Othello 1995 vs. Othello 1965

 In the 1995 edition of Othello in Act 5 Scene 2 Othello came in with a white shroud covering his upper body but when uncovered he was wearing a dark shirt and pants. In contrast to the 1965 edition of Othello where he is dressed in white the whole last scene. I think that the 1995 edition adds another dimension by clothing Othello the way they did. White is commonly used to represent honesty and virtue. For example, Desdemona in both editions is dressed in a white dressing gown to represent her virtue. The white color or specifically the white shroud can represent Othello in the beginning, for example, when Desdemona talks about Othello, "And to his honors and his valiant parts/ Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate" (Othello 1.3.255-256). Othello is praised as being honest and having valiant qualities that anyone would admire and many do so in Othello. 

 On the other hand, towards the end Othello is deceived and becomes evil by killing Desdemona and ordering the killing of Cassio. When Emilia tells Othello that "Oh the more angel she,/ And you the blacker devil! (5.2.134-135) Othello is not thought of as the man with many admirable qualities but one, who has acted in jealousy and done something very evil. When I think of something evil I think of dark colors. To illustrate, when we discussed in class the room in Act 5 many groups made the room dark and the curtains a deep red to demonstrate the seriousness and the feeling in the room. 

 I had not thought of this aspect before I had watched both scenes. The one major difference I saw was in there clothing. Othello 1965 had a white outfit on while Othello 1995 had on darker clothes underneath his wrap. Othello 1995 was more believable and I thought this was how the role was to be acted. While Othello 1965 had a great voice for drama did not quite give the right performance or feeling.