A summary of Othello should begin with the history of the work. As you know, the plot was borrowed by Shakespeare from the book of Chintio Giraldi “One Hundred Tales”. In general, the borrowing of images and the processing of plots was characteristic of the writer. Ancient chronicles, short stories, picaresque, stories of sailors - all this gave Shakespeare rich material, which he fully used when creating his magical works. As for Othello itself, a brief summary should begin with what the author calls the central character of the play the Moor. In the Middle Ages, this name in Europe meant all immigrants from Spain and Central Africa, that is, Arabs and Berbers. The Moors were considered skilled sailors and warriors. Some researchers put forward the theory that the main prototype of the jealous was the Italian Maurizio Othello, who commanded the Venetian troops in Cyprus. Little information has been preserved about him; it is only known that it was not the literary Othello who lost his wife under extremely mysterious circumstances - perhaps there was a murder, which he, however, successfully concealed. If you visit Cyprus today, locals will proudly show you the castle in Famagusta, in which Othello allegedly strangled his innocent wife. Perhaps you have already managed to run a quick summary of Othello, then you may have a question: why did Shakespeare endow his hero with black skin? The answer is simple: the abbreviation for Maurizio is “Mauro”, which in Italian means “Moor”.
Plot
A summary of Othello can fit in several lines: the celebrated commander Othello meets Desdemona, a girl from a rich and noble family. Amazed by his courage and enchanted by wonderful stories, the girl gives the Moor her heart, which, of course, enrages her arrogant and arrogant father. Soon a marriage is concluded, and the commander with his young wife leaves for a remote garrison. There, his assistant, Iago, and the nobleman Rodrigo, in love with Desdemona, are already plotting: Iago inspires the Moor that Desdemona surrendered to Cassio. To give credibility to the libel, the two-faced Iago steals a handkerchief from the girl and throws it to Cassio. For the jealous Othello, this evidence becomes irrefutable evidence: in a rage he strangles the sufferer, and after the truth is found out, he is stabbed himself.
Character system
The summary of Othello includes a description of the central characters. Othello occupies the first place in the tragedy - the figure is undoubtedly tragic. A warrior, a hero, a loving spouse, a man extremely trusting, but terrible in anger. Having committed the murder, he commits suicide, unable to bear the pangs of conscience. His secretary, Iago, is a strong, unprincipled and immoral character. His devastated soul is opposed to Desdemona’s character, a clean, naive, open, but spiritually strong girl.
Her image is accompanied by an atmosphere of doom: everything seems to hint at a tragic denouement. The death of Desdemona in this context becomes a genuine catharsis. Before us is a genuine drama, which, based on an old story, was created by Shakespeare - Othello. The summary, of course, cannot convey all the richness of the writer’s language, his mastery of metaphors, his wonderful play on words. Therefore, we advise you to still get acquainted with the work in the original.