Is Othello Still Relevant Today

William Shakespeare is a playwright, poet, and actor from Warwickshire, England, and was considered to be one of the greatest writers in the entire history of the English language. Shakespeare was born approximately on April 23, 1564, and died on April 23, 1616. He married a woman named Anne Hathaway, in which he had two children with. He was part owner of the Globe Theatre in London. During his lifetime, he wrote many comedies, and tragedies. One of his most famous works was “Othello, the Moor of Venice” (rpt. In Thomas R. Arp, Perrine’s Literature, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed. [Bostson: Wadsworth, 2015] 1276-1371). The play has remained relevant for centuries. The reason why many of Shakespeare’s plays remain relevant today are the themes throughout the stories. Three of the themes that keep the tragedy of Othello relevant today are love, appearance versus reality, and jealousy. Love is major a theme that occurs throughout the tragedy of Othello. …show more content…
(1.3.59-64) Right here, Shakespeare uses diction to indirectly comment on the sorcerous power of love. This claim also shows how much Brabantio disapproves by relating their love to black magic, and witchcraft. This disapproval was a large obstacle that Othello, and Desdemona had to overcome. The theme of appearance versus reality is a prevalent theme throughout the play. Appearance versus reality for Othello, seeing is believing. He needs something visual to prove something as truth. When Iago is trying to convince Othello that Desdemona is being unfaithful, Othello demand proof by saying, Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, Be sure of it, give me the ocular proof. Or by the worth of man’s eternal soul, Thou hadst been better have been born a dog Than answer my waked wrath!