Othello
Questions
The most common questions about Othello, answered from the play.
- What is the summary of Othello, by Shakespeare?Othello tells how Iago, ensign to the Moorish general Othello, convinces his chief that his wife, Desdemona, betrays him with the lieutenant Cassio,...
- How does Othello end?Othello ends with three deaths in the final scene: Desdemona, smothered by her husband, Emilia, stabbed by Iago, and Othello himself, who stabs...
- What is the theme of Othello?Jealousy is one of the central themes of Othello, and the play shows it being planted: act by act, Iago leads a trusting man to kill his innocent...
- Why is Othello called "the Moor of Venice"?The play is called "The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice": the title joins the protagonist's name, the label of Moor, and the city he...
- Who is Othello in Shakespeare's play?Othello is the Moorish general in Venetian service whom the play carries from the height of his fortune to ruin: married to Desdemona, daughter of...
- Who is Iago in Othello?Iago is Othello's ensign and the villain of the play: the subordinate who, resentful at having been passed over, leads the general to ruin and causes...
- Who is Desdemona in Othello?Desdemona is the daughter of Senator Brabantio who marries Othello, accompanies him to Cyprus and ends up killed by him, who accuses her of a...
- Who is Cassio in Othello?Michael Cassio is Othello's lieutenant, the man who got the post Iago wanted and one of the targets of his plan. In the end, he is the one left in...
- Who is Emilia in Othello?Emilia is Iago's wife and Desdemona's lady-in-waiting. It is she who picks up the handkerchief that becomes the proof against Desdemona, and who, in...
- Why does Iago hate Othello?Iago gives more than one reason to hate Othello, and the first is the lieutenancy: in Act I, Scene 1, he tells Roderigo that three nobles of the city...
- Why does Othello kill Desdemona?Othello kills Desdemona because, deceived by Iago, he is convinced that she betrayed him with Cassio, and because he sees death as "a...
- What is the meaning of Desdemona's handkerchief in Othello?The handkerchief is the object that Iago uses as proof of Desdemona's betrayal: an embroidered handkerchief with strawberries, the first gift Othello...
- What does the "green-eyed monster" mean in Othello?The green-eyed monster is jealousy. The image comes from Iago, in Act III, Scene 3, when he warns Othello: "Beware, my lord, of jealousy."...
- Did Desdemona betray Othello?No. Nothing in the play shows Desdemona betraying Othello: the betrayal exists only in Iago's insinuations and in Othello's imagination, and each of...