The little bucket goes in the bucket, then they both go in the big bucket. Trust me, it rules.

I've always wanted to read Othello ever since I've seen the game and just kind of made up my own rules when I played with it in aftercare in grade school since I was too young to understand or care about the rules. Now that it's in the books, I'm glad I got it out of the way, because I know it would have haunted me to my deathbed even though I didn't put it on my bucket list I made sophomore year. I still don't quite understand the game except that Othello is black and Iago is white and that seems to be the game's big selling point. So that's nifty. I also thought Emilia's death was kind of funny, unnecessary, and funny, which means Shakespeare knows how to appeal to my dark side (Which doesn't even have cookies! It's such a lie!) So now that I've got another Shakespearean play under my belt I can officially call myself a better and more learned person that will better improve society with my newfound insights of myself and the world around me. Thank you, Shakespeare, and thank you people who care too much.

Tell it like it is Mr. Flower.

If being wrong is wrong, I don't want to be right.

I think question numbah one deserves a little cuddle time and will therefore be caressed with the black squiggles that make coherent thoughts found both in this sentence and below.

The literal conventions in Othello provide a great base for the play. It's setting, Venice and Cyprus, very real places, plus the conventions of the traditions found therein such as having Othello, a Moor, be the head honcho-y war guy is also factual. The love between a man and a woman and betrayal and human emotions also win a point for "realism." However, what makes this a Shakespearean play, or just a play in general and thus more entertaining than real people cheating or not cheating or killing or not killing are the non-realistic conventions such as Iago's asides (you can't hear me, so I'm going to tell the group of people watching us what I'm thinking, teehee!). Not to mention, we've got ourselves some over-the-top characters like Iago and his paranoia, and Othello and his paranoia that ultimately causes his fall from grace. People speak plainly when they're wounded rather than "AHHHH MAH LEEEEGG!" And the fact that Iago has everyone fooled into thinking he's a pretty cool dude is highly unlikely, but fun to assume for the sake of Ye Olde Theatre.

Don't Trust Anyone Who Can Do the Splits.

Question Numero Two and all that inhabits it will be answered with the following words.

Just a hunch, kids, (Don't you hate when people call other people "kids" just to give themselves a seeming air of superiority and confidence? Good point, their own insecurities may very well be at work here. You're so smart! It's always a pleasure having such stimulating conversations with you, kiddo.) but this play is a tragedy if I ever smelled one. Shakespeare really gets the audience ready for some bloodshed after four whole acts of blah, blah, blah, blah, blaaaaaahh. And boy, does he deliver with four deaths and a decapitation! Yay gore! To give this play it's tragic nature, Othello had to die sometime, though a suicide was kind of lackluster after all the murders; however, his departing speech did somewhat redeem his character. As per tradition at the Globe, a flag of a certain colour (colour because I feel British and Shakespearean) would be raised before a play was performed so the audience knew if it was a tragedy, comedy, or history, but if the audience hadn't known this, they probably could have figured it out by all the ominous things happening, or if they didn't, then they would either enjoy the shock factor of dying people more or they could be weirded out a bit. Eh, this is an odd question in the first place. Mazeltov.

Iago, in package form.

BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY ROCKIN' EVERYWHERE!

Just in case you didn't know, a lot of my titles end in exclamation points. The more I read Othello, two things happen. 1) I get better at reading and thinking in Shakespearean English and 2) I care much less because my interest and the time I spend reading this are inversely proportional. Equation as follows: I = T x N^s where I is interest lost, T is time in seconds, and N is the number of pages I have read raised to the the power s, the number of soliloquies Iago has had. But on the plus side, it would be absolutely WIZARD if people still said "what, ho!" Do thou fetch me mine peanut butter and jelly sandwich, what ho! Make haste and do with good countenance fair wench, that when nigh is the hour for which I make sleepytime, thou hast in thine soul the charity and humour upon which, fair maiden, you are noted, bringeth thy own liege his PJs and dress him thus. Hmm, sign me up for this thing and you could be reading The Tragedy of the Perpetually Drunk Duke and his Beddybye Time.

...yeah...

Let's All Get Giant Perms!

How is dramatic suspense created?

I don't know about you, but it seems that Iago has a soliloquy every other iamb, giving explicit details of his plans for revenge right before the scene unfolds or just as it ends (II.iii.345-351 and just about any other page you turn to). So, how then could this possibly cause suspense when the audience knows exactly how the play will unfold?  People were probably dumber in the 15/1600s and needed some more 'splainin, but there's still that mote of uncertainty which something could go terribly wrong with Iago's plan, or, I dare say, yes, I dare, a twist in the plot. We even know Othello is a tragedy which means (spoiler alert!) that Othello has to die in some way. Even knowing all the information, I still find myself captivated as Iago brings himself to new lows. Train wreck principle, I suppose. (Are you tired of italics yet?)

You can't not look!

It's Snowing, Everyone Panic!

Identify the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s). Are there any foil characters?

Protagonist equals Othello. Antagonist equals Iago. They are foils. It's funny because they're foils in their personality, Othello is naive whilst Iago is cunning, AND physically they're foils because Othello is black and Iago is white! Whooooaaahh, Shakes is a deep guy. The minor characters such as Cassio, Roderigo and Desdemona are also some movers and shakers in that they play major roles in Iago's manipulation of people to exact his revenge upon the Moor and help to characterize Othello and Iago, so much so that they could be considered more like Major-Minor characters. Oh how paradoxical, what ho! Sometimes I wonder if Othello is even the main character at all. o.O

Mmm, rockin' the soul patch in the middle ages.