OTHELLO
By: William Shakespeare
Muschara-English 11
Paul
Robeson as
Othello
(1944)
TRAGEDY
 This play is written by William Shakespeare
 He had 4 peak tragedies: Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear
 All of the Four Great Tragedies are both similar and different, but Othello is the
most different from the other three because it is what we call a “domestic” tragedy.
 No thrones are at stake in Othello.
 Instead, it is about a marriage—a mostly social, rather than political, concern.
 Othello is also famous because Othello himself is the first black tragic hero in all
of Western literature.
Edwin Booth
as Iago (19th
century)
SOURCE MATERIAL

Shakespeare took the plot of Othello, as he so often did for his plays, from another author’s work.
In this case, he read a novella by an Italian named Giraldi Cinthio published in 1565. Scholars believe
Shakespeare may have read an Italian version of the play or possibly a French version published in
1584. (The novella was not available in English).
 Cinthio’s story has a clear moral—and it’s a racist one. You’ll hear Cinthio’s perspective expressed
by the disaffected and incompetent character Brabantio or (at times) by Iago himself.
 Shakespeare, as he often did with his source material, complicated the plot and theme—making it
not so cut-and-dry an affair.
 Shakespeare also made many other changes to Cinthio’s story: moving the action of the play to
the early days of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage; adding the father of Desdemona, Brabantio;
adding the gullible, disappointed suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo; actively involved Iago’s wife in the
story. In general Shakespeare “grays” the black-and-white morality of Cinthio, and in his most
dramatic change, ennobles the Moor into a hero.
Othello telling
his story to
Desdemona and
Brabantio (Act
1, scene 3; 19th
century)
WHY OTHELLO IS UNIQUE?
 Othello has no significant sub-plot
 The play utilizes dramatic irony to a greater extent that any other play he wrote.
(Dramatic Irony: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/in-on-a-secret-that-s-dramatic-ironychristopher-warner
 In this play, the two principal roles are roughly equal with Iago, in fact, getting a few
more lines than the title character.
 Othello also is less episodic in its use of time.
 We’ve already mentioned how Othello differs in scope and thematic range from the other
three great tragedies.

SETTING
 The play has two main settings: Venice and Cyprus
 Venice: Othello is the Moor of Venice. He’s a North African by birth, but a
Christian convert and now mercenary/general for the very rich city-state of Venice.
In the play, Venice (at first) represents civilization, order and law, urbanity, light and
reason.
 Cyprus, an island under Venetian control as an outpost to protect Venice from
the Islamic Turkish empire, represents wildness, passion, confusion, rebellion—a
borderland between civilization and true savagery—represented by the Turks.
CHARACTERS
 Othello, a Moor but also a Christian convert and Venetian citizen—a mercenary-general
 Michael Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant
 Iago, Othello’s Ensign (or Ancient)—a flagbearer, not quite as high ranked as a lieutenant
 Roderigo, a “friend” of Iago’s who is in love with Desdemona
 Desdemona, Othello’s wife and daughter of Brabantio
 Brabantio, father to Desdemona
 Emilia, wife to Iago, serving lady to Desdemona
 Bianca, a courtesan (or “whore”) favored by Michael Cassio
 The Duke of Venice
 Montano, Governor of the island of Cyprus
 Lodovico and Gratiano, two noble Venetians
Gertrude Elliott as
Desdemona (1902)
SET UP FOR ACT 1.1
 The play opens in darkness—just as Hamlet did. Three times in this play, the
peace and silence of the night will be interrupted through Iago’s machinations. We
learn soon after the play opens that tonight is a special night because tonight
Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, has stolen away from her home to marry
the Moorish General Othello. Iago (whose motivations we will be contemplating
the entire play) and his friend Roderigo (who’d hoped to marry Desdemona
himself) are angry about the secret marriage. They decide to go to Desdemona’s
father’s house and wake him up concerning his daughter’s questionable actions.
INTRODUCTORY VIDEO
 http://www.shmoop.com/othello/
4-CORNERS ACTIVITY
 Similar to an anticipation guide
 I will give you a statement.
 You must decide whether you agree, slightly agree, slightly
disagree, or disagree.
 Based on what you decide you will move to a corner in the room.
ROOM
AGREE
Slightly
Agree
My Desk
Disagree
Door
Slightly
Disagree
WHERE TO FIND TEXT:
Please write down this link:
http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/?ch
apter=0
MOVIE TRAILER
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAYuASqrs94
WORKS CITED
 http://wreforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/venice.jpg
 http://www.folger.edu/othello
 http://www.sigmalive.com/en/uploads/images/news/cyprus2.jpg