Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. It was first performed on 1 November 1604 at Whitehall Palace in London. More recently, Othello was shown on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. The opera Otello of Giuseppe Verdi is based on this play.
Outline
At the start of the play Othello, a Moorish general in the army, promotes Cassio to lieutenant. Iago, his ensign, is angry and jealous, so he plots against Cassio by making him look bad and making Othello uncertain about keeping him as his lieutenant. Some of the things he does are to get him drunk and to start a fight with someone else from the army. Iago also tells Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him with Cassio. Cassio is demoted and Iago is promoted to lieutenant. Othello kills Desdemona and is then told by Iago's wife, Emilia, that Iago plotted against him. He goes after Iago, and injures him but does not kill him. Othello then kills himself next to his wife after saying sorry to Cassio for what he has done.
Characters of Othello
- Othello
- Iago
- Roderigo
- Montano
- Cassio
- Brabantio
- Desdemona
- Bianca
- Emilia
Othello Media
Portrait in oil painting of Ira Aldridge as Othello by Léon Herbo (1850-1907)
Desdemona and Othello, by Antonio Muñoz Degrain, 1880
Othello costume. Illustration by Percy Anderson for Costume Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical, 1906
Portrait of Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, Moorish ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, sometimes suggested as the inspiration for Othello.
The first page of Othello from the First Folio, printed in 1623
Title page of the first quarto (1622)
Artist William Mulready portrays American actor Ira Aldridge as Othello. The Walters Art Museum.
Poster for an 1884 American production starring Thomas W. Keene.
Paul Robeson as Othello, photographed by Carl Van Vechten (1944)
