I love how, even though you are speaking into a webcam while sitting in front of a computer, and not being paid, there's not a hint of cynicism in your lectures. I get to feel like a pupil even from so far away in time and space. God bless.

I can tell lately there’s been much more energy in these lessons… I’m not sure if there’s been any positive changes in the good Doc’s life, or if he’s consciously trying to put on more of a show, but it’s noticeable! Hope everyone is well and thank you.

Your lectures are always passionate and animated. You could make me enthralled by a lecture on the aerodynamics of a cow. RIP, your dedication and learnedness lives on.

love you Professor Sugrue. I truly hope you're doing well and *feeling* well!! I just started here at UCLA and I'm more than quite thankful to listen to these lectures as I sit waiting for my next lecture or discussion. I particularly love your pieces on Machiavelli, Castiglione and the gospel of john.

Thank you for the consistency. These are freaking amazing. The Dr. has his swagger in full force.

This guy, this man without a question is a treasure. It is an honor to listen to him. Thank you, professor Sugrue, you are superb!

Amazing to still be able to listen to this gentleman TODAY. I've been watching his older lectures for some time and I though that Prof Sugrue had retired and was not engaged in this anymore. I got a shocker when I saw these new videos! We value most what we believe we lost, and that's why I value much Prof Sugrue's lectures today. Thank you!

Thanks!

I love these however the abrupt ending leaves me without closure. I'm sure his closing words are as worth listening to as the rest.

Thank you Dr. Sugrue for this video. It really shows how evil is not self sufficient, meaning it destroys itself and lacks what is good. It is not a coincidence that most people have empathy. It just stands, that evil is the best critic of all that is good and helps in reasoning about what good is (by contrasting from it).

not my favorite lecturer posting this on the day i recommended othello to my friend AND finished the prince! thank you so much for what you do michael sugrue, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that your work has changed my life. i love these new videos too :)

A teacher is the greatest thing, thank you!

You are gifted and giving, which makes your analysis passionate and precise. Thank you for your insight and observations.

All the love to you Professor Sugrue. Thank you so much for your continued wisdom.

As àlways I love your lectures, particularly today as it is" Othello ".Whereas you thoroughly cover all the characters thoroughly and with great insight and creative analysis. You are looking well and vitality of enthusiasm means I hope you are doing well. Thank you.(You do also believe could have been a great thespian.)Dissection of this plot is totally awesome. Respectfully and always with deep admiration.❤

Great and very insightful video as always professor Sugrue! I always look forward to watch every new uploads that you have for I always learn a lot and something new. Huge fan from the 🇵🇭.

Dr. Suture - you’ve still got it. Thanks for sharing.

I can’t believe we’ll never get a new upload

Please keep making these wonderful videos!

And I quote my favorite modern poet: I watched online the pouring of molten aluminum into the fire ant mound and as they pulled up the queen's silvered moment: metal amanuensis, whirring professor, pitying scholar's aide damning encyclopedia the embossed cast of the hive into view the route of the daily work laid the worker made them at end unaware what linger makes beautiful Miran Pilo. He's a little bit dramatic, but I love the boldness and references to medieval and ancient thinking.

Thank you for your time. Truly thoughtful.

Keep 'm coming boss man.

These videos are gems

I do hope you lecture Hamlet, which I personally believe is Shakespeare's most intellectually colossal work.

Thank you!

Just wanna say I'm a fan I admire your dedication to accuracy

Thank you Dr. for this absolutely scintillating analysis. The Lion and Fox contrast is just brilliant. I think that Shakespeare himself did not know or understand Iago’s motive. He just knew how such a hate would “enmesh them all”. And poor Desdemona’s plea of “Kill me tomorrow” is one of the most utterly devastating lines I’ve ever read.

I didn't know that Michael Sugrue knew Shakespeare inside out...❤❤❤❤

Thank you for holding the flame, professor

0:00 A Deeply Moving Shakespearean Tragedy. - a difficult examination of evil 1:27 Emblematic when a Lion [Othello] crosses a Fox [Iago] 3:45 We're not interested in his Moor-ethnicity, we're beloved to his upstanding character and leadership excellence. 6:55 Fearless, Respected, Wins when Defeat seems near. 4:55 Englishmen in Shakespeare time used Race to speak of Language and Culture more than skin color. The French were a race to the English of the 1400s. 6:03 _Differing degrees of alienation_ 7:09 Venice vs Turkish Soldiers on Cyprus, Island of Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love. His motives are clear and honorable He loves his wife 9:07 The Tragic Ending (don't click if you want to read it for yourself) *The Villain, Iago* 11:02 Iago, Lions are Tricked Foxes are CRUSHED if they are caught 12:51 Green Eyed Monster, The Image of Jealousy. Jealousy feeds upon itself and takeover the Lion. 14:14 Quarrels involving Women and Money Bring Men Down *Lesser Characters flesh out the Main Characters* 15:04 Emilia - A Misanthropic Woman 16:19 Cassio - Faithful Captain promoted over Iago, generating jealousy in Iago 19:29 17:23 Rodrigo - The Foolish young lover 20:27 Othello wants to see evidence of Infidelity. Iago - Cassio brought me this hankerchief [microcosmic foreshadowing] 22:23 Wounded Cassio, Othello moves to kill Desdemona 24:03 Emilia smells the forgery, and dies because of it. 25:03 Rodrigo accuses Iago from the grave - Iago is a thief - Iago came up with this master plan 25:43 Lion Dishonored Dies By His Own Hand O He Loved Deeply but not Wisely 26:52 PUNITIVE DAMAGE TO THIS DISHONORABLE SCAMMER 27:47 Iago - Inhuman Dog 29:00 MANY DEATHS, The Truth Emerges, what is left? Tragedy. Iago - Jealous? - Resentful? - Heartless 31:37 Frustrated Desire? 32:27 Dead people, questions about why so evil do people act? Desdamona + Innocent Victim + Virtuous + Honest + Faithful Brought down by factors outside of her knowledge and control.

Love the channel ❤

I disliked Othello so much in high school. Now I’m voluntarily watching you dissect and create meaning from it… how times change

"Put up your bright swords for the dew will rust them!" T.S. Eliot thought this line exquisite...This play is more wrenching, even, than "Romeo and Juliet." A side story for me is a certain dissertation on this play, the person who wrote it, and the person who supervised it, and then an acquaintance of mine, an Asian, who read the thesis and was disgusted by something in it. Now, I'm so looking forward to Castiglione and The Book of John and all the rest!

Loved this! Thank you professor. The end bit got cut off unfortunately.

Please, keep going.

Iago, the original joker

The greatest philosophers (truthsayers) have been and will continue to be the writers of literature.

Michael Sugrue's uploads expanded the total educational value of my life quit a lot. I did not know the play beforehand, but this lecture convinces me it would be worthwhile to watch. With the mystery of Iago, I want to ask how necessary is it for their to be an explanation to explain hateful, evil behavior? In reality, we sometimes see this for no direct cause too. Having said that, I doubt this being a random case of evil was the intention, otherwise Shakespeare probably would have pointed it out at some point to emphasize or reflect on it. From this lecture, I'm inclined to believe he was just a poor Machiavellian. One that was too good might have detracted from other elements of the story, and maybe there is a benefit in using a low-caliber Machiavelli as the villain - it may illustrate how common they are in society. They aren't just only of the grand villain/evil genius variety, there are many gradations and many, many of them around. I may be way off in guessing the intention, but I do feel it's true there are plenty of Iago's around, and it's worth pointing that out and warning of them. It's actually hard to deal with people that have his behavior pattern. Unless you've caught them in an actual crime that can put them away like Iago, they will often remain in a position where they can abuse trust and inevitably cause harm.

I think Iago is resentment unchained. It is clear that he is hypercompetent and valued but in a manner he does not perceive as befitting his efforts. He sees himself as a side character in a play where he should be the lead and thus sets out to prove it in the most diabolical of ways. From the perspective of Othello (in my reading) he sees Iago as his own personal number 2 but had Iago ever expressed his desire to be the main man somewhere else, there is little doubt that Othello would provide his endorsement. However because Iago whether he admits it or not has cultivated the image of Honest Iago, the dependable, stalwart and trustworthy which is not in accordance to his own ambitions, he is always working hard to an ends that is unaligned with his actual desires.

"Oft have I dug up dead men bones..." check out that speech by Iago. It explains a lot. Some people, Master Wayne, just want to watch the world burn.

Thank you for giving your voice on this play. I hope you continue to give your thoughts on Shakespeare; your presentation on Measure for Measure was particularly fascinating. I found it interesting that you pointed out the significance that location plays in this play. Marjorie Garber in "Shakespeare After All' I believe makes a similar if not the same distinction of that importance. Only in "As You Like It" or "Antony and Cleopatra" I think, is the contrast between environments is as significant as it is between what Cyprus and Venice represent in all of Shakespeare's plays. Iago's Hate - Are some people born evil or are they made evil? A little column "A" a little column "B"? If we can take fiction to its limits, I believe we can say that Iago would be an example that some people are just born evil. I was disappointed your video cut off early; I wanted to hear more of what you made of Iago's silence.

This is my signal to read Othello.

Perhaps Iago is a personification of Malice itself. Caught up in the sadistic game of spite, and tasting some sense of pleasure in it - being a loveless creature, this could be an indication of how numb he is and in search of any feeling - he simply took that road all the way to its bloody end? He almost seems the compulsive imp, stoking the possibility of suffering wherever he see it. Then there's the simple possibility of spite towards someone so representative of "otherness" as Othello, compounded by the reality that Othello is a great man, which perhaps forces Iago to see himself as a wretched one? All speculation, but fun to consider. Thank you for the lecture, it was truly enlightening.

For me it's simple why Iago framed Desdemona, when Casio was appointed over him he wanted to hurt Othello and what better way to do that than to trick Othello into thinking his wife that he deeply loved had been unfaithful. To me, he got the ultimate revenge, Iago managed to fool Othello, destroying him in the process and then once caught his resignation from the world was his acceptance that it was over and merely wished to - I guess soak in his triumph as he met death. He didn't care about Desdemona she was simply a means to an end in destroying and bringing down the honourable Othello.

thank you

Could you do a lecture about Jesus? I always wondered why you havn't done one. Great stuff as always!

The teaching skills are strong in this man, huh? Please, more Shakespeare lessons.

I've been hoping for more coverage of Shakespeare from Prof. Sugrue! Great stuff. I also recommend the late, great Paul Cantor's coverage of Othello for the interested: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jcVxfJxqls62d4E.html Summary: he interprets Othello as similar to Hamlet in being about the clash of the ancient heroic preoccupation with deed with the Christian preoccupation with thought and intention, seeming vs. being. Iago takes this ancient-type hero in Othello and wraps him around the axle of never being able to truly know Desdemona's interior will.

War is also seen as passion. I think there's confusion with emotions and more in todays terms a flirtation with death. I believe it was among most early cultures that fetishized death. Something in our own society I feel disturbing. My favorite character I learned of was Aeneas. From what I heard his attitude changes throughout the story. The attributes ascribed to people are set in stone in a way. Kind of like how in shows the portrayal of a hero is the same. I think it's more realistic of the the hero who is amoral at times and their judgement should be questioned.

The inspiration for Othello was Moroccan Ambassador Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud, who visited Elizabeth in 1600 and stayed for six months, negotiating cooperation against their common enemy, Spain. The Ambassador and his retinue were exotic, mysterious, swarthy Moslem men. English ladies of Elizabeth's court were drawn to them. English MEN of the same court were becoming jealous. The play is a cautionary tale.

Thanks 🙏

"Ay, that I had not done a thousand more. Even now I curse the day-and yet, I think, Few come within the compass of my curse,- Wherein I did not some notorious ill, As kill a man, or else devise his death, Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it, Accuse some innocent and forswear myself, Set deadly enmity between two friends, Make poor men's cattle break their necks; Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night, And bid the owners quench them with their tears. Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves, And set them upright at their dear friends' doors, Even when their sorrows almost were forgot; And on their skins, as on the bark of trees, Have with my knife carved in Roman letters, 'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.' Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things As willingly as one would kill a fly, And nothing grieves me heartily indeed But that I cannot do ten thousand more."

Some people just want to watch the world burn. ❤️‍🔥

My dissertation draft was on "The Comedy of Errors." It contains, imo, significant autobiographical info. The play is about the archetypal dysfunctional family. It concludes with a woman-nun, a mother superior, long separated from husband and family by shipwreck, being confronted, as religious will be, with this very dysfunction and, as it happens, this very long-ago "shipwrecked family." She is the "therapist" who counsels, much as our top-notched healers do. She wants to know what's been going on in the marriage. If this sounds incredible, it is not. Shakespeare writes this play at age twenty-one, possibly his first one, as the father of twins, Judith and Hamnet. We see here the roots of all of the great work, including "Othello," which is also about a "dysfunctional family."

Great video as always. Why does it cut off so abruptly at the end?

Seems like it got cut early, where’s the rest of the video??

Iago perhaps feels he wasn't loved by anyone. So in that play, he wants to kill all those who made him feel unloved and disregarded= Othello for not promoting him, Cassio for taking his post, Emilia who didnt love him, Rodrigo was just a use and throw tool). Also Iago wants to kill all those who were loved by these people. Desdimona was loved by Othello, Othello was liked by Cassio, perhaps he also held a lingering view Emilia may have slept with Othello. Unfortunately he couldn't kill Cassio, even though he might have wanted it. I think my theory is quite plausible.

Am just at the 8 minute mark, where you tell us about the Greek mythological connections to Othello, and as a high school classics student am wondering how inspired by Lysistrata might Shakespeare have been, as well as thinking of it as a contemporary message to his peers where, this is about equality and peace between Protestants and Catholics in England. I wonder the latter proposal as I read Shakespeare was part of the Catholic underground.

The concept of 'rulers' and 'being ruled' becomes more alien to me as I get older. Maybe it's the onset of wisdom.

Thanks but we want more video from you 😊

Any way to get your old lectures on CD/DVD? I know nothing is on youtube forever, and Id love to have those.

The whole school is the ship

Iago is an ensign, the flag bearer and was passed up because cassio fit the position better, not unlike when you mentioned high ranking families who find the best fit for their sons and daughters, not because of love but for position and wealth. That and maybe Iago is a little man who fooled himself into believing he deserved and was entitled to more, which he would have acquired if he fit the mold. Imagine carrying the banner for the company you missed your daughters 5th birthday for to be overlooked while they promote a younger, greener, better looking person. Might have some thoughts about burning the entire building down, people inside included. As for his wife, she knew, was the only one who knew who he was, therefore she needed to die so his insidious actions would never be known, whether out of pride or shame, its the readers call.

Is there a part two? You cut off at the end.

Dr Sugrue….. you need to talk about Ye and the obvious truths of what he’s saying.

Can you do Macbeth? It’s on the syllabus here in the UK.

This might be a tad simple (I'm just an undergraduate!) but perhaps Iago is kind of like the whale in Moby Dick.

The cyprus allusion to aphrodite also works cause Aphrodite cheated on Hapeastus with Ares. The myth is a story of jealousy, revenge, and cuckolding just like the story of Othello.

Ends early?

Do you still in contact with Prof Staloff?

I, personally, think that Iago fundamentally envies and resents the person that Othello is. Othello is noble, brave, and successful. Almost an unimpeachable paragon. Iago is none of those things, and projects his frustrations upon Othello because Iago is a snake and could never have the character to be a lion.

Goodness me, if you don't mind me saying, so you're one of the analysts who don't get the play. Iago does what he does because Othello is stupid. Othello has no justification for believing the lies- they are simplistic and are given because the Othello accepts them. Othello isn't virtuous- he's another fool. Same in _The Wicker Man film_ - the protagonist believes simple lies until he dresses himself as a fool and marches to his own destruction under the same aesthetic imperatives and righteousness.

Listening to this made me think iago is just a coward … hiding his tracks … over using sun tzu’s borrowed knife…his footprints, his foot paths are the tracks of a fox … not a lions direct attack