In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello Is as Much a Victim of His Own Weaknesses as of Iago’s Plotting. Write an Essay That Explores the Construction of Othello’s Character in Parker’s Film and Shakespeare’s Play.
Oliver Parker’s 1995 interpretation of Shakespeare’s 1600’s timeless classic Othello presents a differing construction of Othello from the original play, achieved through uses of a plethora of film devices. Both the play and the film masterfully spin a tale of romance, tragedy and death telling the fall of glory of Othello due to the acts of his ensign Iago, albeit with several differences in the presentation. Both Shakespeare and Parker explore themes of jealousy, power, and racism through the key characters of Othello and Iago. Parker utilises cutting, close-ups, mise-en-scene, music and a variety of others to bring his own in-depth dissection and construction of Othello.
In the opening scenes of the play, Othello is the noble hero, he is a Moor, a black man yet he is at the top of hierarchal ladder, being the leader of Venetian army, his opinion and input is highly sorted and respected by both the Duke and senators of Venice. In act 1 scene 3 of the play, Shakespeare utilises blank verse during Othello’s line to show a calm and collected figure one, ‘most potent, grave and reverend signiors’. His calm and heroic nature is further emphasised when after Brabantio uses racial slurs and accuses him of witch craft he still responds without anger, even staking his power and life as proof of his honesty, ‘if you do find me foul in her report, the trust, the office I do hold of you, not only take away, but let sentence even fall upon my life’. Themes of discrimination and the motif of Othello being compared to a wild animal and monster is introduced in this segment of the play, ‘or with some dram conjured to this effect, he wrought upon her’ and ‘barbary horse’, foreboding the transformation of Othello into one such monster.
Parkers film opens with a venetian gondolier sailing into the fog and darkness, accompanied by dark, eerie and foreboding music acting as hint of what is to come .Parkers film in the opening scene’s constructs a similar character of Othello, he
In the opening scenes of the play, Othello is the noble hero, he is a Moor, a black man yet he is at the top of hierarchal ladder, being the leader of Venetian army, his opinion and input is highly sorted and respected by both the Duke and senators of Venice. In act 1 scene 3 of the play, Shakespeare utilises blank verse during Othello’s line to show a calm and collected figure one, ‘most potent, grave and reverend signiors’. His calm and heroic nature is further emphasised when after Brabantio uses racial slurs and accuses him of witch craft he still responds without anger, even staking his power and life as proof of his honesty, ‘if you do find me foul in her report, the trust, the office I do hold of you, not only take away, but let sentence even fall upon my life’. Themes of discrimination and the motif of Othello being compared to a wild animal and monster is introduced in this segment of the play, ‘or with some dram conjured to this effect, he wrought upon her’ and ‘barbary horse’, foreboding the transformation of Othello into one such monster.
Parkers film opens with a venetian gondolier sailing into the fog and darkness, accompanied by dark, eerie and foreboding music acting as hint of what is to come .Parkers film in the opening scene’s constructs a similar character of Othello, he