Jillian Bowdring -- Clash of Cultures

   This is mostly very good but I was hoping you would see that the Sanlikol opera's
   plot is related to the Shakespeare plot by a series of substitutions or 
   reversals in the Venice-Turkey relationship, or in the basic traits of 
   characters or the relationships between characters, that all have the effect 
   of shining a light on those relationships "from the other side," so to speak.  
   For instance:

      Shakespeare                                Sanlikol

      Venice's "colony" on Cyprus is             Turkey's "colony" on Cyprus
      potentially under attack by Turkey         is potentially under attack by Venice

      Othello is a black Moorish warrior         Sumbul is a black eunuch 
      for Venice                                 who tries to negotiate peace for 
                                                 Turkey
   
      Desdemona is daughter of a senator         Suzan is a slave
 
      Iago is motivated mostly by hate           Frenk Mustafa is motivated
      for Othello (and Cassio)                   mostly by love for Suzan   

   There are several other substitutions or reversals of this type too.       
  
   I don't think that it is right to say that Venice and Turkey "cooperate" in 
   either story.  In both stories, in fact they are enemies that are at war.  
   In the Shakespeare play, a battle is avoided because the Turkish fleet is
   destroyed by a storm; in the opera, open war is essentially avoided by negotiation.  
   But in both cases, the underlying relationship is adversarial.   

   The writing is mostly good, but there are a few places where you say things
   in awkward ways.  For instance:

   "Another border that is evident in the story is one to deceive vs. to be truthful,"
   Better: "The border between deception and truthfulness is also evident ... "


   Grade:  (88) B+