To put Othello into perspective, you'll need to know a little about William Shakespeare
and why the play is still so popular over 400 years after it was first performed.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564. His father sold gloves and
became an important person in the town. William, one of eight children, was the eldest son and
was probably educated at the local grammar school. He married when he was only 18 and his
wife, Anne Hathaway, was eight years older than him. They had two girls and a boy (who died
aged 11).
Nobody knows how Shakespeare began to write or when he entered the theatre, but we know
that he became a leading member of the theatre troupe known as 'The Lord Chamberlain's
Men'. The company proved very popular and later, when King James I granted them the right to
perform at his court, the troupe became known as 'The King's Men'. Shakespeare wrote over 30
plays for 'The King's Men', making it the most important theatre company in the country, and
he often wrote parts for particular actors. He was very successful and wealthy in his time, and
his work has remained very popular ever since
The popularity of Othello
Othello is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. There are all sorts of reasons for this but
perhaps the main one is that the basic story still strikes a chord with modern audiences. We see
what happens when a man, Iago, is passed over for promotion. He is determined to get revenge
and starts to manipulate everyone around him. Iago's general, Othello, is tortured by jealousy
and one small item, a missing handkerchief, leads to distrust, broken friendships, murder and
suicide.
The play's themes also seem very up to date - they cover all sorts of things, like the role of
women, love, jealousy, ambition and betrayal. However, perhaps the most challenging theme
from the play is race - Othello is black and has married a white woman. There are lots of
references to this and Shakespeare shows how complex the situation was even in his lifetime.
Othello has been filmed a number of times and adapted for stage in all sorts of ways. For
instance, there have been versions set in the police force in London, versions starring jazz
musicians, an opera and even a version which reverses the traditional roles, with Othello played
by a white actor and the other roles played by black actors.
The Characters
There are thirteen named characters in Othello, plus various other roles, such as
senators and soldiers. However, you do not need to refer to many of these and,
depending on your task, you might just focus on one or two characters. The starting
point is to sort out who they are, how they develop and how they relate to each other.
Othello
We know that Othello is an important general. He is powerful and put in charge of Cyprus by the
government. He issues orders to others and even when is preparing to take his own life Othello
reminds us that he has played an important role for the state. However, he is also a 'Moor' - he
is most probably from the north west of Africa. His actual ethnic origin is unclear but it is
important that he is not white. It marks him out from the other characters, both as someone
who is powerful but also as someone who is a stranger.
Othello is clearly in love in Desdemona, and she loves him too. Their marriage was secret,
probably because Desdemona's father would not have approved of it. This is one way in which
Othello is discriminated against - he is viewed as someone from another world, with different
standards and who cannot be trusted. Othello perhaps takes a similar view of Desdemona - she
is not from his world and soon he becomes insanely jealous of her.
This change, from a proud, calm and noble leader to a jealous, suspicious and tormented man,
is a vital aspect of the play. Othello is powerful but he also has weaknesses - he trusts Iago, he
trusts what he thinks he sees and he can be made jealous.
Knowing the facts about a character is only the start - we need to be able to use these
effectively. One way to do this is to have details or quotes from the play to support our ideas.
For instance:
The character of Othello
Point
Evidence
Othello is powerful
He is a general and is put in charge of Cyprus
He is calm and polite
He calls the senators 'noble' and 'masters'
He is an outsider
He is called 'The Moor'
He loves Desdemona
He calls her 'my soul's joy'
He is manipulated by
Iago
He asks for and believes 'the proof' Iago gives
Othello is jealous
He calls Desdemona 'the fair devil'
Point
Evidence
Othello changes in the
play
He was happy then talks of the 'curse of marriage'
He becomes unstable
He trembles at news of an affair between Cassio and his wife, then
'falls in a trance'
He regrets killing his
wife
He asks to be 'roasted in sulphur' as punishment for killing her
Iago
Iago is the other central figure in Othello. In fact he has the most lines of any character in the
play and we can make the same sorts of points and evidence as we did for Othello.
The character of Iago
Point
Evidence
Iago is angry with
Othello
Cassio has been promoted and Iago ignored
He plans against
Othello
'I follow him to serve my turn upon him'
He is secretive
'I am not what I am'
He seems to hate
women
He says they 'rise to play and go to bed to work'
He manipulates
Othello
He tells Othello to 'forget' that Desdemona was a 'fair woman'
He lies
He invents a story about Cassio talking in his sleep
He is ruthless
He doesn't mind who is killed because 'Every way makes my gain'
He is cowardly
He doesn't fight fairly - he stabs Roderigo when he's injured and kills his
wife 'from behind' then runs away
Other characters
Desdemona is Othello's wife. She is young, beautiful and from a rich family. She has secretly
married Othello and is faithful and obedient, but also strong. She defends herself against her
father's accusations and shows that she is quick-witted. She is capable of persuading Othello
and tries to have Cassio re-appointed. She remains obedient to the end, and blames herself for
her death rather than blaming Othello.
Roderigo is young, rich and in love with Desdemona. He tried to propose to her before she
married Othello and he still hopes she will run away with him. He still sends her presents via
Iago (of course, Iago is so dishonest he doesn't pass these on). Roderigo is naïve and easily
manipulated into agreeing to kill Cassio, but when he fails, Iago kills him.
Emilia is Iago's wife and Desdemona's attendant. She is loyal to Desdemona and is friendly and
helpful. However, she is not very close to her husband and has a low opinion of men in general.
At the end of the play she insists on telling everyone what her husband did, and so is killed by
him.
Cassio is a young soldier. He has been promoted by Othello and is very friendly with him. He is
also on good terms with Desdemona. He is inexperienced in fighting and in life, so Iago can get
him drunk easily, and that leads to him being dismissed. Cassio stays completely loyal to
Othello and at the end is put in charge of Iago's punishment.