Othello, the Moor of Venice, Better Known as Justin Timberlake

Who would have known that this guy...
 

and this guy...


would have so much in common!

Turns out, the song Cry Me A River by Justin Timbelake bears an uncanny resemblance to Othello's feelings in the play. So in the song, JT is concerned that his girl is cheating on him. This girl that he held above everything else (she was his sun and earth at least) has been seeing some other guy and he is completely shocked. He won't even listen to the girl's argument because he heard about her escapades from the guy himself. In the play, Othello reacts the same. Though Desdemona tries to tell him the truth, that she did not cheat on him with Cassio, he won't even give her the time of day because he heard what he thought was Cassio talking about he and Desdemona's relationship. As those of us who have read that part of the play know, that was not the case. He was really talking about Bianca. But, back to the similarities. N*SYNC's former lead singer also talks about how other people have been telling him things that are messing with his head. IAGO, ANYONE?! He has to be referencing Othello at this point! Iago's sole purpose in the story is telling Othello things that mess with his head, INCLUDING that Desdemona cheated on him with Cassio. It's like Mr. Timberlake is telling a modern version of the story or something! One part of the lyrics also mentions how there is no chance for them to be together anymore, and a little later, it says "the damage is done, so I guess I be leaving". That sounds a lot like something bad happened. Like maybe he killed her?? Is this a coincidence? I think not. I think the real truth behind it all is that Justin has a real passion for Shakespeare that he can't resist incorporating into his songs.

To put the cherry on top of an excellent blog, here's a vid of JB singing JT, because I've had a case of Bieber Fever lately. But really, who can resist that boyish charm?...