Characters and Archetypes in Othello Othello He is

Othello He is the play’s protagonist He is a tragic hero He is a

Desdemona Secretly married to Othello She is white, which causes problems because she ran

Iago Othello’s ensign (military position under Othello) He is the villain, or shadow, of

Cassio Othello’s lieutenant He was promoted instead of Iago, so Iago hates him He

Emilia Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant Loves Desdemona Distrusts her husband b/c he is

Roderigo In love with Desdemona but she refused him Jealous of Othello Easily manipulated

Bianca A less than reputable woman in town (local prostitute) Cassio is her favorite

Brabantio Desdemona’s father Was Othello’s friend until he found out that Othello and his

Duke of Venice The authority figure in Venice Respects Othello for his military skills

Montano, Lodovico, and Graziano Montano: governor before Othello Lodovico: Barbantio’s kinsman and relays messages

Brief Summary They play is set in Venice, Italy. Currently at war, but trying

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Characters and Archetypes in Othello

Othello He is the play’s protagonist He is a tragic hero He is a Moor (North African) Powerful military leader Free, open, trusting character which is also his tragic flaw because it leads to his downfall in the end

Desdemona Secretly married to Othello She is white, which causes problems because she ran away with a black man Very strong female character because she constantly stands up for and to Othello She is in many ways the Damsel of the play, but is put out there as a temptress as well

Iago Othello’s ensign (military position under Othello) He is the villain, or shadow, of the play His personality is opposite of Othello; very manipulative and cunning and deceitful He is jealous b/c Othello chose another character (Cassio) for a promotion over him Hates women in general Has no real motivation for being a jerk, he just is one

Cassio Othello’s lieutenant He was promoted instead of Iago, so Iago hates him He is kind of a ladies man He is the one who is truly devoted to Othello (best friend you could say) He would be the companion figure in the play

Emilia Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant Loves Desdemona Distrusts her husband b/c he is very flirty with the ladies

Roderigo In love with Desdemona but she refused him Jealous of Othello Easily manipulated by Iago to do his bidding against Othello

Bianca A less than reputable woman in town (local prostitute) Cassio is her favorite customer Definitely the temptress

Brabantio Desdemona’s father Was Othello’s friend until he found out that Othello and his daughter were secretly married Uses Othello’s race as a reason why his daughter should not marry Othello

Duke of Venice The authority figure in Venice Respects Othello for his military skills Kind of a mentor figure for Othello

Montano, Lodovico, and Graziano Montano: governor before Othello Lodovico: Barbantio’s kinsman and relays messages from Venice to Cyprus. Graziano: another of Barbantio’s kinsman who travels with Lodovico

Brief Summary They play is set in Venice, Italy. Currently at war, but trying to prevent it Othello is the Duke’s main military leader and sends him to Cyprus to fight Othello is married secretly to Desdemona, against her father’s approval Iago is jealous of Othello and Cassio, so he tries to break up his marriage and make Othello go mad by saying that Desdemona is unfaithful to Othello by sleeping with his best friend Cassio. Chaos ensues!