Book
Othello
First published 1622
Othello, a successful general in Venetian service, secretly marries Desdemona and is sent to Cyprus as the republic prepares for an Ottoman attack. His ensign Iago, resentful over promotion and skilled at exploiting other people’s weaknesses, begins to convince Othello that Desdemona has betrayed him with Cassio.
The external military threat recedes, but Iago’s private campaign destroys the household and the command structure around it. Set against Venice’s strategic struggle over Cyprus, the tragedy examines race, military reputation, marriage and the manufacture of false evidence, showing how jealousy becomes lethal when trust is replaced by a story designed to look like proof.
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