Othello

Othello is a tragedy about a Moorish general in the service of Venice whose trusted ensign, Iago, poisons his mind with false evidence that his wife Desdemona is unfaithful, until Othello kills her.

Main characters

• Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army
• Desdemona, his wife
• Iago, his ensign
• Emilia, Iago's wife and Desdemona's attendant
• Michael Cassio, Othello's lieutenant
• Roderigo, a foolish Venetian gentleman
• Brabantio, Desdemona's father
• Bianca, a courtesan

Plot summary

This summary gives away the ending.

Iago hates Othello, who has promoted Cassio over him. In the middle of the night he and Roderigo wake Desdemona's father Brabantio to tell him she has eloped with Othello. Before the Senate, Othello explains that Desdemona fell in love with him through the stories of his adventures, and Desdemona confirms it. The Senate sends Othello to defend Cyprus against the Turks, and Desdemona goes with him.

On Cyprus, where a storm has destroyed the Turkish fleet, Iago gets Cassio drunk and into a brawl, and Othello dismisses him. Iago advises Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead for him, then warns Othello, with apparent reluctance, to watch how closely his wife and Cassio talk. Emilia picks up a handkerchief Othello gave Desdemona as a love token; Iago plants it in Cassio's lodging, and Othello sees it in Cassio's hands.

Consumed by jealousy, Othello strikes Desdemona in public and resolves to kill her. Iago arranges for Roderigo to kill Cassio; the attempt fails and Iago kills Roderigo to silence him. Othello smothers Desdemona in their bed. Emilia reveals the truth about the handkerchief and is killed by Iago. Othello, understanding at last, asks to be remembered as 'one that loved not wisely but too well' and kills himself. Iago refuses to explain himself.

Themes

• Jealousy
• Race and the outsider
• Honesty and deception
• Reputation
• Love and trust

Famous lines

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.

Iago, Act 3 Scene 3

But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

Iago, Act 1 Scene 1

Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation!

Cassio, Act 2 Scene 3

Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well.

Othello, Act 5 Scene 2

More in our collection of famous Shakespeare quotes.

Sources

A story in Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's collection Gli Hecatommithi (1565), in which only the Moor is named.

On stage and screen

It was performed before James I at the Palace of Whitehall on 1 November 1604. Ira Aldridge, an African American actor, played Othello in London in 1833, and Paul Robeson's performances in London (1930) and on Broadway (1943) made history. Casting and the play's treatment of race remain central to how it is staged today.

See where Othello sits in Shakespeare's career on the timeline, or read about the playhouses it was written for.