ABSTRACT
The first time Othello was played in front of an audience was probably in 1602 when Shakespeare was 38 years old. The tragedy is built on an almost military exploitation of the weaknesses and frailties of Othello and Desdemona. It would seem that they were so locked together in their exciting love/sex relationship that those around them were excluded and neglected, like children clustered around but excluded from the sexual relationship of their parents. The love of the militarily successful Othello for Desdemona, who idealized him because of all that he had been through, was skillfully undermined, and not very slowly at that. One is struck by the comparative simplicity of Othello, who is powerful and brave but in some ways dangerously naive. One needs time to discern the hook that is concealed by the bait, and to give a studied clearance if it is true that no hook is there anyway.
