3. William Shakespeare
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Baptized on April 26, 1564 (unknown date of birth).
Died on April 23, 1616 at the age of 52.
4. • regarded as the greatest writer in the English
language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist
• called as England’s National Poet
• coined as “Bard of Avon”
• most popular playwright in England
5. • written comedy, history, tragedy and poetry
• author of the famous tragedy playwright
Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra and
Julius Caesar
6. PLACE:
Begins in Venice and in the island of
Cyprus thereafter.
TIME:
Late sixteenth century, during the
wars between Venice and Turkey
7. Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Michael
Cassio, Emilia, Roderigo, Bianca,
Brabanzio, Duke of Venice, Montano,
Lodovico, Graziano, Clown.
8. The play’s protagonist and hero. A
Christian Moor and general of the
armies of Venice, Othello is an
eloquent and physically powerful
figure, respected by all those
around him.
Othello
9. The daughter of the Venetian senator
Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are
secretly married before the play begins.
Pure, meek, self-possessed and
determined. She is equally capable of
defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with
Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s
incomprehensible jealousy.
Desdemona
10. Othello’s ensign (a job also
known as an ancient or
standard-bearer), and the
villain of the play. Iago is
twenty-eight years old.
Iago
11. Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and
inexperienced soldier, whose high position is
much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello,
Cassio is extremely ashamed after being
implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and
losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s
youth, good looks, and friendship with
Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities
about Desdemona’s fidelity.
Michael Cassio
12. Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s
attendant. A cynical, worldly
woman, she is deeply
attached to her mistress and
distrustful of her husband.
Emilia
13. A jealous suitor of Desdemona. Young, rich, and
foolish, Roderigo is convinced that if he gives Iago
all of his money, Iago will help him win Desdemona’s
hand. Repeatedly frustrated as Othello marries
Desdemona and then takes her to Cyprus, Roderigo
is ultimately desperate enough to agree to help
Iago kill Cassio after Iago points out that Cassio is
another potential rival for Desdemona.
Roderigo
14. A courtesan, or prostitute, in
Cyprus. Bianca’s favorite
customer is Cassio, who
teases her with promises of
marriage.
Bianca
15. Desdemona’s father, a
somewhat blustering and selfimportant Venetian senator. As
a friend of Othello, Brabanzio
feels betrayed when the general
marries his daughter in secret.
Brabanzio
16. The official authority in Venice, the
duke has great respect for Othello
as a public and military servant.
His primary role within the play is
to reconcile Othello and Brabanzio
to send Othello to Cyprus.
Duke of Venice
17. The governor of Cyprus
before Othello. We see him
first in Act II, as he recounts
the status of the war and
awaits the Venetian ships.
Montano
18. One of Brabanzio’s kinsmen,
Lodovico acts as a messenger from
Venice to Cyprus. He arrives in
Cyprus in Act IV with letters
announcing that Othello has been
replaced by Cassio as governor.
Lodovico
19. Brabanzio’s kinsman who
accompanies Lodovico to
Cyprus. Amidst the chaos of the
final scene, Graziano mentions
that Desdemona’s father has
died.
Graziano
20. Othello’s servant. Although the
clown appears only in two
short scenes, his appearances
reflect and distort the action
and words of the main plots.
Clown
22. Exposition
Othello and Desdemona
marry and attempt to build
a life together, despite
their differences in age,
race, and experience. Their
marriage is sabotaged by
the envious Iago, who
convinces Othello that
Desdemona is unfaithful.
23. Rising Action
Iago tells the audience
of his scheme, arranges
for Cassio to lose his
position as lieutenant,
and gradually insinuates
to Othello that
Desdemona is
unfaithful..
24. Climax
The climax occurs at
the end of Act III, scene
iii, when Othello kneels
with Iago and vows not
to change course until
he has achieved bloody
revenge.
25. Falling Action
Iago plants the handkerchief in
Cassio’s room and later arranges a
conversation with Cassio, which
Othello watches and sees as “proof”
that Cassio and Desdemona have
slept together. Iago unsuccessfully
attempts to kill Cassio, and Othello
smothers Desdemona with a pillow.
Emilia exposes Iago’s deceptions,
Othello kills himself, and Iago is taken
away to be tortured.
26. Resolution
The intrigue of Othello is watching Iago
work his manipulative magic. The
deceptions grow, bit by bit, until Othello is
quite ensnared by his own jealous
thoughts. The plot thickens and thickens,
and the complications twist and turn until
we finally arrive at the psychological
climax: Othello's declaration that he'll kill
his wife. We chose this as the climax,
rather than the actual killing, because we
are building toward Iago's defeat of
Othello's mind, not Othello's defeat of
Desdemona's body.
27. Resolution
(cont.)
Minutes after she dies, Emilia
figures out that Iago is
responsible for the whole
mess. When she shares this
with Othello and his men, Iago
kills her. Othello, broken by
grief and guilt, stabs himself.
Almost everyone dies.
29. You need to be able to trust your significant other
and they need to be able to trust you.
Who you put your trust in does matter, and if you
don’t trust those who you’re closest to things can
go wrong.
30. Love consumes all those who take part in it and in
Othello’s case; his love for Desdemona has blinded him.
And it gave Iago a chance to corrupt him so easily. The
wicked emotion of jealously, not only resulted in the
deaths of three of Othello's main characters, it caused
the sudden deaths of innocent characters as well.
