The play starts with seeing the burning anger of a man named Iago and all of his plans and schemes for the future. One of the people he wants to ruin is Othello, a great and mighty general in the city of Venice. Iago has burning jealousy throughout the book and wants to be better than Othello. Iago also plans on helping his close friend, Roderigo, and his wishes to win over Desdemona, who is Othello’s wife. Throughout the play, Iago gains the trust of and manipulates almost every character to get his way and the ultimate goal of power and to watch the demise of others. Iago manipulates Othello into hating his wife, which spurs deaths and destruction throughout Cyprus and leaves him in a worse place than he started in.
I would give this play 4 out of 5 stars for a couple of reasons. It reminded me a lot of Romeo and Juliet with many actions and plot twists. It was one of the easier Shakespeare plays to read and understand for someone who is not familiar with old English. I enjoyed seeing the character development and stagnation as they built in the drama and suspense of the ending. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action and unsuspected endings.