Review of "Othello" by William Shakespeare

OVERVIEW:
Othello and Desdemona are perfectly in love, and the thought of breaking them apart is inconceivable. That is, to all except Iago, the trusted friend of Othello jealous for Othello's success and his own lower status. Thus, employing the aid of spurned Roderigo, a late admirer of Desdemona, Iago hatches a plot to drive Othello mad with jealousy. As Othello begins to believe Iago's tricks and doubt the honesty of his faithful wife, the great man must find out the truth and uncover the plot, or allow jealous madness rule and destroy his happy life.

RATING (3 of 5):
Othello is a classic Shakespeare tragedy and I do not rate this lowly because I think no one should read it. On the contrary, I found Othello riveting and emotionally pulling as I witnessed the impact and ingenuity of Iago's clever ruses upon Othello. Despite my love for Shakespeare, though, this play is not approachable by many grade levels. Many students just begin tackling Shakespeare freshman year of high school, but very few grasp the depth and creative use of Shakespeare's language or the many themes until near graduation or college. Othello, I believe, is one such text that can easily be misunderstood or unappreciated by unprepared readers. For this reason, I rate Othello as a three, suggesting it be read closer towards eleventh or twelfth grade, when students have a reasonable understanding of complex language and can delve deeper into multifaceted concepts. As that only includes two out of twelve possible grade levels (2/7 grades if you exclude elementary), I find the text lacking for adolescent readers.

TO PARENTS:
If your student wants to tackle Shakespeare, or particularly Othello, I say bravo. My own mother set me on Shakespeare plays in middle school and I fell in love with his humor and wit. While your young readers may not be able to fully grasp all the themes, occurrences, or unique insights of the play, that should never stop the reader from attempting. Indeed, the wonderful thing about Shakespeare is that his plays are short and enjoyed by all ages, making it all too probable to reread his works at a later date. I will warn that Othello includes murder, suicide, drunkenness, and classic Shakespeare bawdiness. If you think your child is unprepared to grasp or maturely navigate these concepts, you might prefer to place the play back on the shelf for a later date.