Background for Othello

Different from other Shakespearean tragedies In Shakespearean tragedy there is usually a subplot to the main tragic plot In Othello, there is just a primary plot - it is tightly written The villain (Iago) is responsible for the downfall of our tragic hero (Othello) There is also a difference in timeline Most of the action takes place over the course of 3 or 4 days But there is a lot mentioned about previous events These events have a direct impact on present day timing in the play What this means?  Characters’ back stories affect them greatly

A brief history of the Moors Othello: the Moor of Venice Moor: comes from Mauri; the name of an old tribe in the area of present-day Morocco in Northern Africa Kingdom once known as Mauretania Descendents of the Mauri became Muslims in very early Islamic history In 711, the Moors conquered Spain They ruled lands in Northern Africa, Spain, and Portugal for over seven 700 years In 1492 (only 100 years prior to the fame of Shakespeare) the Moors were driven out of Spain by Christian armies The Moorish people were forced to leave, expelled to Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; Some became pirates Some migrated to other European countries

Records of Othello Between the years 1609-1614, all remaining Moors were hunted down and expelled from any European nation The first recorded performance: 1604 Christian-European tolerance of Muslims was greatly strained Shakespeare’s title character, and tragic hero, is a Moor Establishes that Othello is a descendent of these North African/Spanish Muslims Remember, Othello is the tragic hero NOT THE VILLAIN