Othello


 * Plot Events **:
 * Act I
 * Othello and Desdemona have secretly married. Iago and Roderigo tell Desdemona's father.
 * Iago exhibits his hatred for Othello because Othello chose Cassio as his second in command instead of Iago. He also suspects that his wife Emilia may have had an affair with Othello and states that he wants to get even with him, wife for wife, or at least put him into a jealous rage with ultimately fatal consequences.
 * Cypress is at war with the Turks
 * Iago formulates a plan to seek revenge on Othello and use Roderigo as a pawn (taking money from Roderigo).
 * Act II
 * There was no war with the Turks because of a storm.
 * Iago sets his plan into motion: he will make Cassio and Desdemona seem lustful. Iago gets Cassio drunk and tells Roderigo to attack Cassio so that Roderigo can become closer to obtaining Desdemona, After Cassio and Roderigo get into a fight, Othello demotes Cassio and stops talking to him.
 * Act III
 * Iago convinces Emilia to set up a meeting between Cassio and Desdemona. Desdemona assures Cassio that she will talk to Othello and make amends. Seeing Desdemona and Cassio together, Iago convinces Othello that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair.
 * Desdemona drops the handkerchief that Othello gave to her as a gift. Emilia picks the handkerchief up and gives it to Iago. Iago plants the handkerchief somewhere Cassio will find it.
 * Iago tells Othello that he saw Cassio with Desdemona's handkerchief. When Othello confronts Desdemona, Desdemona does not know where it is.
 * Cassio gives the handkerchief to his mistress, Bianca.
 * Act IV
 * Iago talks to Cassio about Bianca, and their gestures appear to the onlooking Othello as though Cassio is talking about sleeping with Desdemona.
 * Othello sees Bianca give the handkerchief back to Cassiom, and it enrages him further.He tells Desdemona that his anger stems from her infidelity.
 * Desdemona waits in her bedroom for Othello.
 * Act V
 * Roderigo attacks Cassio in the streets (at Iago's suggestion), but Cassio wounds Roderigo. Iago stabs Cassio. Iago then puts on a show to prove his innocence by stabbing Roderigo.
 * Othello kills Desdemona.
 * Emilia tells Othello that she found the handkerchief and gave it to Iago. Iago stabs and kills Emilia and runs.
 * Iago is captured and brought back, and Othello stabs Iago. Letters are provided that show evidence of Roderigo and Iago plotting to kill Cassio. Iago tells Othello that he put the handkerchief in Cassio's bedchamber.
 * Othello kills himself when he realizes his wife was actually faithful.
 * Cassio takes over as the leader.


 * Characters **:
 * Othello - a respected general who holds a high posititon with the Duke. He is a moor, signifying that he is dark-skinned. He is a tragic hero who falls from greatness by killing his wife and then himself. His tragic flaw is that he is too trusting in other people and takes everything at face value. Through this flaw, Othello is able to believe Iago and become consumed with raging jealousy. Jealousy alone is not his flaw; he would hever have become jealous if he did not believe unconditionally in what Iago said.
 * Desdemona - Othello's wife. They marry secretly, without her father's consent. She is mild mannered, innocent, goodly, witty, and independent.
 * Iago - plots against Othello. He is jealous that Othello chose Cassio as second in command instead of Iago. He is racist, prideful, and manipulative. Iago foils his own plans by putting it in writing.
 * Roderigo - friend of Iago. Roderigo wants Desdemona for himself, and Iago manipulates him to further Iago's plans. Roderigo is naive. His intent from the beginning was bad, but he was outdone by a more malicious character (Iago). Roderigo parallels Othello because both are tricked by Iago. Roderigo is fooled by Iago even though Iago is acting dishonestly in front of him.
 * Emilia - Iago's wife. She is more realistic than Desdemona and says that it is okay for women to cheat.
 * Cassio - a war hero, handsome, youthful, a playboy. Iago thinks that Cassio slept with Emilia, and Othello is led to believe that Cassio is sleeping with Desdemona. Cassio is the only character that finds success in the end.
 * Bianca - the prostitute whom Cassio is seeing. Her character demonstrates that the noblest characters, even Cassio, can treat women badly. Bianca is the only jealous woman in the play.

Venice and Cyprus, the late 1500s
 * Setting **:


 * Symbols **:
 * the handkerchief: The handkerchief is a symbol of Desdemona's fidelity. As long as Desdemona has possession of the handkerchief, she is virginal (if they have not consumated their marriage) and chaste. Once the handkerchief is lost and passed onto Cassio, it appears that Desdemona's virginity and fidelity is also lost.
 * The song that Desdemona sings as she prepares for bed. "Willow" talks about the betrayal of a partner by a lover. This is important, because Desdemona is literally going through the same thing. She is awaiting her own death by her husband who is supposed to love her. The song discusses unfaithfulness by both men and women, but talks about how it is unacceptable in society for women.

Images **:
 * The military: The military aspects of the play not only help to establish the setting, but also set the foreboding mood of the tragedy. There exists irony in the fact that the conflicts are personal and not a direct result of the war.


 * Themes **:
 * Perception v. Reality: one cannot be so trusting as to believe that what lies before him is necessarily true. Othello trusts in Iago without investigating and takes Iago for his words without input from any other source. Othello sees Iago as an honest man merely because Iago acts the part and calls himself honest. This absolute trust in Iago causes Othelllo to misjudge Desdemona and believe she is a whore. Othello sees the handkerchief in Cassio's hand (an appearance) and assums that Cassio and Desdemona are having an affair (which contradicts the reality b/c the two were not having an affair). Similarly, Iago thinks that Emilia slept with Othello without any concrete evidence. Iago's hatred of Othello is enough to evidence, and so the reality of the situation is marred by Iago's false perception. Until the end of the novel, no one except the audience fully knows what the reality of the situations are (dramatic irony).
 * The danger of marriage: Iago and Emilia never have a strong relationship, and Othello and nDesdemona fall apart. Entering a marriage involves trust, but neither couple has trust in each other. Cassio is the only character who is not married, never has marital conflicts, and is not pining for a single woman. Cassio is also the only character who does not fall victim to jealousy; in the end, he is the only successful character. //Othello// then serves as a warning against marriage and relationships.
 * Race: Othello is looked down upon for being a Moor, even by his subordinates like Iago who is jealous by Othello's military and marital success. Also, Desdemona's father was not happy that she had run away with a Moor, which is demeaning in itself in her father's eye.
 * What works on the battlefield does not work at home. Othello is a passionmate military general who seeks justice at all costs, which works perfectly in military life, but causes problems for Othello in his personal life.

Divided into 5 acts, //Othello// has the typical structure of other Shakespearean plays. This allows for an introduction of charactes and a set up of what is to happen in the first act, development in the subsequent acts, and a conclusion to shed light on the story and emphasize a theme in the fifth act.
 * Structural Elements **: