Отелло

William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Home
William Shakespeare
1564 – 1616
Born in Stratford – upon –Avon, England
Known as Bard of Avon
Wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, various short poems

Master of Tragedy
10 of Shakespeare’s 37 plays were tragedies
Created some of the most memorable characters in literature
Almost 400 yrs. after his death, his plays are still the most widely performed

Othello and Desdemona
Theme of doomed lovers popular in Shakespeare’s work
Othello fulfilled the concept of classic Greek tragic hero
Desdemona represented the innocent, proper female whose power lay in her beauty

Iago
Iago personifies evil in Othello
He is considered by most critics and Shakespeare fans to be one of the most interesting characters ever written

Conflict among 3 main characters
Othello appoints Cassio as his lieutenant rather than appointing Iago, but Iago feels he deserves the honor.
This exacerbates Iago’s hatred towards Othello, a hatred Iago secretly feels because he suspects Othello has slept with his wife Emilia.
Iago’s goal is to turn Othello against his wife Desdemona and ruin his life as he believes Othello has ruined his.

Secondary Characters
The minor characters in Othello make important contributions to the plot and serve as pawns in Iago’s revenge plan.

Tragic Ending
The jealousy ignited in Othello by Iago’s subtle suggestions of Desdemona’s infidelity inspired Othello to take the life of the woman he loved more than life itself
As in most traditional tragedies, the tragic hero falls to ruin because of a character flaw, in Othello’s case – jealousy.