Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Othello. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Othello: Introduction
Othello: Plot Summary
Othello: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Othello: Themes
Othello: Quotes
Othello: Characters
Othello: Symbols
Othello: Literary Devices
Othello: Quizzes
Othello: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of William Shakespeare
Historical Context of Othello
Other Books Related to Othello
- Full Title: The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice
- When Written: c. 1603
- Where Written: England
- When Published: 1622
- Literary Period: The Renaissance
- Genre: Tragedy
- Setting: Venice and Cyprus
- Climax: The murder of Desdemona, by Othello
- Antagonist: Iago
Extra Credit for Othello
Moor or less? In Elizabethan England, the term "Moor" could be used to refer to a wide range of non-European persons, including black Africans, North Africans, Arabs, and even Indians. References to Othello's origins throughout the play are contradictory and ambiguous Iago calls Othello a "Barbary horse" (1.1.110); Barbary was an area in Africa between Egypt and the Atlantic Ocean. Roderigo, however, calls him "thick-lips" (1.1.65-6), suggesting that he may come from further south on the African continent. Brabantio calls him "sooty" (1.2.70); Othello, along with numerous other characters, refers to himself as "black." It is impossible to know now exactly what Shakespeare or his audience would have thought a "Moor" is.