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
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| Plays | | Tragedies | |
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| Comedies | |
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| Histories | |
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| See also |
- Problem plays
- Late romances
- Characters
- Chronology
- Performances
- Settings
- Scenes
- Quarto publications
- First Folio
- Second Folio
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| Poems | |
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| Apocrypha | | Plays |
- Arden of Faversham
- The Birth of Merlin
- Cardenio*†
- Double Falsehood
- Edmund Ironside
- Fair Em
- Locrine
- The London Prodigal
- Love's Labour's Won†
- The Merry Devil of Edmonton
- Mucedorus
- The Puritan
- The Second Maiden's Tragedy
- Sejanus His Fall
- Sir John Oldcastle
- Sir Thomas More*
- The Spanish Tragedy
- Thomas Lord Cromwell
- Thomas of Woodstock
- Vortigern and Rowena
- A Yorkshire Tragedy
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| Poems |
- The Passionate Pilgrim
- To the Queen
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Life and works | |
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| Legacy |
- Attribution studies
- Authorship question
- Bardolatry
- Festivals
- Gardens
- Influence
- Memorials
- Screen adaptations
- Titles of works taken from Shakespeare
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| Family |
- Anne Hathaway (wife)
- Susanna Hall (daughter)
- Hamnet Shakespeare (son)
- Judith Quiney (daughter)
- Elizabeth Barnard (granddaughter)
- John Shakespeare (father)
- Mary Arden (mother)
- Gilbert Shakespeare (brother)
- Joan Shakespeare (sister)
- Edmund Shakespeare (brother)
- Richard Shakespeare (grandfather)
- John Hall (son-in-law)
- Thomas Quiney (son-in-law)
- Thomas Nash (grandson-in-law)
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- * Shakespeare and other authors
- † Lost
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