An Interview with 13-year-old Abe Ogles

For part of my study of Othello, I thought it would be fun to do an interview with my younger brother, Abe.  I wanted to see what Abe knew and thought about Shakespeare, and also get his impression of Othello.  I also thought it might be a good opportunity to share some of my knowledge of Shakespeare and get someone else excited about his plays.  To help Abe prepare, I asked him to watch a brief summary video of Othello (I couldn't bring myself to ask him to read the whole thing.)  He watched the video and then we had the following conversation.

To begin, I wanted to see how much Abe knew about Shakespeare, and what his impression was.

Who is William Shakespeare?

Abe: He’s a writer/director.  He made plays that are really famous. 

Why do you think his plays are so famous?

Abe: Because they were acted out well, and probably because they were popular during his time.

Why do you think we pay so much attention to Shakespeare now? 

Abe: Because of so much attention that the plays got then. 

At this point I interrupted Abe to explain one of the reasons I think we still read/watch Shakespeare today, and that is because he treats feelings and behaviors that are timeless.  I explained to Abe that many of the emotions in the plays were relevant then, are relevant now, and will be forever, because they're part of the human experience.

Who would you say the main characters of Othello are?

Abe: Othello, Iago, Desdemona.

What was your overall reaction to the play?

Abe: I was angry because Othello killed himself, but I was excited about Iago going to jail.

What would you say the theme of the play was?

Abe: You mean like what was the moral?  Yes. People shouldn’t react irresponsibly to what others say.

Most of the next few questions were designed to see how well Abe, as a thirteen-year-old in the 21st century, related to Shakespeare's characters.

How would you describe Othello?  Did you like him?  Did you dislike him?  What were his strengths/weaknesses?

Abe: I liked him.  He seemed friendly, and I thought it was cool how strong and confident he was.  I don’t think you can blame Othello for killing Desdemona’s death. 

How would you describe Iago?  

Abe: Annoying, A liar.

If you had to think of another character in a movie, book, or real life, who would you compare Iago to?

Abe: Umm...probably that one guy in the Princess Bride.  Prince Humperdink.

If you could be any character in the play who would you be?  

Abe: Kind hard because they all end up dead or tortured.  Well...I don't know.  Probably Cassio, because he was the most innocent. 

At this point, I wanted to ask questions that would help Abe narrow in on the motivations behind the characters, since that is such a key element of Shakespeare's plays. 

What would say the main problem in the play was?

Abe: Gossiping.  And also because Iago deceiving Othello.

If you were in the play, how would you solve that problem?

Abe: Make Othello and his wife talk it out so they would figure out what Iago was doing.  Ask Cassio if he was having an affair with her. 

What bugged you the most about the play?

Abe: That everybody ended up dead or tortured, besides the dad of the wife.

Abe seemed somewhat skeptical about how well Shakespeare translates to our time, so I asked if he thought Othello would be successful as a movie.

Do you think it would make a good movie?

Abe: Umm. That’s a hard one.  Maybe?  Yes. 

If you were directing the movie, who would have play Othello?

Will Smith.  He’s the only black actor I can think of.

Who would you have play Iago?

Abe: Ohhh. Dang it.  I can only think of four people.  Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Jack Black.  None of them are good for Iago.  Oh, I know, the guy from Italian Job, the bad guy. 

Who would you have play Desdemona?

Abe: Who’s the girl from Miss Congeniality?  Sandra Bullock. Yeah, her.

Did you know that Shakespeare wrote comedies?

Abe: He did?  I didn’t know that. 

Would you be interested in reading one of Shakespeare’s plays?

Abe: Depends on how long it is. 

Did you know that in Shakespeare’s time they played tennis?

Abe: Yes. It was like one of the first games ever invented, besides backgammon. 

Name as many Shakespeare plays as you can. 

Romeo and Juliet.  Othello. 

How many plays do you think Shakespeare wrote?

Probably between 50 to 100.  Actually, he only wrote 38.  Oh.  Dang it. 

To end, I explained to Abe that one of the key elements of Shakespearean drama is the motivation behind each character's actions.  Othello kills Desdemona because he is jealous.  Iago plots because he is jealous of Cassio.  I explained that Shakespeare tried to illustrate "why we do things" or true human behavior in his plays. 

Overall, I think that this interview helped me narrow in on what the core elements of the play are.  It was interesting to take Abe's perspective and attempt to teach him why Shakespearean drama is still valuable today.