Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Didactics - English -
Literature, Works, grade: 2,3, University of Heidelberg (Anglistisches
Seminar), course: The First Century of US-American Drama, language:
English, abstract: In this paper, I will compare the character of
Desdemona in the play "Othello" by Shakespeare with that in the
burlesque opera "Otello" by Rice. I will first analyze the figure of
Desdemona in Shakespeare's play and then in Rice's opera - one after
another. Next, I will compare the two characters of Desdemona and will
explore in which ways their qualities coin-cide, or rather, in what
extent they differ in their personalities. Lastly, I will briefly
summarize the different characters of Desdemona in both "Othello" and
"Otello". William Shakespeare's "Othello" portrays the mixed-race love
between Desdemona, a white Venetian beauty, and the Moor Othello,
Venice's general. Mislead by Iago, his ensign and also the play's
villain, Othello develops an unfounded suspicion of his wife Desdemona
and his lieu-tenant Cassio, which results not only in Othello's suicide,
but also in the murder of his wife who, as it turns out, has been
innocent of adultery all along. The tragedy thus represents love and
good on the one hand (embodied by Desdemona) and the involved problem of
jealousy and revenge (personified by Othello) - not least the issue of
miscegenation - on the other hand. As many of Shakespeare's works (which
usually are adaptations themselves), "Othello", first performed in 1606,
has been the basis for numerous subsequent adaptations, such as the
burlesque opera by Thomas D. Rice of 1844. The opera's plot is
essentially similar to that of the play by Shakespeare, yet a few
changes have been made. In Rice's parody, Otello and Desdemona have a
child and Shakespeare's handkerchief has become a common towel. Yet the
most conspicuous alteration is Desdemona's resurrection after being
killed at the end of the play. Apart from that, it appears that t
