Othello Themes

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Othello is the most famous literary work that focuses on the dangers of jealousy. The play is a study of how jealousy can be fueled by mere circumstan...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Othello is one of the first black heroes in English literature. A military general, he has risen to a position of power and influence. At the same time...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in Othello. Unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property and the play's two marriages are marked by...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Othello explores some common sixteenth century anxieties about miscegenation (interracial sex and marriage) by examining the relationship between a bla...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Shakespeare's portrayal of marriage is pretty bleak in Othello. The play begins with a conflict between Desdemona's husband and her father, who sees hi...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Othello's villain, Iago, may be literature's most impressive master of deception. Iago plots with consummate sophistication, carefully manipulating Oth...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Since the play's protagonist is a military general, war is always hovering in the background in Othello. But the only actual battle the play promises i...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) Hatred is supposed to have a cause, some concrete event or insult that inspires a lasting rage. But in Othello, the play's villain is motivated by a ha...

(Click the themes infographic to download.) In Othello, Shakespeare explores factors that play an important role in the formations of one's identity – race, gender, social status, family relati...