Othello by William Shakespeare
In seventeenth century Venice, a wealthy and debauched man discovers that the woman he is infatuated with is secretly married to a Moorish general in the Venetian army. He shares...
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In seventeenth century Venice, a wealthy and debauched man
discovers that the woman he is infatuated with is secretly married
to a Moorish general in the Venetian army. He shares his grief and
rage with a lowly ensign in the army who also has reason to hate
the general for promoting a younger man above him. The villainous
ensign now plots to destroy the noble general in a diabolical
scheme of jealousy, paranoia and murder, set against the backdrop
of the bloody Turkish-Venetian wars. This timeless tale, Othello
The Moor of Venice was one of the ten famous tragedies that William
Shakespeare wrote. It is also one of his plays that has the best
documented performance history. First staged on 1st November, 1604
at Whitehall Palace, it was regularly performed at the playwright's
own Globe Theater and the Blackfriars Theater in London besides
touring the country as part of the repertoire of the King's Men
which was the theatrical company that Shakespeare belonged to for
most of his career. Such is the power and appeal of the play that
it has remained completely unchanged or unrevised over the
centuries, while many other Shakespearean plays were adapted,
rewritten or trimmed during the Restoration and the eighteenth
century. The doomed figure of the lovely Desdemona who is murdered
so cruelly by the ill-fated Othello based on a tragic
misunderstanding continues to haunt playgoers and readers the world
over even today. Modern performances have explored the race and
class aspects of the play. Famous actors like Laurence Olivier have
given legendary performances, while opera, ballet, television,
film, stage, graphic novels and animation versions have kept the
magnificent story alive today for audiences all over the world.
Shakespeare was probably inspired by the sixteenth Italian writer
Cinthio's story titled A Moorish Captain. Many scholars have deemed
this to be based on a true incident that happened in Venice in
around 1508. However, only the mere skeleton of the story has been
used by Shakespeare and most of the characters and sub-plots are
his own dazzling creations. He may have also been influenced by the
delegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England in 1600. For other
details like location and manners, he probably used Venetian
history books and contemporary sources. Whatever the history and
inspiration of the play, it remains one of the most powerful,
compelling and towering works in English literature. This tale of
deception, heroism, love, hatred and the demonic obsession called
jealousy sparkles with brilliant lines that have entered the
English language and become immortal. A majestic work by a supreme
artist - Prepare to be overwhelmed!
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