Othello by William Shakespeare

   Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare

 Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. It is based on the story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. 

 

  The play opens in Venice, Italy with Iago, the play's villain, and Roderigo, a man who is paying Iago to help him in his romantic pursuit of Desdemona, arguing about Desdemona's recent marriage to Othello. Iago assures Roderigo that Desdemona will soon become bored with Othello and then Roderigo will have his chance with her.

   Othello is unusual among Shakespeare's tragedies because much of it is set up like a typical Shakespearean comedy. A tragedy is a play that focuses on unfortunate events and that ends unhappily, while a Shakespearian comedy almost always deals with love and marriage, has a plot that hinges on deception and disguises, and has a setting that is outside of civilization where supernatural events can take place and the characters are not held to the normal rules of society. Othello contains all of the elements of a comedy, but instead of ending in marriage, the play ends in multiple deaths including that of the tragic hero, Othello.