Othello is a tragedy, tracing the fall from grace of its protagonist, a black general in the Venetian army, from respected public figure to murderer of his white wife, Desdemona. Instrumental in his downfall is the Machiavellian villain Iago, who persuades him by devious means that he is a cuckold - which Desdemona has slept with his lieutenant, Cassio.

Audiences and critics are divided about how to interpret the play and its central characters. Some see Othello as a conventional tragic hero; great but fatally flawed, while others regard him as bombastic and easily jealous. Iago's character, too, is disputed. Is he malicious for realistic reasons or implausibly motiveless? How do you interpret the play?

Othello
	Great man brought low
	Arrogant dupe

Desdemona
	Flawless heroine
	Pathetic victim

Iago
	Motiveless demon
	Vicious, scheming pragmatist

Cassio
	Valiant lieutenant
	Vain womaniser

Emilia
	Shrewd realist
	Insufferable cynic

Brabantio
	Long-suffering father
	Bitter tyrant

Roderigo
	Gullible

• Jealousy
• Seeing and judgement
• Race and colour
• Attitudes to women
• The language of the play
• Iago as Machiavel
• Beast and animal imagery
• Metaphors of eating and poison
• The "double timescale"
• Performance history

Act I, scene 3: Othello, Brabantio and Desdemona appear before the Duke

Act III, scene 3: Iago poisons Othello's love for Desdemona

Controversy about key characters - Othello, Iago, Desdemona

Relevance of minor characters - e.g. Emilia, Bianca, The Duke, Roderigo, Brabantio, Lodovico, Montano

Key themes and issues - race, jealousy, love, judgement, black and white

Setting and social context of the action - Venice, Cyprus, prevailing social attitudes

Individual scenes and their significance to the play as a whole