Othello

Shakespeare's tragedy of jealousy: the Moor of Venice, manipulated by Iago, murders the innocent Desdemona.

Specifications & Metrics

author

William Shakespeare

type

Tragedy

era

Jacobean (c. 1603–1604)

language

Early Modern English

setting

Venice and Cyprus

source text

Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi (1565)

acts

5 acts

Relative Scale in Plays

Core Principles & Analysis

• First recorded performance was in 1604 before King James I's court.
• The plot is adapted from an Italian tale in Cinthio's Hecatommithi collection.
• It is the most domestic of the major tragedies, built on sexual jealousy rather than politics.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Othello