Although Othello may not contain the same immense philosophical contempla- tions as Shakespeare’s other works, it is still arguably one of his most gripping plays. It draws upon the primitive feelings of jealousy and contains the action and excitement of a modern thriller – murder, suicide, and a man brought to the brink of insanity due to uncontrolled jealousy and passion. The exact date when Othello was written is unknown; it has been suggested it was produced as early as 1601, but was more likely composed during the time when Shakespeare wrote his most famous tragedies, including Hamlet. For the purposes of English studies and essays, the date that most teachers and scholars use is 1604, for this was the year of the first performance, though the play wasn’t formally published until 1622. Set in the romantic city of Venice, Italy, Othello follows the tension and drama of a lead character, Othello, who disrupts Shakespearean society through being “Moorish” and Black, though Shakespeare never specifies Othello’s actual ethnicity. Nevertheless, this racial tension is at the heart of many of the themes Shakespeare explores in this play.
