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Othello
Apples" narrated by Scheherezade in the Thousand and One
INTR
INTRODUCTION
ODUCTION Nights.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
KEY FACTS
Shakespeare's father was a glove-maker, and Shakespeare
received no more than a grammar school education. He • Full Title: The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice
married Anne Hathaway in 1582, but left his family behind • When Written: c. 1603
around 1590 and moved to London, where he became an actor
• Where Written: England
and playwright. He was an immediate success: Shakespeare
soon became the most popular playwright of the day as well as • When Published: 1622
a part-owner of the Globe Theater. His theater troupe was • Literary Period: The Renaissance
adopted by King James as the King's Men in 1603. Shakespeare • Genre: Tragedy
retired as a rich and prominent man to Stratford-upon-Avon in • Setting: Venice and Cyprus
1613, and died three years later.
• Climax: The murder of Desdemona, by Othello
• Antagonist: Iago
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
From the eleventh to the fifteenth century, Catholics battled to EXTRA CREDIT
re-conquer Spain from the Islamic Arabs and Berbers, or
Moor or less? In Elizabethan England, the term "Moor" could
Moors, who had successfully occupied it since the 900s. The
be used to refer to a wide range of non-European persons,
struggle inspired intense prejudice and suspicion that lasted
including black Africans, North Africans, Arabs, and even
well after the Moors were overthrown. Philip III of Spain
Indians. References to Othello's origins throughout the play are
expelled 300,000 "Moriscos" from the Iberian (Spanish)
contradictory and ambiguous Iago calls Othello a "Barbary
peninsula not long after Shakespeare finished Othello, in 1609.
horse" (1.1.110); Barbary was an area in Africa between Egypt
In England during Shakespeare's time, views regarding "Moors"
and the Atlantic Ocean. Roderigo, however, calls him "thick-
were slightly more complex because of strong anti-Catholic
lips" (1.1.65-6), suggesting that he may come from further
sentiment in England and English fears of invasion by the
south on the African continent. Brabantio calls him "sooty"
Spanish. In fact, England maintained independent trade
(1.2.70); Othello, along with numerous other characters, refers
relationships with "Moorish" Northern Africa, despite Spanish
to himself as "black." It is impossible to know now exactly what
and Portuguese protest. The English slave trade also brought
Shakespeare or his audience would have thought a "Moor" is.
blacks to Europe, from mid-sixteenth century onward. Queen
Elizabeth herself founded The Barbary Company, formally
institutionalizing this trade; in addition, she received a
delegation of Moroccan diplomats in 1600. However, the
PL
PLO
OT SUMMARY
English still felt a strong suspicion of Islam: Elizabeth issued a In Venice, Roderigo complains to Iago that, despite the money
degree expelling Moors from Africa and Spanish "Moriscos" he's given Iago to help him woo Desdemona, she's eloped with
from the boundary of England in 1599 and 1601. the Moorish general Othello. Iago responds that he too hates
Othello, for whom he works as a standard-bearer: Othello
RELATED LITERARY WORKS chose Cassio, rather than Iago, to be his lieutenant. The two
men go to the home of Desdemona's father, the senator
Shakespeare's primary source for Othello was Un capitano moro
Brabantio, and rouse him with graphic descriptions of his
("A Moorish Captain"), one of one hundred short stories in the
daughter having sex with the Moor. Brabantio, enraged,
collection Gli Hecatommithi, published by the Italian, Cinthio.
interrupts Othello as he receives an urgent message from the
Cinthio's story provides the backbone for Shakespeare's plot,
Duke of Venice, and accompanies Othello see the Duke. In
although Shakespeare introduces some minor new characters
front of the Duke, Brabantio accuses Othello of having used
(such as Brabantio and Roderigo) and other alterations—for
magic to seduce Desdemona. Othello responds that it was
instance, in Cinthio's version, Iago's motive for revenge against
stories of his exciting life history and military bravery that won
Othello is that he formerly loved and was rejected by
Desdemona. When summoned, Desdemona supports Othello's
Desdemona. There are also similarities between Othello, "A
story. Brabantio grudgingly blesses the newlyweds. The Duke
Moorish Captain," and a story by the name of "The Three
then sends Othello to lead a fleet of Venetians to defend
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Cyprus from a Turkish attack. Desdemona accompanies him. Meanwhile, Iago goes to Bianca's; finding Cassio wounded, he
Iago reassures Roderigo that he will still win Desdemona in the stabs Roderigo, killing him (and thus assuring that his secret
end, then privately admits that he's just using Roderigo for will not be revealed). Iago then calls the others, including
money while he plots his own revenge. Bianca, whom he arrests, accusing her of having conspired with
When the Venetians arrive in Cyprus, the governor Montano Roderigo. While this is going on, Othello arrives at
reports that a storm at sea has drowned the Turkish fleet, Desdemona's chamber. Enchanted by her beauty, he
eliminating the military threat. Iago quickly hatches a plan to nonetheless resists her pleas to spare her life, and he smothers
make Othello believe that Desdemona has been unfaithful to her with a pillow. Emilia arrives to tell Othello that Roderigo is
him with either Cassio or Roderigo. That night, while Othello dead and Cassio alive, when she hears Desdemona's dying
and Desdemona go to bed to consummate their marriage, Iago cries.
succeeds in getting Cassio drunk. He then goads Roderigo into When Emilia demands why Othello has killed Desdemona,
provoking Cassio, starting a brawl. Disgusted, Othello demotes Othello explains how Iago proved to him that Desdemona slept
Cassio. with Cassio. As Montano, Iago, and Gratiano, a relative of
Meanwhile, Iago convinces Desdemona to try to get Othello to Brabantio's all arrive, Emilia accuses Iago of lying and explains
reinstate Cassio. Iago then uses Desdemona's requests that he that she stole this from Desdemona at her husband's behest.
be merciful to Cassio to make Othello suspect that Desdemona Othello attacks Iago. In the uproar, Iago stabs and kills Emilia,
is cheating on him with Cassio. Othello, takes the bait, then flees. Montano and Gratiano disarm Othello, then chase
repeatedly praising Iago for his honesty. Later, when down Iago. When he is dragged back in their custody, Othello
Desdemona accidentally drops a handkerchief that Othello wounds him before being disarmed again. Letters found on
had given to her as a love-token, Emilia gives it to Iago, who had Roderigo's corpse reveal the full extent of Iago's plots; he
long asked her to steal it for him. Iago then plants it in Cassio's himself refuses to explain himself. Othello draws a hidden
room. dagger and, after a speech, kills himself.
Othello, upset, demands that Iago show him proof of
Desdemona's infidelity. Iago responds that he has heard Cassio CHARA
CHARACTERS
CTERS
fantasize lewdly about Desdemona in his sleep and that he has
seen Cassio wipe his mouth with Desdemona's handkerchief. MAJOR CHARACTERS
Othello promotes Iago to the status of lieutenant and orders
Othello – A Christian Moor who has earned a high reputation
him to kill Cassio within three days. Othello then goes to
as a general in the Venetian army and has recently married
Desdemona's room, and asks her for the handkerchief.
Desdemona, daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio.
Desdemona, who had been searching for the handkerchief,
Othello is characterized by his plainspoken, honest (perhaps
admits she can't find it. Othello storms off. Meanwhile, Cassio's
even naïve) nature, which, together with his status as an
mistress, the prostitute Bianca, comes to his quarters. Cassio
outsider, leaves him vulnerable to the plots of his standard-
asks her to make a copy of a handkerchief he's recently found in
bearer, Iago, to make him suspect his loyal wife, Desdemona, of
his room, because he admires it.
infidelity.
Iago continues to spur Othello's jealousy. When he reports that
Iago – Othello's disloyal standard-bearer and the villain of the
Cassio has admitted to sleeping with Desdemona, Othello falls
play. Angry at having been passed over by Othello for
into an epileptic fit. Iago urges Othello to hide while he
promotion to the rank of lieutenant, and also because he seems
questions Cassio about Desdemona. In fact, he asks Cassio
to enjoy creating mayhem for its own sake, Iago develops an
about Bianca, causing Cassio to laugh. Watching from afar,
intricate conspiracy to ruin Othello. He is married to Emilia.
Othello grows increasingly furious. Then, Bianca shows up, and
throws Desdemona's handkerchief at Cassio, accusing him of Desdemona – The Daughter of the Venetian senator
having it from another whore. After Cassio and Bianca leave, Brabantio. Having been charmed by Othello's tales of exotic
Iago easily persuades Othello to kill Desdemona. Iago promises lands and military exploits, Desdemona elopes with him before
to take care of Cassio himself. He then convinces Roderigo that the play begins (although they do not consummate their
if Cassio were to die, Othello would have to remain in Cyprus, marriage until they have received sanction from the Duke and,
leaving Desdemona in Venice for Roderigo. Iago instructs reluctantly, her father). Desdemona is a model wife, if perhaps
Roderigo to wait outside Bianca's house that night and kill too trusting of Iago. She follows Othello to Cyprus and shows
Cassio when he leaves. constant loyalty to him, even to the moment of death, when he
kills her on false suspicions that she has been unfaithful.
That night, Iago sets Roderigo up to kill Cassio as planned.
When Cassio exits Bianca's house, Roderigo attacks him; both Michael Cassio – A young, charming, and handsome soldier,
are wounded. Overhearing Roderigo's cries for help, Othello whom Othello promotes to the rank of lieutenant, over the
believes that Cassio is dead and is impressed by Iago's loyalty. more experienced Iago. Cassio is loyal to Othello and friendly
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with Desdemona, though he's unkind to the prostitute Bianca, PREJUDICE
who seems to love him. While intelligent, he is not cunning, and
The most prominent form of prejudice on display in
Iago easily ensnares the unwitting Cassio in a plot to convince
Othello is racial prejudice. In the very first scene,
Othello that Desdemona has cheated on him with Cassio.
Roderigo and Iago disparage Othello in explicitly
Br
Brabantio
abantio – A senator in Venice and Desdemona's father. At racial terms, calling him, among other things, "Barbary horse"
first enraged by Desdemona's elopement with Othello, he does and "thick lips." In nearly every case, the prejudiced characters
eventually grant a grudging blessing to their marriage. But his use terms that describe Othello as an animal or beast. In other
blessing never seems heartfelt, and he dies of grief shortly after words, they use racist language to try to define Othello not only
their departure for Cyprus (and before any of the tragedies of as an outsider to white Venetian society, but as being less
the play occur). human and therefore less deserving of respect. Othello himself
Emilia – Iago's wife and Desdemona's friend and serving seems to have internalized this prejudice. On a number of
woman. Although Emilia is far less idealistic about marriage and occasions he describes himself in similarly unflattering racial
the world in general than Desdemona is, she is loyal to her terms. And when he believes that he has lost his honor and
mistress. Though she steals Desdemona's handkerchief for manhood through Desdemona's supposed unfaithfulness, he
Iago, she doesn't know else anything about Iago's plot. In fact, quickly becomes the kind of un-rational animal or monster that
when she learns of his plot, she reveals Iago's duplicity, and he the white Venetians accuse him of being.
kills her for it. Yet racial prejudice is not the only prejudice on display in
Duk
Dukee of V
Venice
enice – The official authority in Venice, the Duke has Othello. Many characters in the play also exhibit misogyny, or
great respect for Othello as a military man and, unlike the other hatred of women, primarily focused on women's honesty or
residents of Venice, does not betray any racial prejudice against dishonesty about their sexuality. Several times, Othello's age is
Othello and, in fact, is unsurprised that Desdemona fell in love also a reason for insulting him. In all of these cases, the
with him. It is the Duke who sends Othello to lead the Venetian characters displaying prejudice seek to control and define
mission to defend Cyprus against the Turks. another person or group who frighten them. In other words,
prejudice works as a kind of strategy to identify outsiders and
insiders and to place yourself within the dominant group. And
MINOR CHARACTERS
Othello himself seems to understand this—he concludes his
Roderigo – A long-rejected suitor of Desdemona, who seeks to suicide speech by boasting that he, a Christian, once killed a
woo her with jewels through the Iago as. Like Othello, Roderigo Muslim Turk, a "circumcised dog" (5.2.355) who had murdered
trusts Iago and is duped by him. Otherwise, Roderigo shares a Venetian citizen. Othello tries to use religious prejudice
none of Othello's noble characteristics. against Muslims to cement his place within mainstream
Bianca – A prostitute in Cyprus, who expresses real affection Christian Venetian society.
for Cassio. He, however, only mocks her.
Lodo
odovico
vico – A relative of Brabantio's, Lodovico acts as an APPEARANCE VS. REALITY
emissary, bringing letters from Venice to Cyprus. He is present The tragic plot of Othello hinges on the ability of the
on the island for the full unfolding of the tragedy. villain, Iago, to mislead other characters,
Montano – The governor or Cyprus before Othello's arrival. particularly Roderigo and Othello, by encouraging
Gr
Gratiano
atiano – A kinsman of Brabantio who accompanies Lodovico them to misinterpret what they see. Othello is susceptible to
from Venice to Cyprus. Iago's ploys because he himself is so honest and
straightforward. As Iago puts it: "the Moor is of a free and open
Clown – Othello's fool/servant. Although he appears in only nature/ That thinks men honest that but seem to be so; and will
two short scenes, his riddling language reflects Othello's own as tenderly be led by th' nose/ As asses are" (2.1.391-4)
language as the Moor descends into jealous madness.
In Othello, Shakespeare plays with the idea of unreliable reality
in a number of ways. The language of the play, which time and
THEMES again refers to dreams, trances, and vision, constantly
highlights the way in which what seems to be real may actually
In LitCharts literature guides, each theme gets its own color- be fake. In addition, Shakespeare extends the theme of
coded icon. These icons make it easy to track where the themes appearance vs. reality to include the art of playwriting and
occur most prominently throughout the work. If you don't have acting. As he develops his plot against Othello, Iago creates
a color printer, you can still use the icons to track themes in scenes within scenes. He sets up encounters between two
black and white. characters and putting a third in the position of a spectator. For
instance, he has Othello watch Cassio and Desdemona speak,
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and he has Othello watch him speak with Cassio about Bianca. humanity—by making him doubt whether he has power over his
In each case, Iago manipulates Othello so that Othello sees the wife. In despair over his suspicions about his wife's faithfulness,
appearance that Iago wants him to see, rather than the reality Othello laments of himself: "A horned man's a monster and a
of what is actually happening. In this way, Iago becomes a kind beast" (4.2.62). That is, in his view, to lose control of the woman
of "director"—he even directly addresses the audience through in his life is to lose everything that makes him human. In other
his many soliloquies—and Shakespeare draws attention to the words, without his honor, he sees himself in the same terms
way that a playwright and actors create an appearance onstage that the prejudiced characters see him: as an animal.
that tricks the audience into seeing something other than
reality. WOMANHOOD AND SEXUALITY
Two contrasting images of womanhood dominate
JEALOUSY Othello: the virtuous and loyal woman, or Madonna,
Iago refers to jealousy as the "green-eyed monster." embodied by Desdemona; and the whore,
As this metaphor suggests, jealousy is closely embodied, to a certain extent by Bianca. Yet over the course of
associated with the theme of appearance and the play, it becomes clear that these two different ways of
reality. For instance, at one point Othello demands that Iago describing women don't actually apply to real women. Instead,
provide "ocular proof" of Desdemona's infidelity—he demands they are male fantasies imposed on women—ideals that men
to see reality. But Iago instead provides the circumstantial want woman to fulfill, and roles that women therefore
evidence of the handkerchief, which Othello, consumed by his purposefully play for men. For instance, Desdemona often
jealousy, accepts as a substitute for "ocular proof." Othello's describes her devotion to Othello in front of other people,
jealousy impedes his ability to distinguish between reality and underscoring that, even though she does love him very deeply,
appearance. While the prejudiced characters in the play she is to a certain extent playing the role of the virtuous wife.
denigrate Othello as an animal or a beast based on his race, Iago then stokes Othello's jealousy in part by forcing Othello to
Othello's obvious honor and intelligence makes these attacks realize that there is no way for a man to tell the difference
obviously ridiculous. Yet when Othello is overcome by jealousy, between a truly virtuous wife and one who is just playing the
he does become beast-like, falling into epileptic fits that rob him role of virtuous wife while actually acting as a whore and being
of the ability to speak intelligibly. unfaithful.
Othello is also not the only character in Othello to feel jealousy. Meanwhile, Iago's wife, Emilia, complicates the simple contract
Both Iago and Roderigo act to destroy Othello out of jealousy, between the Madonna and the whore. Initially, she wants to
with disastrous consequences. please her husband—and does so by stealing Desdemona's
handkerchief, knowing that he has long hankered after it. Yet
MANHOOD AND HONOR she is not wholly loyal, and even tells Desdemona in 4.3 that
she believes many women, including she herself, would cheat
Throughout the play, various male figures seek to
on their husbands under certain circumstances. And, finally, she
assert and protect their manhood and their honor.
proves her own, independent virtue by defending Desdemona's
Based on the Duke's regard for him in 1.3, it is clear
virtue and revealing her husband's crimes in the process. So
that Othello has attained political power through his military
while womanhood in Othello is, therefore, often defined by men
might. The subplot in which Iago gets Cassio drunk and causes
in terms of pure virtue or voracious and deceptive sexuality, the
him to humiliate himself, also indicates the importance of
play ultimately shows that real women are far more complex.
"reputation, reputation, reputation." In fact, Cassio asserts that
reputation is all that makes you human ("I have lost the
immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial" SYMBOLS
[2.3.252-3]). Iago asserts—however genuinely or
disingenuously—that reputation is more valuable than anything Symbols appear in teal text throughout the Summary and
in the world: "good name in man and woman [...] is the Analysis sections of this LitChart.
immediate jewel of their souls" (3.3.156).
Though military exploits are one way for men to build their
THE HANDKERCHIEF
honor, when not in war the primary means by which men define
their honor is their ability to command the faithfulness of their In European medieval and renaissance love poetry,
women. In 1.1, Iago and Roderigo call Brabantio's honor into the handkerchief is typically a symbol for a
question because he hasn't been able to control the romantic woman's romantic favor. For instance, there was a particular
or sexual impulses of his daughter, Desdemona. Later, Iago ritual in which a lady would drop her handkerchief for a knight
drives Othello to question his own manhood—indeed, his very to pick up and keep as a token of her regard. The handkerchief
that Othello gives Desdemona is, similarly, a love-token and
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