Othello

Othello: The Moor of Venice is a play by Shakespeare written about 1603. Othello is a tragedy?, like Hamlet, Macbeth and [King Lear]?. Shakespeare probably wrote Othello after Hamlet but before the latter two.

The title character, Othello, is presented sympathetically despite his race. This is unusual for [English literature]? of Shakespeare's time, which commonly depicted Moors and other dark-skinned peoples as villains. Shakespeare avoids any discussion of Islam in the play.

The plot: Othello, who elopes with Desdemona at the play's opening, leaves Venice? to command the Venitian armies in Cyprus. When Desdemona and Cassio, join Othello in Cyprus, the trecherous Iago persuades Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio. Othello kills Desdemona in anger. When Othello discovers that Iago's charge was false, he commits suicide.

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See also: Othello board games.