1. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor
of Venice
WRITTEN BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
IN APPROXIMATELY 1603 .
By: Ferniqua
Christian

2. Setting & Significance
 Late Sixteenth century,
during wars between Venice &
Turkey (naval battles
between the Ottoman Empire
and the Republic of Venice
for the control of land).
 Also took place on Island of

3. Subject(s)/Theme Statement
 Jealousy & Love
 Although people in society
seem noble, they’re
sometimes more malevolent
than appeared.

4. Major Characters
 Othello – plays the protagonists, as he
faces prejudice appoints towards him
concerning his ethnic (African-American)
because of dating an Caucasian woman.
 Iago – plays the most villainous character
in the play, as he uses his excellent
manipulating skills to convince Othello of
things that are truly false because of his
jealousy towards him & Cassio.
 Desdemona – plays the wife of Othello, also
the daughter of Brabantio. She is falsely
accused of the liking of Michael Cassio (

5. Minor Characters
 Roderigo – plays the friend of Iago, under
iago’s manipulation he naively thinks Iago
will help him win over Desdemona but Iago
uses him to his advantage.
 Cassio – plays as othello’s head lieutenant,
but is falsely accused of liking Desdemona
by his jealous friend Iago who wanted to
take his place as lieutenant and rise
higher than Othello himself.
 Emilia – plays iago’s wife, unhappy with
being his wife grows fond of Desdemona.

6. Major Symbols & Motifs.
 Animals continue to pop off over the course
of the play, Referring to Othello as a
“black ram.” suggesting that he was a
African American.
 Handkerchief – symbolizes different things.
To Othello it is important because it has
been passed down to him & he passes it down
to Desdemona and it symbolizes her love &
passion for him.

7. Protagonist's Dilemma, Decision & Significance.
 Dilemma – Othello problem is that his
friend “honest iago” manipulates him into
thinking Desdemona is a whore and it furies
Othello, making him want to harm
Desdemona.
 Decision – othello’s decision is final when he
decides to kill Desdemona
 Significance – The significance of all of his
decision was greatly impacted my Iago,
without Othello even knowing until Emilia
started to understand.

8. Significance from Beg to End.
 Significance – The significance of
all of this
is that Othello killed the one he
loved because of “honest iago”
who turned out no to be so honest
because his own wife Emilia
figured out all of his conniving
schemes. Iago manipulated
everybody in this play in his climb
to the top expecting to be much

9. Quotes & Commentary
 “ I am not what I am.” – Relates back to the theme that I
am not what I am appearing to be. It characterizes Iago,
ironically they note to him as “honest Iago,” when really
he is the most conniving character of them all.
 “ I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, killing
myself, to die upon a kiss”- It characterizes Othello and
his thinking about the killing of Desdemona. You may
imply that he in contemplating the killing & realizes what
has been done. Suggesting that if he hadn’t killed his
wife, he would be killing himself to know that she was
that whore Iago described her as.