OTHELLO
Notes on Setting, Character, Plot, Conflict &
Theme
Setting: Where it all goes down
• Venice- a prosperous Italian city & a symbol of
law & civilization
• Cyprus- later in the play, the action moves to
Cyprus (an island sacred to Venus, the goddess
of Love)
Character- Othello
• Othello is the first great black
protagonist in Western literature, and
still one of the most famous. The play
dramatizes this hero's fall from grace
– Othello begins as a noble guy (he's
a celebrated and respected war hero,
a loving husband, and an eloquent
storyteller) but, by the end of the play,
Othello has become an irrational,
violent, and insanely jealous husband
because Iago convinces him that
Desdemona has been unfaithful.
Character- Iago
• Iago is one of the most notorious and
mysterious villains of all time. He
spends all of his time plotting against
Othello and Desdemona, eventually
convincing Othello that his wife has
been cheating, despite the fact that
Desdemona has been completely
faithful. Iago's capacity for cruelty
seems limitless, and no motivation he
gives for his actions seems enough to
explain the incredible destruction he
wreaks on the lives of the people he
knows best.
Character- Desdemona
• Desdemona is a beautiful, young, white,
Venetian debutante, her father's pride and
joy. But she refuses to marry any of the rich,
handsome Venetian men that everyone
expects her to marry. Instead, she elopes
with Othello – an older black man, an
outsider to Venetian society. Turns out, this is
a pretty gutsy move – Desdemona not only
defies her father's expectations (that she
marry a white man of his choosing), she also
thumbs her nose at a society that largely
disapproves of interracial marriages. In this
way, Desdemona's relationship with Othello
speaks to the play's concerns with sixteenth
century attitudes about sex, gender, and race
Character
Emilia
Michael Cassio
• Older and more cynical than
• When we begin, Cassio is
Desdemona, Emilia
develops a close
relationship with the young
married woman. Emilia and
Desdemona bond over
husband trouble: Emilia's
bitter take on her married life
with Iago contrasts with
Desdemona's (temporarily)
idealistic marriage to
Othello.
one of Othello's soldiers,
and is recently appointed
the general's second-incommand. This infuriates
Iago, as he wanted to be
lieutenant, and Cassio is
a math (not muscle) guy,
so Iago cannot
understand this
appointment.
Character
Roderigo
• Roderigo is a rich, unintelligent
guy who thinks that if he sends
Desdemona enough expensive
presents, she'll fall in love with
him. He's hired Iago to be his
wingman, but Iago basically
uses him as a walking ATM.
Iago takes the jewelry Roderigo
thinks he's giving to
Desdemona and sells it for a
profit. All Roderigo does in
response is to fall for Iago's
smooth talking again and
again.
Brabantio
• Desdemona's father,
Brabantio, is a rich and
important Venetian
politician. He likes Othello
and invites him to visit his
house a lot — but he never
expected Othello "to steal"
his daughter. Further, he
never believed his little girl
would marry Othello unless
she was drugged or under
some kind of spell.
Character
Bianca
• Bianca is a Venetian
courtesan (prostitute) who is
in love with Cassio, who
sees her as a laughable
nuisance. Shakespeare's
portrayal of Bianca is
sympathetic – when Cassio
treats her like garbage, it's
clear that Shakespeare's
making a point about how
women get used throughout
the play. She is a foil to
Desdemona.
Lodovico
• Desdemona's cousin and a
member of Venice's diplomatic
service, Lodovico arrives in
Cyprus just in time to see
Desdemona get slapped by her
new husband, and then witness
the deaths of several main
characters, and the twisted
revelations of jealousy and
betrayal. He has no personality –
he's just a witness. But, like
Horatio in Hamlet, Lodovico is
the guy who survives the
inevitable bloodbath at the play's
end and promises to tell the
world about the tragedy that has
just unfolded.
Character
Montano
• Governor of Cyprus
before Othello showed up
to take command,
Montano ends up getting
in a fight with Cassio, and
in turn gets Cassio in
serious trouble.
Gratiano
• Desdemona's uncle
Duke, Senators
• The important men in
charge of Venice. They
think Othello's pretty great
– even that he might
make a pretty great sonin-law.
Plot: How it All Goes Down
Othello and Desdemona have
just eloped and are happy and in
love. Othello promotes Cassio
instead of Iago to be his
lieutenant. Iago thinks he should
be lieutenant and decides to seek
revenge against Othello. The play
is about the schemes that Iago
puts into place in order to create
our tragic hero’s downfall.
Themes
As we read, think about what statement is made by the play about each
of the following topics:
• Jeolousy
• Race
• Gender
• Sex
• Marriage
• Manipulation
• Warfare
• Hate
• Identity