In full OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE, tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, performed in 1604-05 and published in 1622
in a quarto edition from a transcript of foul papers. The First Folio version was taken from this quarto, with corrections from another authorial version of the
play. The story concerns the destruction of a marriage by jealousy.
The plot of the play is set in motion when Othello, a heroic Moorish general in the service of Venice, appoints Cassio and not Iago as his chief lieutenant. Jealous of Othello's success and envious of Cassio, Iago plots Othello's downfall by falsely implicating Othello's wife, Desdemona, and Cassio in a love affair. With the unwitting aid of Emilia, his wife, and the willing help of Roderigo, a fellow malcontent, Iago carries out his plan. In brief, Desdemona cannot produce a handkerchief once given her by Othello; thanks to Iago's machinations, it is later found among Cassio's possessions. Overcome with jealousy, Othello
kills Desdemona. When he learns, too late, that his wife is blameless, he asks to be remembered as one who loved not wisely but too well, and kills himself.
The deep love between Desdemona and Othello is immediately evident. Again and again the moral and intellectual stature of Othello is emphasized. He quells tumults in the streets with a few words; he bears himself with dignity before the Venetian council, defending himself compellingly from bitter accusations by Brabantio and accepting his military burden with quiet confidence. Even Iago, in the opening scene of the play, grudgingly admits the dependence of the Venetians on his valour. After his terrible murder of Desdemona, Othello's contrition is agonizing enough to swing the sympathies of the audience back to him.
Trusting to false appearances and allowing reason to be guided by passion is a theme of many of Shakespeare's comedies. In Othello he showed the theme's tragic consequences. Shakespeare adapted the story from an Italian model by Giambattista Giraldi (Cinthio). His main innovation lay in developing the villainous character of Iago, whose motives are represented as complex and ambiguous.