Hands down, my favorite of his plays. Iago is the absolute worst and utterly fascinating as a character. The historical context, as well as the continuing social fabric into which this story weaves itself is utterly intriguing.

This time aroun, I taught it with a couple 8th grade honors classes and it went really well. ( )

A good story, surprising ending. The Shakespearen language really makes this hard to get through. The annotations help quite a bit, but can be distracting as it is very overdone. ( )

I've read "Othello" a few times in my life and I always enjoy it; there's always something new to notice or learn. Plus honestly, I adore watching Iago construct his plans and twist everything around. I KNOW he's awful, but his villany is entertaining! Also Emilia is wonderful and I shipped her and Cassio. Just sayin'. ;) ( )

The themes of love and betrayal (both actual and imagined), of jealousy and racism, of ambition and violence, are all still very much valid in this day and age. We have Iago who has been granted a position of trust but it's not what he thinks he deserves so he uses the power he has to undermine those around him. One of my most common plaints is that Office Politics is a game I very much prefer not to involve myself in as I have encountered so very viscous players in my time. Othello has achieved so much but still harbors self-doubt that Desdemona really wants just him. There was only the smallest sprout of a doubt initially, but there was enough for rumour to cause it to sprout and spread. He forms his beliefs on what he is told and how he perceives what he sees (and that's for certain still happening).

But this volume itself is beautiful. The illustrations were gorgeous and the weight of the pages enforced that this edition was special.

Not my favourite Shakespeare play by any means, and I would likely prefer to watch performances of it in the future (but I'm also thinking it could be fun to watch the 1990 film while reading the text) ( )

Shakespearian language is hard to grasp but after studying Othello in Literature I've definitely found it easier to follow. The love within the play is overwhelming but the pure jealousy and rage that can be found within the pages is enrapturing and it makes readers question their own ideals and values. The questions Shakespeare asks of our own relationships is valuable to anyone and his views and values are still relevant today. And who doesn't love a villain? Iago is awesome. ( )