Act 2, scene 1 The Turkish fleet is destroyed in a storm, while Cassio and then Desdemona, Emilia, and Iago arrive safely at Cyprus. Desdemona anxiously waits for Othello. When his ship arrives, he and Desdemona joyfully greet each other. Iago, putting his plot into action, persuades Roderigo that Desdemona is in love with Cassio and that Roderigo should help get Cassio dismissed from the lieutenancy. The play’s protagonist and hero. A Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, Othello is an eloquent and physically powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. He possesses a “free and open nature,” which his ensign Iago uses to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful and destructive jealousy. Lamb, Charles and Lamb, Mary "Tales from Shakespeare", 1807, Penguin Popular Classics edition, 1995, p.281. The filming of Orson Welles' Othello was plagued by chaos. A pattern emerged where Welles would collect his cast and crew for filming, then after four or five weeks his money would run out and filming would cease: Welles would then appear in another movie, and using his acting fee would reconvene filming. Scenes in the final movie were sometimes spliced together from one actor filmed in Italy in one year, and another actor filmed in Morocco the next. [257] Welles uses shadows, extreme camera angles and discordant piano music to force the audience to feel Othello's disorientated view of Desdemona. [258] Cages, grilles and bars are frequent images. [259] And the text is heavily cut: Othello's first words are his speech to the Senators from Act 1 Scene 3. [260] [261] The film was critically panned on its 1955 release (headlines included "Mr Welles Murders Shakespeare in the Dark" and "The Boor of Venice") but was acclaimed as a classic upon its re-release in a restored version in 1992. [262] Gary Taylor in 1983 agreed with Coghill that F incorporated the author's own improvements to Q, but argued that another scribal hand had also made intervening changes to F. [56]

Act 3, scene 1 Cassio arrives with musicians to honor Othello and Desdemona. As Iago has recommended, Cassio asks Emilia to arrange a meeting with Desdemona, even though Emilia assures him that Desdemona is already urging Othello to reinstate him. Entire Play In Venice, at the start of Othello, the soldier Iago announces his hatred for his commander, Othello, a Moor. Othello has promoted Cassio, not Iago, to be his lieutenant.Iago crudely informs Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, that Othello and Desdemona have eloped. Before the Venetian Senate, Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching Desdemona. The Senators wish to send Othello to Cyprus, which is under threat from Turkey. They bring Desdemona before them. She tells of her love for Othello, and the marriage stands. The Senate agrees to let her join Othello in Cyprus.In Cyprus, Iago continues to plot against Othello and Cassio. He lures Cassio into a drunken fight, for which Cassio loses his new rank; Cassio, at Iago’s urging, then begs Desdemona to intervene. Iago uses this and other ploys—misinterpreted conversations, insinuations, and a lost handkerchief—to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. Othello goes mad with jealousy and later smothers Desdemona on their marriage bed, only to learn of Iago’s treachery. He then kills himself. Greenhalgh, Susanne "Shakespeare Overheard: Performances, Adaptations, and Citations on Radio" in Shaughnessy, Robert (ed.) "The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture", Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp.175–198, at p.186. Both Desdemona and Othello defy by their words and gestures the calumnies heaped upon them by Roderigo and Brabantio and vindicate the imperatives of the heart over parental authority and custom. As in a typical Shakespearean comedy, love, tested, triumphs over all opposition. Mowat, Barbara A (ed.), Werstine, Paul (ed.) and Shakespeare, William, "Othello", Folger Shakespeare Library edition, Simon and Schuster, 2017, p.xxii.Singh, Jyotsna "Post-Colonial Criticism" in Wells, Stanley and Orlin, Lena Cowen "Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide", Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.492-507 at p.493. Howard, Jean E. "Feminist Criticism" in Wells, Stanley and Orlin, Lena Cowen "Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide", Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.411-430 at p.427, in turn citing Lisa Jardine's essay "She sat like Patience on a Monument / Smiling at grief". Tags: Analysis Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Bibliography Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Character Study Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Criticism Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Drama Criticism, ELIZABEHAN POETRY AND PROSE, Essays Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Literary Criticism, Notes Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello, Othello Analysis, Othello Criticism, Othello Essay, Othello Feminism, Othello Notes, Othello Play, Othello PSychoanalysis, Othello Summary, Plot Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Simple Analysis Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Study Guides Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Summary Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Synopsis Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Themes Of William Shakespeare’s Othello, William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s Othello Related Articles Bob Dylan's song Po' Boy features lyrics in which Desdemona turns the tables on Othello, borrowing the idea of using poisoned wine from the final act of Hamlet. [326] Literature [ edit ] Iago persuades Othello to be suspicious of Cassio and Desdemona's relationship. When Desdemona drops a handkerchief (the first gift given to her by Othello), Emilia finds it and gives it to Iago at his request, unaware of what he plans to do with it. Othello appears and, then being convinced by Iago of his wife's unfaithfulness with his captain, vows with Iago for the death of Desdemona and Cassio, after which he makes Iago his lieutenant.

Brode, Douglas "Shakespeare in the Movies - From the Silent Era to Today" Oxford University Press, 2000, pp.167-168. F contains about 160 lines which are not in Q, sometimes in passages which are quite extended and well-known, such as Othello's "Pontic Sea" speech [44] and Desdemona's "Willow Song". [45] [46] Iago is an expert at manipulating the distance between characters, isolating his victims so that they fall prey to their own obsessions. At the same time, Iago, of necessity always standing apart, falls prey to his own obsession with revenge. The characters cannot be islands, the play seems to say: self-isolation as an act of self-preservation leads ultimately to self-destruction. Such self-isolation leads to the deaths of Roderigo, Iago, Othello, and even Emilia. Jealousy Othello is parodied in the form of a rap song in the stage show The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). [309] Audio [ edit ]Siemon, James "Making Ambition Virtue" in Orlin, Lena Cowen (ed.) "Othello - The State of Play" The Arden Shakespeare, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, pp.177-202 at p.178 and p.198n.

Iago's role is (in Robert Watson's words) "overdetermined in renaissance dramatic convention": he is partly the scheming Machiavel of Renaissance tragedy, partly the vengeful malcontent of revenge tragedy, partly the instigator of jealousy in domestic tragedy and partly the devil incarnate of morality plays. [143] Q has 63 oaths or profanities which do not appear in F, suggesting the possibility that F was based on a manuscript which had been edited to conform with the 1606 Act of Abuses. [48] Othello comes to his sleeping wife's bedroom to murder her as punishment for her supposed adultery. He smothers her with a pillow as she asserts her innocence. Emilia alerts the household, causing Iago and others to come to the scene. Othello defends himself, mentioning the handkerchief as evidence. Emilia realises what has happened and betrays Iago‘s plots against Othello. Iago, reacting to his wife's accusations, stabs and kills her. Iago is arrested and sent to trial after Othello wounds him (he doesn't even die). Othello, facing the inevitability of his own trial, uses a hidden weapon to commit suicide. The play ends with Cassio reinstated and placed in command as Governor of Cyprus. Austern, Linda Phyllis "The Music in the Play" in Neil, Michael (ed.) and Shakespeare, William "Othello" The Oxford Shakespeare, Oxford University Press, 2006 pp.445-454 at p.445. Act 2, scene 3 Iago gets Cassio drunk, making it easy for Roderigo to provoke Cassio into a brawl, first with Roderigo, then with Montano, whom he wounds. Othello, called from his bed by the noise, stops the brawl and strips Cassio of his lieutenancy. Iago advises Cassio to seek Desdemona’s help in getting reinstated. The next step in Iago’s plan is to tell Othello that Desdemona supports Cassio because Cassio is her lover.All theatres were closed down by the Puritan government on 6 September 1642. Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, two patent companies (the King's Company and the Duke's Company) were established, and the existing theatrical repertoire divided between them: Othello being allocated to the King's Company's repertoire. [192] These patents stated that "all the women's parts to be acted in either of the said two companies for the time to come may be performed by women". The first professional acting appearance by a woman on the English stage was that of Desdemona in Othello on 8th December 1660, although history does not record who took the role. [193] [194] Margaret Hughes is the first woman known to have played Desdemona. [195] Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. Although Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice, his skill as a soldier and leader is nevertheless valuable and necessary to the state, and he is an integral part of Venetian civic society. He is in great demand by the duke and senate, as evidenced by Cassio’s comment that the senate “sent about three several quests” to look for Othello (I.ii. 46). The Venetian government trusts Othello enough to put him in full martial and political command of Cyprus; indeed, in his dying speech, Othello reminds the Venetians of the “service” he has done their state (V.ii. 348). In addition to his theatrical performances noted above, the play was also central to Konstantin Stanislavski's writings, and to the development of his " system". In particular, the part of Othello is a main subject of his book Creating a Role. [328] In it, the characters of Tortzov, the director, and Kostya, the young actor - both partly autobiographical - rehearse the role of Othello in the opening act. [329] Gurr, Andrew and Ichikawa, Mariko "Oxford Shakespeare Topics: Staging in Shakespeare's Theatres" Oxford University Press, 2000, p.55.

E. A. J. Honigmann in 1996 partly revived Walker's theory, by arguing that the scribe responsible for preparing the manuscript for F had consulted Q whenever the copy was illegible. [57] He also argues that sequences in F but not in Q, such as the Willow Song, may have been cuts from the original made for the manuscript of Q, rather than later additions made for the manuscript of F. [58] Rosenfeld, Colleen Ruth "Shakespeare's Nobody" in Orlin, Lena Cowen (ed.) "Othello - The State of Play" The Arden Shakespeare, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, pp.257-279 at p.269. Ferraro, Bruno (translator) Gli Hecatommithi - Third Decade, Seventh Novella in Neil, 2006, Appendix C pp.434-444 at p.440. Bate, Jonathan (ed.), Rasmussen, Eric (ed.) and Shakespeare, William "Othello", The RSC Shakespeare, The Random House Publishing Group, 2009, p.3.Iago is furious about being overlooked for promotion and plots to take revenge against his General; Othello, the Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates Othello into believing his wife Desdemona is unfaithful, stirring Othello's jealousy. Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona, and then kills himself. Other adaptations of Shakespeare's story to be filmed include Franco Zeffirelli's 1986 film of Verdi's Otello [282] and the 1956 Jubal which resets the story as a Western, centered on the Cassio character. [283] The play was abridged to 30 minutes by Leon Garfield, and produced with cel animation for the TV series Shakespeare: The Animated Tales. [284] Tim Blake Nelson's basketball-themed teen drama O reset the story at an elite boarding school. The similarity of the film's ending to the Columbine massacre, which happened while the film was being edited, delayed its release for over two years, until August 2001. [285] A British TV adaptation by Andrew Davies, screened in 2001, re-set the story among senior officers of the Metropolitan Police. [286] And the first decade of the 21st-Century saw two non-English language film adaptations: Alexander Abela's French Souli set the story in a modern-day Madagascan fishing village, and Vishal Bhardwaj's Hindi Omkara amidst political violence in modern Uttar Pradesh. [287] Other media [ edit ] Stage adaptations [ edit ]