OTHELLO!

Now for Othello. Initially, I didn’t think Othello was quite wise but as the tortuous plot thickened, he certainly became...well no, I guess he really didn’t change. Specifically, after he’s bereft at the end of the play, he finds out the truth about the whole debacle and ends up killing himself! (Whoops, did I give anything away?)
On another note, although Othello would not have earned impunity at the end of the play (obviously not, he became a murderer) I do not think it was a smart move for Shakespeare to kill off Othello at the end of the play. After all, in the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s whole plot revolves around the Herculean strength it takes Hester to overcome the public embarrassment. Shouldn’t it be the same for Othello? Isn’t facing the public world and suffering through worldly embarrassment far worse than being put to eternal rest? Or was Shakespeare implying that the most expedient punishment is to burn eternally in hell?
And another thing: At the very end of the play, during the famous cortège-like scene, or the “loading the bed scene” I found it very significant that Cassio did load that same bed. Although debilitated, Cassio remained very much alive. As if to rub it in Othello’s face (even after he’s dead), Shakespeare keeps Cassio alive and makes him the new general of the Venician army. Although the best revenge on Iago occurs when the Venicians pay homage to Cassio. This all happens without any symposium even though in Shakespeare’s milieu, this was quite rare. It’s almost as if Cassio’s livelihood carries on the memory of this tragedy because he is the only surviving main male character of this story.
The tale of Othello is completely based on nepotism, lies, misconceptions and miscommunication. Brilliant as it may be, the fact is that Shakespeare was just embellishing the true a bit: the main themes are timeless. We can relate to Shakespeare’s messages because they are still valid today.