Othello

• the main protagonist of the play

• A mercenary for hire & general/captain for the Venician army, with a spotless record, has a lot of insecurities based on his age, race and status - which become his hamartia

• Due to him being in an interracial relationship, he is accused of Witchcraft as a means of seduction (Context value - James I)

• He's known to be a great storyteller, as initially his character uses very articulate, measured and poetic language - but as the play progresses, his language devolves greatly

• Othello's Hamartia; his arrogance, pride, disbelief in the existence of evil & the possessive nature of his love for Desdemona

Iago

• The main antagonist of the play

• A member of the Venician army, with the role of Ancient to Othello

• His main goal within the play is to reek revenge on Othello, after having being passed over for a promotion - despite many years of service and loyalty

• His motivation appears to be classist with race being a heavy undertone - misconstrued by modern audiences as being the primary, due to Iago having STRONG racial prejudices

• He also has a heavy lack of trust with other people, which leads to him believing Othello previously had a relationship with Emilia

• Iago is a manipulative character & is able to strategically use them to his advantage - allowing him to achieve his goals, at the expense of others

Desdemona

• The tragic female victim

• As a character, she's much younger than Othello - which explains her naivety of adulthood, marriage and relationships; further supported by her inability to cope as the play progresses & Brabantio’s fears of her youth