing that he had written the letter. For those of you who still haven’t twigged, he was relating an updated version of the story of Hamlet.

Oh dear - wipes tears of laughter out of eyes -

There was another modern parallel that I thought of, but can't mention because some of the protagonists are still living, and would have no means of reply. But imagine the world's most eligible bachelor, and a naive and none too clever young girl of excellent aristocratic family, "fairy-tale" marriage, and a few infidelities culminating in death of said girl. Not an exact parallel, of course, because there were no infidelities in the play, only suspicions. And of course, the modern Othello did not actually kill his wife: she died out of obedience to the literary convention, that allowed no other possibility. And the modern Othello went off and married Emilia.

Kayleigh - if you work out what I am talking about, do NOT use it in an exam.

I disagree with you 101%, Kayleigh. I read this play as a senior in high school two years ago. I couldn't believe how up to date it was.

It is amazing how recognizable the English language is in work this old. One must understand that English is the most descriptive language in history, and Shakespeare was the master of it. His characters are still exciting. Iago is hilarious as he is devious - I love him. Roderigo is a dreaming fool, and Othello is ignorant but honorable. Every story you have read probably has roots in Shakespeare's works.

How could it not be relevant today? In order to comprehend what comes after, one must know what has come before. Literature and fiction, books and television sets, all go back to a certain point. That point is Shakespeare.

But back to the characters. The thing that makes them so great is their motives. Roderigo loves and wants Desdemona, but he has no chance. Iago believes that Othello banged his wife and, needless to say, he wants Othello to go down.

You can argue that Shakespeare is irrelevant today all you want. Only fools will agree with you. Why, if not for some relevance today, would Shakespeare's work still be adapted as much as it is? About five major motion pictures are made based on his stories every year.

Shakespeare's relevance today is so huge that it's hard to believe.

I love this play, and I don't understand how anyone can even begin to think it's dated! The simple fact that our generation can still relate to a play that was written hundreds of years ago, in a form of language that is no longer common is awesome, and I'm totally proud to say I'm a huge Othello fan. The main themes and ideas of the play - jealousy, betrayal, racial tension, and murder - how can you say that these are not still relevant to our modern day audiences? Even if a person has not experienced first hand these issues, the play is still really interesting - the plot is amazing, the characters BEYOND intriguing, and the language is ingenious AND beautiful to read.

Yes. I am a lit geek. Respect me.

Fin. /rant

i completely agree wit Aurelian

i know someone hoo is exactly like Iago... except he hasnt led his best friend to kill his wife.... yet, anythings possible in this era...

so for someone to say they cant relate to it, then maybe you should look closer at your life... then will you realise that there are amazing and yet scarily intriguing comparisons...

I can see how Kayleigh feels that Othello may be outdated as it was written in the early seventeenth century and reflects many of the attitudes and issues that were present during this time period and that it may be difficult to relate to the plot as a person living in the 21st century. I know i felt this way at first but then i realised its just all a part of what constitutes a great tragedy and i am consciously aware that Shakespeare was one of the greatest playwrights of all time, so i just enjoyed the play for what it was, a great, fictitious drama whose characters were quite intriguing to say the least.

All i can say is, Kayleigh, i know you may find it hard to relate to the plot of Othello but just think if you push past these barriers i'm sure you can still write a great essay or discussion on Othello. Good luck! :-)

I can see how it could be seen as out-dated. It took a lot of concentrartion for me to actually read the play. Te only interesting thing about it was Iago. The rest of the characters annoyed be. Othello was too gullible and Desdemona too innocent. Maybe if these two characters had a clue it would be better, but then it wouldn't be a tragedy because they would have figured Iago out.
I can see how it can be related to life in today's society, people being manipulative just because they can and screwing up people's lives. I can also see how Desdemona's and Othello's relationship can be compared to people's relationships today but it is too exaggerated for me.
I would prefer to read a more subtle plot, one where I wouldn't be able to predict the end.