History YMMV / Othello

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* FairForItsDay: In the original story on which ''Othello'' is based, the Moorish character doesn't even have a name, and it ends with Desdemona [[AuthorFilibuster lecturing the audience on why interracial marriage is evil.]] In his adaptation, Shakespeare gives the Moor a name and fully fleshes out his character into a sympathetic war hero. In fact, the only overtly racist elements of the play are spoken by unsympathetic characters.

* {{Designated Hero}}ine: Desdemona, not due to questionable decisions, but for her lack of characterization.

* MagnificentBastard: Iago. Among the most magnificent in literary/theatrical history.

* NightmareFuel: There is something deeply unsettling about the character Iago. The idea that someone you trust implicitly could be so sociopathic that the first minor, unintentional sleight you perpetrate against them could lead them to utterly destroy your life for kicks is very creepy. Stabbing his own wife without the slightest hint of regret or reluctance.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Emilia, Iago's wife and Desdemona's maid, has been extremely popular throughout much of the play's history for the way she excoriates unfaithful husbands in a touching monologue in the fourth act, chews out Othello for his crime, and delivers the fatal blow to her own husband's EvilPlan, gets stabbed, and then ''[[{{Determinator}} keeps going]]''. She's even ''triumphant'' about being stabbed, as the act shows Iago up for the criminal he is. In fact, it was not uncommon at certain points for her to be billed above her mistress, the play's ostensible heroine.

** According to Othello, Desdemona once said that she wished God had made her a man that could go on the adventures Othello's described. The obvious, and indeed, most common interpretation is that Desdemona wishes God had made her a man ''to marry'', since it's established that Othello's strength and bravery are [[WomenPreferStrongMan are a huge part of what won her over]]. However, others have suggested that Desdemona means she wishes God had made ''her'' a man, so that ''she'' could go on these adventures herself. The former is probably what was meant, but it's interesting to think about, and potentially throws Desdemona's character in a different light. (And, Shakespeare being Shakespeare, the double-meaning may not have been an accident.)

* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: The idea that Iago is {{Satan}} (allegorically, if not [[DevilInDisguise literally]]). He's a manipulator and tempter who [[FlawExploitation plays on everyone's flaws and fears]] while appearing to be an honest ManOfWealthAndTaste, and he talks Othello into renouncing God. Also, see the discussion under ValuesDissonance below, especially about the line "I am not what I am".

* ValuesDissonance: Now you have to understand - Elizabethan-era morality was different from modern morality. Iago says in the play "I am not what I am," and to a modern reader this means "I'm not what I act like." To an Elizabethan, it means something completely different: Iago is the ''absence'' of existence, which makes him the ultimate villain: evil in Elizabethan days wasn't considered to be a thing, it was considered to be the absence of God. Iago is the absence of God, making him even more evil than other Shakespearean villains.
** It's also worth mentioning that some readers won't understand that when Othello gives up Christianity, he super-damns himself to Hell; that's even worse than just being a pagan.
** This phrase has been taken by some scholars as a subversion of St Paul's "By the grace of God, I am what I am".
*** Or God's "I am who am" answer to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

* FairForItsDay: In the original story on which ''Othello'' is based, the Moorish character doesn't even have a name, and it ends with Desdemona [[AuthorFilibuster lecturing the audience on why interracial marriage is evil.]] In his adaptation, Shakespeare gives the Moor a name and fully fleshes out his character into a sympathetic war hero. Shakespeare also adds the character of Iago to serve as the play's villain, a white man who manipulates Othello into a jealous rage ForTheEvulz. In fact, the only overtly racist elements of the play are spoken by unsympathetic characters.

* {{Narm}}: Desdemona having a few last words ''after'' being strangled to death. Considering how hard it is for death by strangulation to work, it's perhaps a case of RealityIsUnrealistic, and her final words where she refuses to blame Othello for her death, elevates her above someone fridged.

* {{Narm}}: Desdemona having a few last words ''after'' being strangled to death.
* NightmareFuel: There is something deeply unsettling about the character Iago. The idea that someone you trust implicitly could be so sociopathic that the first minor, unintentional sleight you perpetrate against them could lead them to utterly destroy your life for kicks is very creepy.
** Stabbing his own wife without the slightest hint of regret or reluctance.

* ValuesResonance / SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The play's main message (interracial marriage can be a loving one and racism can bring severe consequences) is still, if not more, relevant in today world of global traveling easier than Shakespeare's time.

* TheWoobie: Yaya. She lives without a mother, her father is too strict with her, she's never had any friends and her only emotional support is following a (already disbanded) VisualKei band. Wow.

** There are alternative views of Othello himself: Hero, fool or downright monster? The critic John Sutherland noted that in the original story, Shakespeare's source material, the unsympathetic Othello-equivalent plotted with the Iago-equivalent about how to kill his wife in a way that wouldn't leave a mark/would look like natural causes, so that he could escape punishment and could maintain his position. While Shakespeare's Othello is way more sympathetic overall, there's [[TheArtifact a few lines that indicate that he too attempted such a plan]], putting him in a worse light. Sutherland also discusses how despite making grandiose claims about his handkerchief, in other instances, Othello treats it like a normal handkerchief, and his later obsession with it has elements of BelievingTheirOwnLies.

** Another one is that he didn't actually have a motive, and [[ForTheEvulz was doing it just because]]. The numerous motive that get discarded and contradicted don't help.

** Another one is that he didn't actually have a motive, and was doing it just because. The numerous motive that get discarded and contradicted don't help.

*** I read a book that actually listed 4 theories of Iago's motivation (1) He had sold his soul to the devil, who told him to corrupt Othello and kill Desdemona (2) Iago resented being a servant and got a kick out of tricking his betters into doing what HE wanted. (3) Iago was in love with Othello and wanted to win him from Desdemona by ruining her reputation, (4) Iago was a warped artist who tricked everybody into following his "script" -- ie, Othello murders his "faithless" wife.

* ValueResonance / SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The play's main message (interracial marriage can be a loving one and racism can bring severe consequences) is still, if not more, relevant in today world of global traveling easier than Shakespeare's time.

!The Shakesperean play

!The manga