![]() ![]() Othello is believed to have first been performed in 1604 or perhaps in 1605. With two such prominent characters so closely associated, audiences have trouble determining which of the two characters is the central figure in the play and, therefore, which one bears the greater responsibility for the tragedy. The relationship between Othello and Iago is another unusual feature of this work. With his dazzling display of villainy, the character Iago, the play's antagonist, has long fascinated students and critics of the drama. Othello has often been described as a tragedy of character, as the play's protagonist swiftly descends into a rage of jealousy that completely destroys his life. The drama focuses on the passions and personal lives of its major figures. ![]() Othello is also unique among Shakespeare's great tragedies in that it is set in a private world. If it lacks the cosmic grandeur of some of Shakespeare's other well-respected dramas, Othello nevertheless possesses a power that is perhaps more immediate and more strongly felt than that of his other plays. The fall of a proud, dignified man, the murder of a graceful, loving woman, and the unreasoning hatred of a villain, have all evoked fear and pity in audiences throughout the centuries. Othello (1604) has often been considered the most painful of Shakespeare's tragedies. ![]()
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