Othello (1)

Othello — Context and Setting

Othello is a Shakespearean tragedy set in late sixteenth-century Venice and Cyprus, during wars between Venice and Turkey.
Othello is a general in the Venetian army, an outsider because he is from another country and of a different race (a Moor). This outsider status drives much of the tension and conflict in the play.
Desdemona, young, beautiful, and noble, secretly marries Othello; Brabantio, her father, wants Othello arrested for abducting his daughter.
Desdemona loves Othello and does not care that he is an outsider, complicating issues of race, loyalty, and social expectation.
Iago is Othello’s ensign, outwardly loyal but secretly resentful for being passed over for promotion; his motive is revenge on Othello.
Iago manipulates the army’s trust and orchestrates a plan to attack Othello’s most vulnerable spot: his love for Desdemona.
Themes introduced by setting: order and reason in Venice vs. passion and disorder in Cyprus; this geographical shift underpins the moral and emotional conflicts of the plot.
Terminology to understand: Moor (racial/ethnic outsider) and cuckold (a husband whose wife is unfaithful, symbolically represented with horns).

Othello is a respected military leader in Venice who secretly marries Desdemona.
Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, accuses Othello of using sorcery to win his daughter; Desdemona defends her marriage and loyalty to Othello.
Iago pretends to be Othello’s close friend while secretly plotting revenge for being overlooked for promotion.
Iago wages a psychological war, planting doubts about Desdemona’s fidelity, exploiting Cassio’s trustworthiness and weakness, and manipulating Othello’s insecurity.
The central question emerges: will Othello see through Iago’s schemes, or will jealousy and vengeance push him toward murder?
The narrative follows a rising arc of manipulation, mistrust, and tragedy, culminating in multiple deaths including Othello.

Othello: A Moor, Christian, and accomplished general in the Venetian army; marries Desdemona; outsider due to race and background; ultimately portrayed as noble yet flawed.
Desdemona: Othello’s wife; daughter of Brabantio; fair, innocent, trusting, loyal to Othello; elopes with him before the play’s events and remains committed to him until her death.
Iago: Othello’s ensign; cunning, disloyal, and calculating; orchestrates the plot against Othello; married to Emilia; described as one of literature’s dangerous antagonists.
Cassio: A young, handsome, and loyal soldier; motivator for Othello’s promotion over Iago; loyal to Othello but not as morally shrewd as Iago gains to be.
Emilia: Iago’s wife; Desdemona’s attendant; practical, cynical, and perceptive; key to truth-telling later in the play (notably in the handkerchief subplot).
Brabantio: Desdemona’s senator father in Venice; initially dignified and respected; opposed Desdemona’s marriage and seeks to punish Othello.
Rodrigo: A wealthy but foolish Venetian; manipulated by Iago; driven by his own obsession with Desdemona; used as a pawn in Iago’s schemes.
Bianca: Cassio’s love interest; a figure of lower social status whose involvement with Cassio highlights themes of fidelity and jealousy.
Duke of Venice: Political authority who embodies law and order; part of the procedural backdrop of the Venetian state that governs Othello’s actions.

Othello ↔ Desdemona: Romantic partners, married secretly; Desdemona’s loyalty tested by Iago’s insinuations.
Othello ↔ Iago