Othello

William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragedy written in approximately 1603 and published in 1622. The play begins in Venice, where Iago, a subordinate of Othello’s and a captain in the Venetian defense forces, tells Roderigo that Othello has passed him over for promotion. Instead, Othello, a Moor, has chosen the noble and popular Michael Cassio to be his lieutenant. Iago tells Roderigo that he will have his revenge on Othello but behave as a loyal friend while plotting against him. Iago enlists Roderigo to help, and Roderigo agrees because of his infatuation with Desdemona, who has just eloped with Othello. The two men begin by waking Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, with racial and sexual epithets, alerting him that his daughter has run off to marry Othello. An incensed Brabantio raises a mob and confronts Othello in front of the Venetian senate, but Desdemona arrives and testifies to her love for Othello, saving the marriage. The senate, meanwhile, has decided to send Othello to Cyprus to defend it against a Turkish fleet, and the strong-willed and eloquent Desdemona insists on accompanying him.

The Turkish fleet is destroyed in a storm, leaving the characters free to celebrate their victory as well as the marriage of Othello and Desdemona.