The document provides context and summaries for William Shakespeare's play Othello. It is set in Cyprus in the 16th century during the conflict between Venice and Turkey. Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, elopes with Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator. This prompts the villain Iago to sow seeds of doubt in Othello's mind about Desdemona's fidelity, ultimately driving Othello to murder her after she is convicted of adultery. The document outlines the backgrounds and roles of the main characters Othello, Desdemona, Iago and Roderigo.

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4. Othello is a
noble figure of great
authority, respected and
admired by the duke
and senate of Venice as
well as by those who
serve him, such as
Cassio, Montano, and
Lodovico. Only Iago
voices an explicitly
stereotypical view of
Othello, depicting him
from the beginning as
an animalistic,
barbarous, foolish
outsider.

5. Othello is an eloquent
and physically powerful
figure, respected by all
those around him. In
spite of his elevated
status, he is
nevertheless easy prey
to insecurities because
of his age, his life as a
soldier, and his race.
He possesses a “free
and open nature,”
which his ensign Iago
uses to twist his love for
his wife, Desdemona,
into a powerful and
destructive jealousy.

6. Desdemona is the
daughter of the Venetian
senator Brabanzio.
Desdemona and Othello
are secretly married
before the play begins.
While in many ways
stereotypically pure and
meek, Desdemona is also
determined and self-
possessed. She is equally
capable of defending her
marriage, jesting bawdily
with Iago, and
responding with dignity
to Othello’s
incomprehensible
jealousy.

7. Iago is 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. While his
ostensible reason for
desiring Othello’s demise
is that he has been passed
over for promotion to
lieutenant, Iago’s
motivations are never
very clearly expressed
and seem to originate in
an obsessive, almost
aesthetic delight in
manipulation and
destruction.

8. Roderigo is 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.

9. • Othello begins on a street in
Venice, in the midst of an
argument between Roderigo, a
rich man, and Iago. Roderigo
has been paying Iago to help him
in his suit to Desdemona. But
Roderigo has just learned that
Desdemona has married Othello,
a general whom Iago
begrudgingly serves as ensign.
Iago says he hates Othello, who
recently passed him over for the
position of lieutenant in favor of
the inexperienced soldier Michael
Cassio…

10. Themes:
The Incompatibility of Military Heroism & Love
The Danger of Isolation
Sight and Blindness
Plants
Animals
Hell, Demons, and Monsters

11. The Handkerchief