The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William
Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and
based on the short story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by
Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. The work
revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in
the Venetian army; his beloved wife, Desdemona; his loyal lieutenant,
Cassio; and his trusted but unfaithful ensign, Iago. Because of its
varied and current themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge
and repentance, Othello is still often performed in professional and
community theatres alike and has been the basis for numerous operatic,
film, and literary adaptations. Arguably the greatest English-language
playwright, William Shakespeare was a seventeenth-century writer and
dramatist, and is known as the Bard of Avon. Under the patronage of
Queen Elizabeth I, he penned more than 30 plays, 154 sonnets, and
numerous narrative poems and