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.
Outline[change | change source]
At the start of the play Othello, a 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 have a fight with someone else from the army. He 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. He then kills himself next to his wife after telling Emilia to say sorry to Cassio for what he has done.
Characters[change | change source]
- Duke of Venice
- Other Senators