Othello - A Collection of Shakespeare Stories (Includes CD)

Author: (Eng) Shakespeare / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Then Othello is summoned to the Council of Elders. He stands before the elders, both a candidate for a major national position and a defendant. According to the laws of Venice, the charge against him could result in the death penalty. The old Berbantio, being both elderly and a member of the Council, is forced to listen patiently to his speech in the solemn assembly. This agitated father speaks excessively, offering no concrete evidence, only various signs and suspicions. As a result, when Othello defends himself, he only needs to clarify the course of his relationship with Desdemona. Othello speaks truthfully and in detail about the entire process of proposing, just as we have described earlier. His words are clear (proving the truth of his account), to the point that the Duke, who presides as the chief judge, cannot help but think that telling the story in this manner would make even his own daughter fall in love with him. The spells and magic he used in his pursuit were merely the proper tricks of a man in love. The only magic he used was his skill in telling light-hearted stories that girls enjoy. Desdemona's own testimony also confirms what Othello says. She comes to the court, first acknowledging that her father raised her and that she should fulfill her duty as a daughter; but she asks her father to also acknowledge that she has a greater duty—to her husband, just as a mother loves Berbantio more than her own father. This elder cannot argue against this. He calls the Moor before him, expressing his grief, and then helplessly hands his daughter over to him. (He tells him) if he can keep his daughter, he will do everything in his power to prevent him from approaching her. He also says that he is fortunate to have only one daughter, otherwise, with Desdemona driving him mad, he would become tyrannical, chaining up his other children with leg irons to prevent them from abandoning him in the future. After resolving this issue, Othello, who has grown accustomed to the hardships of military life, prepares to command the battle in Cyprus. Desdemona also readily agrees to her husband's departure, preferring him to achieve glory (though it is dangerous) rather than waste his time in the carefree idleness common to newlyweds. As soon as Othello and his wife land on the island of Cyprus, they receive news that a fierce storm has scattered the Turkish fleet, so the island is temporarily safe from attack. However, Othello's real battle is just beginning, and his enemy is—the suspicion he has of his innocent wife. Such an enemy is far more terrible than foreigners or the Turks. Among the generals and friends, Cassio can be considered Othello's confidant. The young officer Michael Cassio is Florentine, with a cheerful, enthusiastic, and sweet-talking personality, possessing the qualities women admire. He is also handsome and eloquent.