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    Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)
    Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)
    Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)
    Ebook224 pages4 hours

    Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)

    By William Shakespeare

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    About this ebook

    A tightly constructed drama which is regarded as one of the William Shakespeare’s finest; “Othello” is the story of its titular character, a Moorish general in the Venetian army. Othello secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of Venetian senator Brabantio, who disapproves of the union. The marriage draws the contempt of Roderigo, a wealthy gentleman of low moral character who is in love with Desdemona and has asked her father for her hand in marriage. Iago is an ensign under the command of Othello who is angry for being passed over for promotion. Iago plots against Othello by convincing him that his wife is having an adulterous affair with Cassio, whom he has been passed over by for promotion. As the web of deceit is woven a series of tragic events begins to unfold for all those involved. Based upon a 16th century short story entitled “A Moorish Captain” by Italian novelist and poet Cinthio, “Othello,” masterfully dramatizes the tragic consequences that can arise from jealous deceit. This edition is annotated by Henry N. Hudson, includes an introduction by Charles Harold Herford, and a biographical afterword.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateNov 17, 2015
    ISBN9781420952179
    Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare is the world's greatest ever playwright. Born in 1564, he split his time between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, where he worked as a playwright, poet and actor. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two, leaving three children—Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. The rest is silence.

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    Reviews for Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford)

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    • 4/5
      1603, claustrofobe tragedie, over jaloezie en roddelHuiselijke tragedie; de intrige is belangrijker dan de karakters. Een één-thema-drama.Grote eenheid van tijd en ruimte (behalve I), blind noodlot overheerst. -Othello: neger, nobel en simpel, krachtig, maar geen subtiliteit, beheerst door zijn obsessie (jaloersheid)-Jago: fascinerende, complexe schurk, type machtswellusteling, verstrikt in zijn eigen list, maar geen andere keuze, wel ijskoud monster
    • 4/5
      Huh. Well, I'll lay myself open to charges of philistinery and admit that Othello – the only one of the Big Tragedies that I'd not read until now — disappointed me. Our noble hero is even more easily duped regarding his “beloved's” faithfulness than Claudio (Much Ado about Nothing), and the true-hearted Desdemona is even more of a doormat than Viola (Twelfth Night). Given the references I've seen so often to the “noble Moor,” I expected Othello to be an intelligent, competent, stalwart sort of fellow, who would only be misled as to his wife's faithfulness through the most devious maneuvers and false evidence. All it actually took, though, was a dropped and stolen hankie. I mean, REALLY? If Othello had given it a moment's thought he'd have remembered that Desdemona pulled the handkerchief out to mop his grumpy brow after one of his (many, many) temper tantrums, and that he dropped the thing on the floor, complaining that it was too Small for his big, manly head. What a freakin' moaner. I was appalled by his self-absorption – his whole reason for “loving” Desdemona was that she hung on his every word and felt sorry for all the troubles he'd suffered. What he wanted was not a Wife, but a particularly devoted German Shepherd. And Desdemona, who initially was an appealingly spunky girl, gets slapped around in public and dissolves into a puddle of masochistic goo. Iago is plenty villainous, but his villainy is so all encompassing that it really seems pretty pointless. He's just mean. His scheming – the astute way he uses suggestion to arouse Othello's insecurities and jealousies – is impressive at first, but after a while his one-trick character gets dull. At least Thersites (Troilus and Cressida), another evil-for-no-reason character, offers astonishingly creative invective to liven his performance, whereas when asked to explain himself Iago just harumphs and says he has no intention of explaining anything. So, the play offers seemingly endless histrionics from Othello, who somehow earned the friendship of a nice fellow like Cassio and the love of the sweet Desdemona despite the fact that all we ever see from him are braggadocio and raging insecurities, and evil schemes to no particular end but the general misery by Iago. Not one of my favorites.I read this in the Oxford Shakespeare edition, which has nice heavy paper and dark print, but I have to say that the cheap paper and larger print (and less copious notes) of the Folger editions are easier reading. I listened to the Archangel recording, which is really, really excellent. Iago is just Perfectly done, and Desdemona is wonderful. Othello – well, the actor does a great job with what he had to work with; an insecure, egotistical, hysterical bully.
    • 4/5
      Othello, believing the report of the lying Iago, believes his wife Desdemona was unfaithful to him. Much of the evidence rests on a handkerchief. It's definitely sad as are most tragedies. Sadly there are far too many people who tell lies with consequences just as devastating as the ones in this play. It also shows the consequences of jealousy.
    • 5/5
      Iago has to be one of the nastiest villains in all of literature. Good, old, Honest Iago. In a matter of hours, he takes a happily married man and a successful general and turns him into a jealous, vengeful caricature of his former self. Iago uses innuendo to sow the seeds of distrust, then sits back to watch what he's set in motion. When it looks like things are straying off course, a gentle nudge from Iago keeps things moving in the direction he's set. I'd love to believe that people like Iago exist only in fiction, but I fear that there are too many Iagos in the halls of power, intent on corrupting any whose nature is too trusting.
    • 4/5
      Read this in preparation for seeing it on the Boston Common tonight. This is probably the third time I've read the thing, and there's something weird about it; I like it, but I keep failing to love it. I feel like this is a personal problem; Othello's one of the best, everyone says so, right? And it has some scenes that are incredibly powerful; the (uh, spoiler alert?) bit where Othello kills Desdemona is brutal. And, of course, it has Iago, the apotheosis of Shakespeare's "As evil as I wanna be" villains.

      Maybe it's Othello himself who throws me off. He's sortof a wimp, y'know? Awfully easily manipulated, anyway. I guess he's insecure, because there's no other explanation for his fall, but that's not really reflected in anything he says - just what he does.

      Everyone always focuses on his race: "As an outsider, he doesn't believe his position is secure; therefore he's all too ready to believe Iago's lies." But none of that is really in the play. Iago, Roderigo and Desdemona's dad engage in some vicious ranting right at the beginning, but that serves to set up Othello's introduction as an eloquent, respected general; the difference between their description and his reality simply establishes their villainy.

      Traditionally, the tragic hero must have flaws that lead inexorably to his downfall; here, I'm left guessing at what Othello's flaws might be. Despite some moving scenes and the presence of one of Shakespeare's best villains, Othello doesn't stand with Shakespeare's best plays.
    • 4/5
      I've seen "Othello" performed before but never picked it up and read it through... and I'm glad I finally did. "Othello" has a reputation as one of Shakespeare's great tragedies and it is well deserved. The story is well-paced-- full of action and great passages of dialog that move the plot a long. This is one of his plays that never drags.In the play, the villainous Iago plots against the Moor Othello by driving a wedge into his marriage with Desdemonda by convincing Othello that his wife is cheating on him. Iago plays the other characters like chess pieces to achieve his aims and destroying them all in the process.Overall, this tragedy was a fun read... lots of good tidbits in the dialog to pour over, interwoven in a strong and compelling story.
    • 5/5
      I have difficulty understanding and enjoying Shakespeare due to the archaic language. This edition ("The Oxford Shakespeare: Othello" by Oxford World's Classics) has extensive explanatory notes on the bottom every page. This clears up the language and makes the story much more interesting and enjoyable. I expected that reading these notes frequently would interrupt the flow of the story. Instead it adds to it. I recommend this edition to anyone who enjoys a good plot story but is hindered from completely enjoying it due to the language of Shakespeare.
    • 4/5
      It is a bit difficult to read Shakespeare in English if it is not ones mother language, but it is still an enjoyable experience. Poor Othello, deceived by his 'honest, honest' Iago.
    • 3/5
      Despite the great dramatic aspects of this famous play, I really struggled to maintain my interest. I don't know why the language here seemed so much more difficult than in Titus Andronicus… will have to reread this someday to see if it just my inability to concentrate or whether it was actually the play that is the cause.
    • 3/5
      I never thought I would give Shakespeare three stars out of five. There is something eerie about it. All I have to say is that Othello, being a wonderful general and seaman, becomes a very unbelievable character once he murders his wife. Such emotional and intellectual swings in this book!

      I did like Desdemona and Emilia's discussion about infidelity and femininity. That was probably the best part. Ah well.
    • 3/5
      My first expereince in Shakespeare. I didn't know what to expect, but in the end I really enjoyed it. I was pleasently surprised.
    • 4/5
      This is not my favorite Shakespeare play. I just find it so very sad. Sadder then the other tragedies. I can never get past Desdemona smothered to death. So, while this is great literature I simply cannot like it as it makes me too sad.
    • 3/5
      Beware you are entering heresy: Not one of Bill's best. It was a drag to finsih, Iago's actions seem out of line with motivation, no great set speeches, few memorable lines and Othello's change of heart is too rapid. That said, Shakespeare was a working playwright and it is the academy that has enshrined all his work as great. The Folger Library edition was excellent.
    • 5/5
      Othello is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. It stands beside Hamlet, Macbeth and Lear in this regard. Each of these works has its own 'personality' and in Othello this includes the prominence of the title character's antagonist. For it almost seems that this play could have been entitled Iago. Iago demonstrates a superior mind, coldly calculating and planning his actions to achieve his end, the usurpation of Othello. In this he appears to be completely evil. Othello, on the other hand, seems clueless and is easily manipulated. His innocence plays into the hands of Iago. There is much more in this complex drama, including two interesting and intelligent women in Desdemona and Emilia. Emilia stands out as a courageous woman who has been described by some as a "proto-feminist". The conflict between Iago and Othello is stark as Iago's schemes play out. It makes this one of Shakespeare's best plays.
    • 4/5
      It's hard to review Shakespeare in a way that's worthy. I'll simply add my observation: so basic and so base.
    • 3/5
      Not bad. Shakespeare once again shows his ability to take an age-old story and give it the Bard's Twist. However, I didn't like this story as much as Macbeth--where the magnificent Lady Macbeth helps push her husband to his crimes--nor did I like it as much as Hamlet--where the deep psychological issues rooted in Hamlet's character make him come to life in so many ways.Othello is an interesting character, but lacking in character and nobility.
    • 3/5
      Shakespeare has built thefoundation of modern drama. I can totally see in "Othello" the elements of Pinoy telanovellas. This one is a real tragedy (which Pinoy teleseryes lack - tehy always end in happy endings. Funny thing about this are the lines the characters say before they die which is very FIlipino. Characters in Shakespeare does not die easily. Cassio is also very smart, too bad he got a "too honest" wife - another common Pinoy plot but the wife is usually the bad one and the husband is not "too honest" but "too stupid". I still like "Romeo and Juliet", "AMND" and "Twelfth Night" than "Othello" and I believe that plays are better watched than read especially if its a Shakespeare play.
    • 4/5
      I actually found Othello one of the easiest of Shakespeare's plays to read. I knew the basic plot, which probably helped -- when reading the histories like Henry V, I wasn't always sure what was going to happen -- but just in general I found it by far the easiest to follow. And very real: I actually know someone who was as easily lead as astray as Othello, about someone almost as blameless as Desdemona... luckily, it didn't end as badly as this play!

      I really enjoyed this, anyway -- I'm really glad I never had it ruined by having to study it too much. (Alas for Romeo and Juliet, which -- for me -- suffered that fate.)
    • 5/5
      I love the rap of this! look it up on YouTube!
    • 5/5
      The first of the third series of Arden Shakespeare, it feels a tad experimental. However, unlike some of the later output (such as the Sonnets), this doesn't feel like it has an agenda. It's more of an overview of criticism on "Othello" with copious notes, and that's what I really expect of the Ardens.
    • 4/5
      I read this seminal tragedy for the first time in anticipation of seeing it next week at The Globe. I'm ashamed to say I have read comparatively little Shakespeare and this is only the sixth complete play I have read. It remains a classic exposition of values of racism, revenge, jealousy and repentance. There are comparatively few characters, which makes it easy to focus on the main four or five and really get under the skin of their motivations.
    • 4/5
      This is a nice edition, with a readable typeface, and appropriate notes and context, including descriptions of selected performances through 2001.
    • 5/5
      Read this for A-Level English and really enjoyed it. I love the story of Othello - my favourite Shakespeare as of yet.Iago is one of the best villains I have ever read - I absolutely loathe him but he is so fascinating. People who can manipulate you psychologically like that, tap into people's weaknesses and use them against people - truly very fascinating.
    • 4/5
      Oh how I hate this play! Desdemona is frustratingly naive, but Othello is driven mad with jealous ridiculously easily. The only character I like is Emilia. But it's a dense, rich play, and the right production can make me believe in it.
    • 4/5
      This is perhaps Shakespeare’s darkest play – featuring characters that are flawed and damaged, but which completely captivate us. Our title character – Othello, the Moor - is a highly regarded general. As the play opens he has recently eloped with the lovely Desdemona, to the consternation of her father and others who were hopeful suitors. Egged on by Iago (one of literature’s most reviled villains), they accuse Othello of somehow bewitching Desdemona, but the couple successfully convinces everyone that their love is true and pure.

      Iago is a true sociopath. Rules do not apply to him, and duplicity is second nature to him. His oily manner convinces everyone that he has only their own best interests at heart while he plants seeds of doubt everywhere, ensuring that everyone becomes suspicious and disheartened. Iago uses the other characters as his pawns some sort of game he plays for his own benefit. He particularly targets Othello, recognizes the chink in his armor is his relationship with Desdemona, and manages to turn this noble general into a homicidal, emotional wreck.

      I do wonder how Othello, Cassio, and Roderigo (among others) can be so easily swayed by Iago. Othello, in particular, should be able to see through this smarmy false friend. I’m completely perplexed by Emilia’s role in this tragedy. How can she abet her husband’s evil plans? Is she really so clueless?

      Shakespeare writes a true psychological drama, exploring the darkest human emotion and motivation.
    • 5/5
      Othello, a moor from Africa, is a well-loved and respected Venetian nobleman. After the beautiful Desdemona falls in love with him, the two wed in secret. Their blissful existence is thrown into chaos as Iago, Othello's personal attendant, begins to plant doubts of Desdemona’s faithfulness in Othello’s mind. Iago is one of the most conniving and depraved characters I’ve ever read. His cold calculating nature is sociopathic. He feels that Othello has slighted him and sets his mind to destroying his life. He moves each pawn to further his plan, all the while maintaining his alleged devotion to Othello and poisoning his thoughts with rumors of jealousy. He does it in such a calm, unbothered way that it’s all the more disturbing. The worst part of the whole things is that Othello is in the thralls of newly-wedded happiness. He and his wife Desdemona are so incredibly in love and then he acts as the tool for his own destruction. He is manipulated by someone else, but no one truly forces his hand. He allows himself to be persuaded to believe that worst about his wife and causes his own downfall by his lack of faith and trust. I loved the character of Emilia. She’s Iago’s wife, but she’s also Desdemona’s hand maid. She asks as a conscience for the players, holding them accountable when they have committed a wrong. She stands up for her lady’s honor when others doubt it. Othello pulls no punches when it comes to the issues it touches on. It deals with marital abuse, racism, trust, jealousy and more. It gives readers a lot to chew on and would be a great book to discuss. I’ve never seen this one performed live, but I’m sure it would be incredibly powerful.  
    • 5/5
      Loved this play from start to finish, thanks largely in part to Iago. His near flawless scheme against his general was absolutely brilliant. Shakespeare's language, is as eloquent as it is insightful, but that's unsurprising. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good tale of betrayal.
    • 4/5
      I read Othello in college and really enjoyed it! Even wrote a ten page paper on the motives of Iago. I have actually never "met" a Shakespeare play that I didn't like.
    • 5/5
      Iago is possibly the slimiest villain ever penned, and Othello will always hold a place in my heart as the most tragic of Shakespeare's plays. The inevitability of the conclusion, the senselessness of all the deaths...it is such a beautiful, heartbreaking play. I think it's also one of the most readable, as well - the language is heightened, but understandable to a modern day audience, and the pure passion of the words is easily parse-able.
    • 5/5
      One of my favourite Shakespeare plays. Had the privilege of playing Desdemona; being in a Shakespeare play really gives you such a feel for what he's trying to convey. As is frequently noted, his messages and metaphors never seem to fade with time. Beautiful.

    Book preview

    Othello (Annotated by Henry N. Hudson with an Introduction by Charles Harold Herford) - William Shakespeare

    cover.jpg

    OTHELLO

    By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

    Preface and Annotations by

    HENRY N. HUDSON

    Introduction by

    CHARLES HAROLD HERFORD

    Othello, The Moor of Venice

    By William Shakespeare

    Preface and Annotations by Henry N. Hudson

    Introduction by Charles Harold Herford

    Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-5216-2

    eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-5217-9

    This edition copyright © 2015. Digireads.com Publishing.

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

    Cover Image: The House of Othello, the Moore in Venice, 1856 (oil on canvas), Gerhardt, Eduard (1813-88) / Regional Art Gallery, Tambov / Bridgeman Images.

    Please visit www.digireads.com

    CONTENTS

    PREFACE

    INTRODUCTION

    OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE

    DRAMATIS PERSONAE

    ACT I.

    SCENE I.

    SCENE II.

    SCENE III.

    ACT II.

    SCENE I.

    SCENE II.

    SCENE III.

    ACT III.

    SCENE I.

    SCENE II.

    SCENE III.

    SCENE IV.

    ACT IV.

    SCENE I.

    SCENE II.

    SCENE III.

    ACT V.

    SCENE I.

    SCENE II.

    BIOGRAPHICAL AFTERWORD

    Preface

    Entered at the Stationers’ by Thomas Walkley, under the hands of Sir George Buck and of the Wardens, October 6, 1621, and published in quarto the next year. It was also included in the folio collection of 1623, and was printed again in quarto in 1630. These three copies differ more or less among themselves: in particular, the folio has a number of passages, amounting in all to some hundred and sixty lines, that are wanting in the quarto of 1622. On the other hand, the latter has a few lines that are wanting in the folio; while the quarto of 1630 seems to have been made up from the other two. On the whole, the text has reached us in a pretty fair condition; though there are a few passages where the reading stands much in question, and gives little hope of being altogether cleared from doubt.

    Until a recent date, this great drama was commonly supposed to have been among the latest of the Poet’s writing. But, within the last fifty years, two alleged manuscript records have been produced which would quite upset the old belief. One of these was given by Collier from the Egerton Papers, showing the play to have been acted before Queen Elizabeth at Harefield, the seat of Lord-Keeper Egerton, in August, 1602. The other, purporting to be from the Accounts of the Revels at Court, and produced by Mr. Peter Cunningham, represents the piece to have been performed before the King and Court at Whitehall on the 1st of November, 1604. Both of these records, however, have since been set aside by the highest authority as forgeries. So that we are now thrown back upon the old ground; our earliest authentic notice of the play being furnished by Sir Frederic Madden from certain manuscripts in the British Museum. It appears that in the Spring of 1610 Louis Frederic, Duke of Wurtemberg, visited England on a diplomatic mission. Among the manuscripts in question, is an autograph diary, written in French, by Hans Jacob Wurmsser, who accompanied the Duke. The diary extends from the 16th of March to the 24th of July, 1610. Under date of April 30th, we have the following entry: Went to the Globe, the place where comedies are wont to be played; there the history of the Moor of Venice was represented.

    Two other authentic contemporary notices of the play have reached us, which ought, perhaps, to be here set down. The first is from the Accounts of Lord Harrington, Treasurer of the Chamber to James the First: Paid to John Heminge, upon the Council’s warrant, dated at Whitehall, 20th of May, 1613, for presenting before the Prince’s Highness, the Lady Elizabeth, and the Prince Palatine Elector, fourteen several plays. Then, among the plays specified in the account, are Much Ado, The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, The Merry Wives, and The Moor of Venice. The other notice is from an elegy on Richard Burbage, the great actor of the Globe company, who died in 1619. The writer gives a list of the principal characters in which Burbage was distinguished, and winds up with the following:

    But let me not forget one chiefest part

    Wherein, beyond the rest, he moved the heart,—

    The grieved Moor made jealous by a slave,

    Who sent his wife to fill a timeless grave.

    The foregoing account obviously concludes Othello to have been written in 1609 or early in 1610. And the internal evidence of style and manner is, I think, in entire harmony with that conclusion; the diction, versification, and psychagogic inwardness being such as to speak it into close chronological neighbourhood with Cymbeline and Coriolanus. So much is this the Case, that Verplanck, writing while the account of performance at Harefield was still deemed authentic, thought the play must have been rewritten after that date, and perhaps made as different from what it was at first as the finished Hamlet was from the earliest copy.—The play has one item, or seeming item, of internal evidence, which it is not easy to reconcile with the earliest of the forecited notices. It is in iii. 4, where Othello says to Desdemona,

    A liberal hand: the hearts of old gave hands;

    But our new heraldry is hands, not hearts.

    This can hardly be taken otherwise than as an allusion to the new order of the Baronetage which was instituted by King James in 1611 ; the figure of a bloody hand being among the armorial bearings of those who received the new title. And it is not a little remarkable that, even before the above-mentioned forgeries were exposed, Mr. Grant White still held it certain that this passage at least must have been written after the creation of the first baronets. But, as this would draw the date of the writing down two years later than we have found it to be, there appears no way of accounting for the passage but as an after insertion.

    The tragedy was founded on one of Giraldi Cinthio’s novels. Whether the story was accessible to Shakespeare in English is uncertain, no translation of so early a date having been discovered. But we are not without indications of his having known enough of Italian to take the matter directly from the original. The Poet can hardly be said to have borrowed any thing more than a few incidents and the outline of the plot; the character, passion, pathos, and poetry being entirely his own. The following abstract of the tale will show the nature and extent of his obligations:

    A Moorish captain, distinguished for his valour and conduct, was in the service of the Venetian Republic. While living at Venice, his noble qualities captivated the heart of a very beautiful and virtuous lady called Desdemona. He returned her love; and they were married, against the wishes of her friends. Some time after the marriage, he was appointed to the military command of Cyprus, and was accompanied thither by his wife. He had for his ensign a man of a pleasing person, but a very wicked heart. The ensign was also married, his wife being a discreet and handsome woman, who was much liked by Desdemona; and the two passed a good deal of their time together. Both of these went with the Moor to his command; as did also his lieutenant, a man to whom he was strongly attached, and who was highly esteemed by Desdemona for her husband’s sake. The ensign became enamoured of Desdemona; but, on finding he could make no impression upon her, his passion soon turned to revenge: so he took it into his head that she was in love with the lieutenant, and determined to work the ruin of them both by accusing them to the Moor. The Moor was so strong in love for his wife, and in friendship for the lieutenant, that the villain knew he would have to be very cunning and artful in his practice, else the mischief would recoil upon himself. After a while, the lieutenant wounded a soldier on guard, for which he was cashiered by the Moor; and the lady, grieved at her husband’s losing so good a friend, went to pleading for his restoration. Thereupon the ensign began to work his craft, by insinuating to the Moor that her solicitations were for no good cause. On being required to speak more plainly, he directly accused her of preferring the lieutenant to her husband on account of the latter’s complexion. The Moor then told him he ought to have his tongue cut out for thus attacking the lady’s honour, and demanded ocular proof of his accusation. The ensign then began a course of downright lying, but still managed so craftily as to draw the other more and more into his toils, and finally engaged to furnish the proof required.

    Now Desdemona often went to the ensign’s house, and spent some time with his wife, taking with her a handkerchief which the Moor had given her, and which, being delicately embroidered in the Moorish style, was much prized by them both. The ensign had a little girl that Desdemona was very fond of; and one day, while she was caressing the child, he stole away the handkerchief so adroitly that she did not perceive the act. His next device was to leave the handkerchief on the lieutenant’s bolster; where the latter soon found it, and, knowing it to be Desdemona’s, went to return it to her. The Moor, hearing his knock, and going to the window, asked who was there; whereupon the lieutenant, fearing his anger, ran away without answering. The ensign was very glad of this incident, as it gave him more matter to work with; and he contrived one day to have an interview with the lieutenant in a place where the Moor could see them. In the course of the talk, which was on a different subject, he laughed much, and by his gestures made as if he were greatly surprised at the other’s disclosures. The interview over, and the Moor asking what had passed between them, the ensign then, after much feigning of reluctance, said the lieutenant had boasted of his frequent meetings with Desdemona, and how, the last time he was with her, she had given him the handkerchief. Shortly after, the Moor asked his wife for the handkerchief; and, as she could not find it, this strengthened his suspicions into conviction: still, before proceeding to extremities, he craved the further proof of seeing the handkerchief in the lieutenant’s possession. So, while the lieutenant’s mistress was sitting at the window of his house, and copying the embroidery, the ensign pointed her out to the Moor. The two then arrange for killing both the parties: the ensign sets upon the lieutenant in the night, and wounds him ; but he fights manfully, and raises an alarm, which draws a crowd to the spot, the ensign himself appearing among them, as if roused by the cry. Upon hearing of this, the lady speaks her grief for the lieutenant; which so enrages the Moor, that he forthwith contrives her death. The ensign hides himself in a closet of her chamber; at the time appointed he makes a noise; Desdemona rises and goes to see what it is, and he then beats her to death with a stocking full of sand; the Moor meanwhile accusing her of the crime, and she protesting her innocence. This done, they pull down the ceiling upon her, and run out crying that the house is falling: people rush in, and find her dead under the beams, no one suspecting the truth of the matter. But the Moor soon becomes distracted with remorse. Hating the sight of the ensign, he degrades him, and drives him out of his company; whereupon the villain goes to plotting revenge upon him. He reveals to the lieutenant the truth about the lady’s death, omitting his own share in it; the lieutenant accuses the Moor to the Senate, and calls in the ensign as his witness. The Moor is imprisoned, banished, and finally put to death by his wife’s kindred. The ensign, returning to Venice, and continuing at his old practices, is taken up, put to the torture, and racked so violently, that he soon dies.

    Such, in brief, are the leading incidents of the novel. Of course the parts of Othello and Desdemona, Iago and Emilia, Cassio and Bianca, were suggested by what the Poet found in the tale. The novel has nothing answering to the part of Roderigo; nor did it furnish any of the names except Desdemona. Some of Iago’s characteristic traits may be said to have been taken from the ensign: but this is about the whole of the Poet’s obligation in the matter of character. The tale describes the Moor as valiant, prudent, and capable, Desdemona as virtuous and beautiful; and states that she loved the Moor for his nobleness of character, and that her family was much opposed to the match. These are all the hints which Shakespeare had towards the mighty delineations of character in this play, as distinguished from the incidents of the plot. For, as Mr. White remarks, of the complex psychological structure of the various personages, and of their harmonious mental and moral action, there is not even a rudimentary hint in the story. It is to be observed, also, that Roderigo serves as a most effective occasion in the drama; Iago’s most inward and idiomatic traits being made to transpire upon him; and this in such a way as to lift the characters of Othello and Desdemona into a much higher region, and invest them with a far deeper and more pathetic interest.

    The island of Cyprus, where the scene of the drama is chiefly laid, became subject to the Republic of Venice, and was first garrisoned with Venetian troops, in 1471. After that time, the only attempt ever made upon that island by the Turks was under Selim the Second, in 1570. It was then invaded by a powerful force, and conquered in 1571; since which time it has continued a part of the Turkish Empire. The play represents that there was a junction of the Turkish fleet at Rhodes for the purpose of invading Cyprus; that the

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