Othello
William Shakespeare
Othello centers around Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian Army and his right-hand man Iago, whose manipulations of all of the people around him are designed to enact revenge on Othello for passing him over for a military promotion. This story is a true tragedy—no one escapes unscathed—that remains popular and widely performed today.
Major thematic elements: jealousy, race, deception, love
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IB Literature and IB Language and Literature Connections
Place of publication: England
Language: English
Era: 17th century
Genre: Drama
Author: Male
Readers, writers and texts | Time and space | Intertextuality: Connecting texts
Identity | Culture | Creativity | Communication
Perspective | Transformation | Representation
Full text, basic summaries, and overviews
Othello | Full text
We’re offering three different formats for the full text—the first is the plain, full text from MIT’s Shakespeare page. The second is a downloadable format from The Folger Shakespeare Library. The third is Project Gutenberg.
Othello | Audiobook
Finding an audiobook for Othello was a challenge. Most recordings on Librivox and YouTube were collaborative, with inconsistent audio and performance quality among all of the readers. Our favorite isn’t technically an audiobook—it’s a full audio recording of the performance of Othello in 1957 by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Act and scene timestamps are posted in the comments.
Listen here
Othello | Full play
YouTube has one play and two full films of Othello. The play is performed by the African-American Shakespeare Company and has excellent acting and video/audio quality. The first film is the 1965 performance staring Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith. Important note: Olivier performs in blackface, which is something that needs to be discussed with students before you show the film. This article from Learning for Justice can has lots of ideas for doing so. You should also consider if the film should be shown at all—or just in clips. Do what’s best for your students. Another film of Othello is posted by Shakespeare Network, and stars Willard White and Ian McKellen. White gave an interview about performing Othello that is definitely worth reading—especially as you gear up to teach this play. Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh stared in the 1995 production of Othello. Clips from this film are available in this playlist on YouTube.
Othello Study Guide | Course Hero
Course Hero’s guide includes and overview and infographic, plot and scene summaries, character list, quotes, symbols and discussion questions. Their entire study guide is also available via YouTube.
Read more | Watch here | PDF Study Guide
Othello Study Guide | Spark Notes
This study guide includes plot and scene summaries, characters, literary devices, frequently asked questions (and answers!), quizzes and essay topics. Spark Notes also has a video summary of the play. It wouldn’t be our first choice for introducing the play, but it would work great if students still need clarity about who the characters are and about the basic plot of the play.
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Othello | ShakespeareTheatre.org | Synopsis and related readings
This PDF is packed with information: a plot synopsis, overview of the geography of Othello, overview of Iago, symbolism in Othello, an essay on Desdemona’s murder, classroom connections, and a resource list.
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About the author
Information about William Shakespeare is provided on our page for Hamlet.
Articles, essays, and videos about Othello
A Level Revision: Othello - Character Analysis of Iago | YouTube | Tutoring with Gavin | 8:47
This video is an excellent character analysis of Iago. The video is well-organized and supported with citations from the text and contextual understanding of the play. This channel also has a great video analyzing the character Othello. You can find that video here.
Watch here
Othello video clips | Various Sources
Royal Shakespeare Company: Act 1 Scene 1 | Act 1 Scene 3 | Act 4 Scene 3 | Act 5 Scene 3 (Check out the full playlist here.)
James Earl Jones at the White House: General Othello’s testimony before the senate of Venice (Act 1 Scene 3).
Ian McKellen as Iago (“Put money in thy purse”) (Act 1 Scene 3)
Kenneth Branagh as Iago “I hate the Moor” (Act 1 Scene 3)
’O my soul’s joy!’ Othello Act 2 Scene 1 with Giles Terera at the National Theater
Kenneth Branagh performs Iago’s Monologue (How am I then a villain?) (Act 2 Scene 3)
Othello - Put Out The Light (Act 5 Scene 2) starring Laurence Fishburne
Soft, you, a word or two before you go (Act 5 Scene 2) starring Laurence Fishburne
Othello Videos | YouTube | National Theatre
National Theatre produced many videos about Othello to accompany their production of the play. These videos provide background information about the play including how National Theatre’s production compares with other productions of the play, conversations between actors about various scenes, and more.
Othello: Representations of Race | 5:51
Othello: Iago and Othello | 4:51
Othello: Behind the Lines | 7:17
How We Made It: Dramatherapy in the Othello Rehearsal Room with Samantha Adams and Clint Dyer | 3:32
Adrian Lester in Conversation | 36:19
Othello: A Tragedy of Perception | California State University Bakersfield | Susan Abbassi
In this masters thesis, Abbassi seeks to “present Othello as the main cause of tragedy within” the play, as “it was Othello, himself, who submits his thoughts, mind, and will to Iago through his chaotic thoughts, unmanageable fears, and wild suspicious.” This paper is long (~60 pages), so using the table of contents (PDF page 5) will help you choose the best extracts for your students.
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“I Must Be Circumstanced:” Bianca’s Effect on Othello | Harvard University | Jennifer Bastin
This thesis looks at Bianca and asks about her purpose as a character and what she adds to the play as a whole.
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The Monster in the Moor | College of Charleston | Andrew Stesienko
This paper looks at the monstrous identities of Othello and Iago, and how those traits dominate their characterization.
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Othello as an enigma to himself: a Jungian approach to character analysis | Eastern Washington University | Eric Iliff
This essay is long (50 pages), but made up of smaller, more manageable essays. Table of contents (page 4) will help you find the best extracts for students.
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Contextual Summary of Othello | British Library
This resource will help you put Othello in context for students. Click the green Download button on the right side of the page. Sources within the document are all hyperlinked to their own British Library page where you’ll find much more information.
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Lesson plans and other teaching resources
Othello-Related Articles | British Library
British Library has thirteen articles to read/study/explore in conjunction with Othello. Topics range from introduction to Shakespearean tragedy, characters in Othello, historical context of Othello to more complicated topics like the portrayal of daughters in Shakespeare and the racism and misogyny in Othello.
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Shakespeare’s Othello and the Power of Language | EDSITEment! | NEH.gov
This lesson helps students to study the language of Shakespeare, particularly the rhetoric behind Iago’s power of persuasion.
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Teacher Resource for Othello by William Shakespeare | CCSOH.us
This PDF is an entire unit plan for Othello, including lessons, vocabulary lists and extension activities. The unit is easy to navigate via hyperlinks.
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LitCharts Othello
This PDF would be great for teachers looking to wrap their heads around Othello or for students as a pre-reading activity or as a guide to help keep characters and plot straight. The best part of this document is its outlining of the themes of Othello and then how they show up in key quotes from the play.
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Othello line/text analysis | Various sources
These two documents show how lines from the play can be analyzed—one that looks at individual lines and one that looks at a passage.
Table Analysis | blogs.glowscotland.org.uk | Passage Commentary Sample | WSFCKk12.nc.us
Discussion/Essay Questions for Othello | Various Sources
These questions range in difficulty. We’ve listed them from pages with the most straightforward questions to pages with the most analytical questions.
Othello Reading Questions (basic) | The New Folger Library Version
Othello: Questions for Study and Discussion | ugdsb.ca
AP English/ENG 201 Dual Credit Othello Summer Reading Discussion Questions | Mrs. Johnson | Concordiaprepschool.org
From Mr. Mandelkorn | Foresthilshs.org
Shopping List
Texts and other resources you may find helpful.
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Othello
Paperback on Amazon.comOthello (1995) starring Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh
DVD on Amazon.com
Shakespeare: Othello | Royal Shakespeare Company
DVD on Amazon.com
Iago: the Strategies of Evil by Harold Bloom
Hardcover on Amazon.com
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom
Paperback on Amazon.com
William Shakespeare: Othello starring Michael Grandage and Ian McKellen
DVD on Amazon.com