Othello Monologue - Spoken Introduction and Rehearsal

My monologue is Othello's monologue from Act 5 Scene 2. It is performed by the character Othello from the 1604 play of the same name. 

The story of Othello is still very relevant to today. Othello was a very decorated general within the Venetian army. Known for his bravery and his skill in battle, however in reality he was a man plagued with self doubt and insecurity; not allowed to show weakness as a result of his position in the army and society's expectation of him as a man. 

Up until recently, society has viewed mental health as something that can be brushed over and isn't very important. However, throughout the mid 2000s this became something that was more talked about and was viewed as a much more important subject and part of wellbeing. Before that, the mentality surrounding mental illness was that it was something that could be dealt with later and wasn't anything that could affect you. 

Particularly in this time period, men were supposed to be strong in the face of adversity and never show weakness, a mindset and ideology that most probably went a long way to causing the downfall of Othello. As a result of being a veteran of war, he would have survived some very brutal and barbaric confrontations; particularly with the period he lived in, war during the 16th century was still fought using melee weapons requiring soldiers to do anything to kill their enemy and there is no doubt that Othello would have had to commit very horrific acts on the battlefield in order to rise to his position. These are things that would have a terrible effect on a person and probably be something that would always stay with them.