Who inspired Othello?

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

Is Othello based on a real person?

It has been suggested that Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, Moorish ambassador of the Arab King of Barbary to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, may have been an inspiration for Othello.

Where did Othello come from?

Although Othello is a Moor, and although we often assume he is from Africa, he never names his birthplace in the play. In Shakespeare's time, Moors could be from Africa, but they could also be from the Middle East, or even Spain. American actor John Edward McCullough as Othello in 1878.

What was his main textual source for Othello?

[The main source for Shakespeare's Othello is a short prose tale first published in 1565 by Italian Giovanni Battista Giraldi, nicknamed "Cinthio" (1504-1573).

Is Othello based on the Bible?

Shakespeare's two main sources of allusions were the Bible and classical mythology. In Othello he alludes to the Bible to associate Iago's actions with evil, while he uses the story of Venus and Mars to add a mythological dimension to Othello and Desdemona's doomed romance.

Othello by William Shakespeare | Characters

What is the most ironic word in Othello?

There is considerable irony in the use of the word 'love' in this play too. Note how frequently it is on Iago's lips when he is gulling his victims; this is rather horrible when we consider that Othello and Desdemona's true love is being destroyed by the false and empty love Iago professes.

What is the context behind Othello?

Shakespeare derived Othello's plot from a short narrative in Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi (1565), but set his play within the context of Venice's struggle during the 1570s with the Ottoman Empire for control of Cyprus, the eastern Mediterranean island that overlooked the shipping lanes between Europe and trading ...

What is Othello game based on?

Othello is similar in some ways to Go, an ancient game of Asian origin that involves placing black and white stones on a large board to surround an opponents' stones. It is also quite similar to Reversi, a British game that enjoyed a spurt of popularity in the 1890s.

Why is Othello based in Venice?

Venice had a reputation as a city of wealth and sophistication, but was also perceived as a place of loose morals. Shakespeare is able to use the Venetian setting to establish Othello as an outsider. Although he serves the senate, Othello is not Italian, unlike his adversary, Iago.

Can a white person play Othello?

Racial prejudice has allowed white actors to play Othello well into the 20th century. David Harewood discusses Larry Olivier's performance in 1964.

What race is Iago?

Furthermore, Iago's status as a white European and his close relationship with the audience suggest that he represents the populace of Renaissance England, and thus as the play condemns Iago's deeds it scrutinizes the xenophobia and racial stereotyping of Renaissance English society.

What race is Desdemona?

Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian military prodigy.

What is the famous line in Othello?

Let heaven and men and devils, let them all, All, all, cry shame against me, yet I'll speak. I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.

Is Othello from Venice or Cyprus?

Venice is a place where Othello is an outsider and he marries Desdemona in secret. Venice is ruled by a senate which includes a 'Duke' and several senators. There is a war happening against the Turks and there are different ranks in the army. Othello is a general and has a high level of command.

Is there slavery in Othello?

slavery, Shakespeare's Othello tells Desdemona "Of being taken by the inso- lent foe / And sold to slavery" and of his "redemption thence" (1.3. 137-38). Othello's account, moreover, is not one of shameful subjection but instead forms part of a narrative of valor and triumph.

What religion was Othello?

Consulting Shakespeare's play, we find that Othello is a Christian, washed by the waters of baptism. There are hints that he is a convert (Iago scoffingly suggests that for the love of Desdemona Othello would “renounce his baptism” [2.3.

Was Othello black or white?

It's all but certain that Shakespeare's first Othello was Richard Burbage, a white Londoner. It's even more likely that Burbage would have worn dark makeup, as actors in Britain did until the late 1980s (Michael Gambon was one of the last, at Scarborough in 1990).

What are the three major themes in Othello?

What famous line does Othello say before he dies?

'Soft you, a word or two before you go': so begins Othello's last major speech before he stabs himself. His last words, famously, are 'I kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee'.

What is the paradox in Othello?

Shakespeare recovers Othello in the last speech that he gives Othello just before he kills himself. We see both Othellos as a paradox, where both views of Othello can be seen as truth. So Othello regains his former view and the only honorable thing he can do is to kill the Othello who killed his innocent wife.

WHO calls Othello a black ram?

Iago calls Othello a “Barbary horse,” an “old black ram,” and also tells Brabanzio that his daughter and Othello are “making the beast with two backs” (I.i. 117–118 ).

What is Othello's tragic flaw?

Some say that Othello's tragic flaw was jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. A more modern interpretation would say that Othello's tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him.

Why is Othello called thick lips?

This is clear, for example, when Roderigo calls Othello “the thick lips,” not only reducing him to a racialized physical attribute, taking away his subjectivity as a whole person, but also alluding to his hypersexual nature, as lips, especially big lips, are often a symbol of sexuality.

What is Desdemona's last line?

Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. In response to Emilia's question, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona's final words are, “Nobody, I myself. Farewell. / Commend me to my kind lord.

Was Iago a sociopath?

Iago is a very modern character in that he has been diagnosed by critics as a psychopath or a sociopath, or an extreme narcissist. Remarkably, Shakespeare created that character some four hundred years before psychologists began to describe the characteristics of psychopaths and sociopaths.