Victoria Pierce -- Othello Paper

   Your analysis of the differences and connections between the Shakespeare
   play and the Sanlikol opera is very good.  I think you see pretty clearly 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.  

   You mention some of these, but it goes even deeper if you think about it.
   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.      

   A couple of details:  

   (1)  Only Act I of the play takes place in Venice, while the 
   action moves to Cyprus after that.  You're right that the whole opera is
   supposed to take place in Turkey (in the coffee-house where the story
   is acted out for the customers in the audience).   
 
   (2) You say, "Iago compares Othello to a horse and says that people will nay 
   at him."  The first part of this is correct, but look back at line 126 in 
   Act I, scene 1.  You'll see that Iago is actually saying something even
   cruder, namely that because the "horse" Othello is having sex with Desdemona,
   their children will be part horse too and "neigh" to their grandfather, 
   Brabantio, instead of speaking as humans(!)

   Grade:  (88) B+