The “moor” Othello (a military general from North Africa) and Desdemona, the white daughter of a Venetian nobleman, fall in love and marry in secret. Once Othello promotes Cassio to a prominent military role over Iago, Iago feels slighted. He vows to destroy Othello and Desdemona’s happiness in revenge. Shakespeare’s play explores “jealousy...the green-ey’d monster” and its ability to poison the mind; Othello is a tragedy about love, agency, race, and deception. The Shakescleare modern English translation helps illuminate some of Othello’s key lines, such as “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition” and “one that loved not wisely, but too well.”