While supplying the source of the plot, the book offered nothing of the sense of place of venice or cyprus. Shakespeares othello is a tragic tale of jealousy and deceit set in venice. Iago tells roderigo that he serves othello, the moor who is the armys general, only in order to serve himself. The story revolves around its two central characters. Iago knows that desdemona, the daughter of nobleman brabantio, has run off to. Desdemona immediately and enthusiastically begins to beg othello to pardon cassio, as she promised, and will not stop her pleading until othello, preoccupied with other thoughts, agrees. Iago othellos ensign a job also known as an ancient or standardbearer, and the villain of the play. The book this retelling of shakespeares play recounts the story of othello, a mercenary soldier who falls in love with the lords daughter, desdemona. Othello, takes the bait, repeatedly praising iago for his honesty.
Shakespeare presents this fact in the dialogue and also in the staging of the play. Othello the moor of venice william shakespeare with related readings the emc masterpiece series access editions emcparadigm publishing st. Othello instructs iago to take desdemona along with iagos wife, emilia, on the journey to the battle area. Brabantio confronts othello, and they take their argument to the duke, who has summoned othello to ask him to sail to cyprus to stop a turkish invasion. Othello who is a noble black warrior in the venetian army that secretly married a beautiful white woman called desdemona who is the daughter of a prominent senator named brabantio. Othello, upset, demands that iago show him proof of desdemonas.
With othello, desdemona is briefly happy, despite her additional information. After many successful military ventures, he finds and falls in love with desdemona, the daughter of a senator. Othello the tragedy of othello, william shakespeare othello the tragedy of othello, the moor of venice is a tragedy by william shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. More recently, othello was shown on masterpiece theater on pbs. The titular and main characters engagement in murder, jealousy, and betrayal could easily portray him as the villain. Iago is a manipulative villain who serves as an antagonist, or an enemy to the protagonist, and develops a plan to destroy the lives of cassio, othello and desdemona. The play opens in the powerful city state of venice, famous as a center of trade and banking and for its military might. I have but an hour of love, of worldly matters and direction, to spend with thee. The tragedy of othello summary william shakespeare plays. Othello comes to his sleeping wifes bedroom to murder her as punishment for her supposed adultery. If you enjoyed these interesting othello facts, you can continue your. Because othello is black and desdemona white, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding their marriage. Othellos race is an issue for iago and brabanzio but, as an audience, we are rooting for othello, shakespeares celebration of othello as a black man is ahead of its time, the play encourages the audience to side with him and take against the white man who is mocking him just because of his race. Iago othello s ensign a job also known as an ancient or standardbearer, and the villain of the play.
Othello makes reference to the rack, an infamous medieval torture device which stretches the prisoners limbs in opposite directions. Sparknotes is here for you weve got everything you need to ace or teach. Iagos honesty in particular is the undoing of most of the characters. By the time they reach cyprus the foreign threat has gone. Othello a brilliant military mind and respected leader in venices elitist society, othello is a moor an african and is not fully excepted because of his origins and color. Other material included is an intro to shakespeares language, which follows the template used for all plays in this folger series. Selected fulltext books and articles the works of william shakespeare gathered into one volume by william shakespeare oxford university press, 1938 librarians tip. In reference to the amazonclassics edition it has xray, mostly about the identity of the characters. List of books and articles about othello online research. Stylistically the plays of this period become increasingly compressed and symbolic. Foolishly, othello trusts iago more than any one, despite the fact that iago is the.
It is in the early hours of the morning, and two men roderigo, a young gentleman and former suitor of senator brabantios daughter desdemona, and iago, an ensign who claims to have been passed over for promotion by othello are outside senator brabantios house to. Othello, a moorish general in the venetian army, and his treacherous ensign, iago. In othello, william shakespeare creates powerful drama from a marriage between the exotic moor othello and the venetian lady desdemona that begins with elopement and mutual devotion and ends with jealous rage and death. With laurence fishburne, kenneth branagh, irene jacob, nathaniel parker. Iagos capacity for cruelty seems limitless, and no motivation he gives for his actions seems enough to explain the incredible destruction he wreaks on. The villainous iago plans and executes his elaborate revenge on othello. Othello is a tragedy in five acts written by william shakespeare in. For more fascinating literary trivia, we recommend our book crammed full of 3,000 years of interesting bookish facts, the secret library. Othello, a novel scholastic scholastic books for kids. Even full knowledge of the situation is manageable by comparison. Dealing with jealousy, suspicion, and rage in your relationship was published in 2003 and through this book, the authors help readers recognize the. The othello book is an adaptation from a play, the tragedy of othello written by william shakespeare. Summary in the opening of the play, roderigo, a young gentleman who loved and hoped to get desdemona, is talking about the elopement of desdemona with othello, the moor. She asks cassio to help her cheer up othello, but iago manipulates facts to make othello even more jealous.
Shakespeare builds many differences into his hero and heroine, including race, age, and cultural. Iago knows that desdemona, the daughter of nobleman brabantio, has run off to marry othello. The tragedy of othello, the moor of venice, known popularly as just othello, is one of the most famous plays by great english playwright william shakespeare. He has the ability to charm and convince people of his loyalty and honestyhonest iago, according to othellobut the audience is immediately introduced to his vitriol and desire for revenge, despite his lack of proved reason. A list of important facts about william shakespeares othello, including setting, climax, protagonists, and antagonists. Iagos i am not who i am foreshadows much of what follows.
Shakespeare used existing stories as the basis for many of the plots of his plays. If you enjoyed these interesting othello facts, you can continue your shakespearean odyssey with our curious facts about macbeth. Othello defends himself, mentioning the handkerchief as evidence. On familial, state, and cosmic levels, othello, lear, and macbeth present clear oppositions of order and chaos, good and evil, and spirituality and animality. Iago, othellos standardbearer, or ancient emilia, iagos wife and desdemonas attendant. Othello summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Apr 26, 2016 the tragedy of othello, the moor of venice, known popularly as just othello, is one of the most famous plays by great english playwright william shakespeare. Iago, an ensign in the venetian army, is bitter about being passed over for lieutenant in favor of cassio. Othello, in full othello, the moor of venice, tragedy in five acts by william shakespeare, written in 160304 and published in 1622 in a quarto edition from a transcript of an authorial manuscript. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. He demonstrates the evil in others, while hiding the evil within himself. The moorish general othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his lieutenant michael cassio, when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter ensign named iago. Iago, a man who feels he was wronged by othello, sets up elaborate plans which destroy othellos marriage and lead to many deaths.
A concise biography of william shakespeare plus historical and literary context for othello. He seems to view the marriage between desdemona and. A book lovers journey through curiosities of history, available now from. Iago unsuccessfully attempts to kill cassio, and othello smothers desdemona. After othello and desdemona have left, iago remains with roderigo. Othellos is a black face among a sea of white faces, and he is constantly. Iago is othellos ensign in the venetian military and most trusted. He took some from history macbeth, for example is based on holinsheds chronicles and some from stories that were circulating in books at the time. The duke gives desdemona permission to travel with othello, and basically tell brabantio that othello is a good. Indepth summary and analysis of every scene of othello. Whats interesting to modern readers is how shakespeare adapted these stories, turning bare narratives into gripping drama.
Until this beautiful book i didnt know why that misunderstanding, of course being othello such an amazing reading is natural that fantasy would alter the perception of reality. Five fascinating facts about othello interesting literature. At the start of the play othello, a general in the army, promotes cassio to lieutenant. He is jealous of cassio for obtaining the position of lieutenant over him, jealous of othellobelieving that he has bedded his wifeand jealous of othellos position. Othello, in a moment of foreshadowing, responds that his life rests upon desdemonas faithfulness. Later, when desdemona accidentally drops a handkerchief that othello had given to her as a lovetoken, emilia gives it to iago, who had long asked her to steal it for him. Roderigo is in love with a woman named desdemona, who has already secretly married othello. Iago is determined to destroy othello, a successful venetian general who promoted another man named cassio to lieutenant instead of him. But the fact that racism was a problem more than 400 years ago and is still a problem today is pretty dang shameful.
Roderigo and iago go to inform about the incident to her father senator brabantio. This is one of the most haunting and memorable lines of shakespeares othello. Othello study guide from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. While his ostensible reason for desiring othellos demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, iagos motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation.
The duke gives desdemona permission to travel with othello, and basically tell brabantio that othello is a good man. Othello notices cassios speedy departure, and iago quickly seizes the opportunity to point out that cassio seems to be trying to avoid the moor. Othello the tragedy of othello, the moor of venice is a tragedy by william shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. Iago spends all of his time plotting against othello and desdemona, eventually convincing othello that his wife has been cheating, despite the fact that desdemona has been completely faithful. The central plot of the play is how iago, an ensign of the moorish general othello, poisons him against his beloved wife desdemona by sowing seeds of suspicion in othellos mind of desdemona having an affair with othellos lieutenant. Anthony davies, writing a historic background of the play for the book the. The tragedy of othello, the moor of venice focuses on one mans revenge to destroy another.
Jun 19, 2019 othellos race is an issue for iago and brabanzio but, as an audience, we are rooting for othello, shakespeares celebration of othello as a black man is ahead of its time, the play encourages the audience to side with him and take against the white man who is mocking him just because of his race. Emilia alerts the household, causing iago and others to come to the scene. The text published in the first folio of 1623 seems to have been based on a version revised by shakespeare himself that sticks close to the original almost line by line but introduces numerous. The villain iago from othello is a central character, and understanding him is key to understanding shakespeares entire play. While his ostensible reason for desiring othello s demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, iagos motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation. A list of important facts about william shakespeares othello, including setting. Othellos point is that knowing just a little about desdemonas adultery is the greatest torture of all. He smothers her with a pillow as she asserts her innocence. Listen to a free audio recording of othello through july 1, 2020.
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