Like The Merchant of Venice, I read Othello for my Shakespeare and Race course. This is the second time I've read Othello although the first time I was a sophomore in high school so my reading was not very deep. I will also say it is very different to look at Shakespeare's works through a racial lens. I think it can be easy to ignore the racial aspects of Shakespeare by casting them off as a product of the time, however, Shakespeare's works are inherently tied to how the English were defining themselves against other peoples.
When I first read Othello, I really enjoyed it. I love Othello's passion and the love story between him and Desdemona although it doesn't end well. Iago is also just such a devious villain. I loved the exaggeration of the characters.
Reading the book now wasn't quite as fun as the first time I read the book. Iago is deeply racist and his decision to bring Othello's downfall is tied to that. So many characters that were otherwise not involved get tied up in Iago's schemes and suffer for them. It's fascinating how everyone blindly trusts him with seemingly no evidence of his honesty.
Even though I really love Othello, it's important to remember this is Shakespeare's representation of a black man. Othello was meant to be played by a white man in blackface. That really complicates how you read the text. I'm not sure I've fully developed my feelings on this.
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