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A word to the wise: secret marriages don't work out well in Shakespeare plays. Just ask Othello and Desdemona.
Othello Summary 69609 Views
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A word to the wise: secret marriages don't work out well in Shakespeare plays. Just ask Othello and Desdemona.
Transcript
- 00:00
Othello a la shmoop the names Iago yes like Jafar's parrot
- 00:10
except with a vastly superior speaking voice. some people say I'm Shakespeare's [parrot with man's head]
- 00:15
meanest villain, because well of all the bad things I did to precious Othello ,and
- 00:20
well perhaps they're right but who cares? we all have fun in different ways right?
- 00:25
Oh fellow was this hotshot Moorish guy who convinced everybody in Venice that
Full Transcript
- 00:30
he should be a big bad general in our army. maybe it was all those victories he
- 00:34
won for us blah blah blah blah blah .I could have done the same I mean I didn't
- 00:38
but I could have .you know a fellow landed on my naughty list when he
- 00:42
promoted this loser named Cassio to be his lieutenant ,and clearly I would have [Cassio cheers and Othello grins]
- 00:48
been the better choice but hey at least it gave me an excuse for my favorite
- 00:52
pastime, knitting. oh and overly complicated plots
- 00:56
dealing with horrifically bloody revenge. I first enlisted this guy Roderigo, to my
- 01:00
cause. after all every villain needs a minion. alright well our first stop was
- 01:05
the powerful senator Brabantio whom we had the pleasure of telling that Othello
- 01:10
had recently eloped with his beautiful daughter Desdemona.
- 01:14
well Brabantio took it about as well as most dads would which is to say not well [tabloid with Desdemona pictured on it]
- 01:18
at all. and we may have fibbed a little saying that othello used witchcraft to
- 01:23
seduce Desdemona. even if I didn't hate SLO the whole plan would have been worth
- 01:27
it just to watch the veins pop out of Brabantio's head.
- 01:31
Brabantio was dead set on poking Othello full of holes but unfortunately for our
- 01:36
evil plan the Duke took Othello's side. fella went on and on about how he truly [dad growls, Othello explains]
- 01:42
loved Desdemona, and then Desdemona showed up and got all gooshy about him.
- 01:47
long story short the Duke believed their disgustingly sweet love story and
- 01:52
Brabantio heads off but still not before delivering this warning- look to her Moor
- 01:57
if thou hast eyes to see she has deceived her father and may thee not.
- 02:04
exactly the wedding blessing Desdemona was hoping for.
- 02:07
anyway if you ask me the Duke only spared othello because he wanted a
- 02:10
fellow to command the army in the upcoming battle against the Turks in [Iago grins]
- 02:14
Cyprus. did I not mention the upcoming battle
- 02:17
against the Turks in Cyprus? ha my mistake.
- 02:20
there was an upcoming battle against the Turks in Cyprus, that is until a fellow
- 02:24
yours truly and every other important character in this tragedy got to Cyprus
- 02:29
and found out that the Turkish Navy had been lost in a storm. kind of a fishy
- 02:34
plot there isn't it ?hmm maybe Shakespeare's producer slapped him with
- 02:37
some budget cuts. in Cyprus I got back on the revenge train. my new scheme was
- 02:43
great .I would convince Othello that Desdemona was cheating on him with [Iago smiles]
- 02:47
Cassio. that way all of my enemies would destroy each other while I sat back and
- 02:53
laughed and appropriately evil laugh. well of course my plan was needlessly
- 02:58
complicated but that's just my thing. alright first I got Cassio drunk then I
- 03:01
got Roderigo to get into a fight with Cassio then a fellow took Cassio's new
- 03:05
job away which sure that's what I was mad about in the first place oh I could
- 03:09
have stopped there but where's the fun in that ?well next i got Cassio to ask
- 03:13
Desdemona to ask othello to give Cassio his job back confused yet hmm? well
- 03:18
meanwhile I planted seeds in a fellow's head that Desdemona was doing the dirty [Iago sets up Desdemona to look like she's cheating]
- 03:21
with Cassio behind his back. I was like hey bud watch out for anything
- 03:25
suspicious, like oh I don't know Desdemona trying to convince you to give
- 03:30
Cassio his job back. yes move right? now all I had to do was get my wife Emilia
- 03:36
to steal a special handkerchief that a fellow had given to Desdemona as gift.
- 03:41
all I had to do was plant the handkerchief in Cassio's room and lead a
- 03:44
fellow there to find it, and voila that Plus Desdemona is inevitable pleading
- 03:49
for Cassio and some ingenious manipulations on my part convinced
- 03:53
othello his wife was cheating on him. Othello decided the only thing to do was
- 03:57
kill Desdemona, totally normal reaction not over-the-top at all . I suggested he
- 04:02
strangle her. what can I say I like to be helpful? meanwhile I convinced
- 04:06
Roderigo to go kill Cassio but he ended up bundling the whole thing, so I had to [Roderigo with a sword]
- 04:10
kill him and blame it on his girlfriend it's hard to keep a good help you know.
- 04:14
at least Othello came through in smothered Desdemona to death, I didn't
- 04:18
have long to enjoy that though because my dumb wife Emilia sold me out and told
- 04:22
everybody what I'd done. well I stabbed her for foiling my
- 04:25
perfect plot but it didn't do me much good. finally realizing what had gone
- 04:30
down othello stabbed me and then killed himself.
- 04:33
blood was everywhere of course .it wouldn't be a Shakespearean tragedy if
- 04:38
it didn't end with somebody having to buy a new rug. and that's the end of this
- 04:41
tragic tale -what's the take away here? easy never get married. [blood in a fancy hall]
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