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Othello
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Still from the motion picture version of Shakespeare's Othello, with Orson Welles as Othello and Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, 1951; directed by Welles. Iago, as portrayed by Kenneth Branagh (right), with Laurence Fishburne in the title role of Othello, 1995. Othello, as portrayed by Laurence Fishburne (centre), with Irène Jacob (left) as Desdemona and Kenneth Branagh (right) as Iago, 1995 Paul Robeson (right), in the title role of Othello, with Peggy Ashcroft as Desdemona “Ira Frederick Aldridge as Othello,” painting by Henry Perronet Briggs, c. 1830; in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
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Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Still from the motion picture version of Shakespeare's Othello, with Orson Welles as Othello and Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, 1951; directed by Welles.
Still from the motion picture version of Shakespeare's Othello, with Orson Welles as Othello and Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, 1951; directed by Welles.

Othello

fictional character
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Article History

Othello, a Moorish general in the service of Venice in Shakespeare’s Othello. Driven by jealousy that has been skillfully manipulated, Othello takes the life of Desdemona, his doting wife, and then his own.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.