Othello
- Please see the bottom of this page for helpful Othello resources.
- Please see the bottom of each scene for full explanatory notes.
- Dramatis Personae.
- Act 1
- Act 2
- Act 3
- Act 4
- Act 5
- Scene 1. Cyprus. A street.
- Scene 2. A bedchamber in the castle: DESDEMONA in bed asleep;
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Related Articles
 Shakespeare's Iago Compared with the Original
The Character and Motives of Iago
Othello's Motives
Play Construction and the Suffering and Murder of Desdemona
Desdemona's Realism
Desdemona's Dying Assertion
Othello as Tragic Hero
Stage History of Othello
Othello: Plot Summary
Iago's Power Over Othello
Othello's Jealousy
The Moral Enigma of Shakespeare's Othello
Othello: Q & A
Quotes from Othello
How to Pronounce the Names in Othello
Iago Character Introduction
Othello Character Introduction
Desdemona Character Introduction
Othello's Suicide and Morality
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Roderigo, Emilia and Shakespeare's Secondary Characters
Shakespeare's Use of Introductory Scenes
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Plays
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Shakespeare and Race: The Relationship Between Othello and Desdemona
Othello: Essay Topics
Shakespeare's Sources for Othello
The Problem of Time in Othello
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Seneca's Tragedies and the Elizabethan Drama
Characteristics of Elizabethan Drama
Shakespeare Quotations (by Play and Theme)
Why Shakespeare is so Important
Shakespeare's Language
Shakespeare's Boss: The Master of Revels
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In the Spotlight
Quote in Context
And what's he, then, that says I play the villain?
When this advice is free I give and honest,
Probal to thinking, and, indeed, the course
To win the Moor again
Othello (2.3), Iago
"Iago is the perfect villain. He neither respects moral beauty as seen in Desdemona, nor the grand nobleness of the mighty-souled Othello. All things pure and noble in their nature are looked upon as far beneath his "learned spirit." As Mr. Hudson says, Iago is "severely introversive," and is only satisfied by dipping what is good into his own vileness and bringing it forth reeking in the filth of his own evil nature. The purest of all sentiments is, in his mind, a mere "lust of the blood and a permission of the will." It is utterly foreign to his nature; indeed, we cannot even conceive of lago's loving anything." [Fanny Ragland] Read on...
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Othello Stage History
Come on, come on; you are pictures out of doors,
Bells in your parlors, wild-cats in your kitchens,
Saints m your injuries, devils being offended,
Players in your housewifery, and housewives' in your beds.
Othello (2.1), Iago, on women
One performance of Othello, produced in 1660, starred an actress by the name of Margaret Hughes in the role of Desdemona. This production is of particular importance because it marked the first time a woman was accepted on the English stage. Before this, all the characters, whether male or female, were played exclusively by men. Read on...
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