Othello

William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.8

Word count: 131K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Othello by Gustave Dubarry and William ShakespeareAuthor: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616,Language: Portuguese, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 7, 2009

Editor's review

Othello is one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, showing how trust is eroded by jealousy and insinuation: the love of the Moorish general Othello and Desdemona moves toward destruction under Iago's methodical manipulation. The play's interest lies not in a complicated plot but in the psychological progression—each wavering of Othello from certainty to suspicion is written with startling force—while Iago's motives remain ambiguous, leaving endless room for interpretation. Note that the electronic version corresponding to this record is marked as Portuguese, not the English original; readers should check the language of the edition. The play suits reading aloud and side-by-side comparison; puns and irony in the lines are easier to appreciate when spoken. As a public-domain book, it is also a common text for introductions to Shakespeare and for drama teaching.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers new to Shakespeare's tragedies
Readers interested in human nature, jealousy, and trust
Drama students and theater enthusiasts
English or Portuguese learners willing to feel the rhythm of the lines by reading aloud

Not a good fit for

Readers who only want light romance
Readers unwilling to encounter a tragic ending
Young readers who need a modern-language retelling

Reading tips

Learn the plot outline before reading the original, so archaic language and puns do not stall you.
Focus on the scenes between Othello and Iago and note the logic of each step in the manipulation.
Try reading roles aloud; irony and emotion in the lines become clearer.
After reading, compare film or stage adaptations and note differences in treatment.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this edition in English or Portuguese?

According to the record, this electronic version is in Portuguese, not Shakespeare's English original. To read the English original, choose an English edition; if you read Portuguese, you can use this translation directly, but note that translations handle verse lines and puns differently.

Can I read this play without having read Shakespeare before?

Yes. Read a plot summary first to sort out the characters and sequence of events, and the original will go much more smoothly. The core conflict turns on trust and jealousy, and the themes are not obscure; the main difficulties are early modern English expression and puns in dramatic dialogue.

What exactly are Iago's motives?

Iago offers several explanations, including resentment over a lost promotion and unfounded suspicion, but these reasons do not fully account for his malice, and critics have long debated them. This ambiguity is what makes the character disturbing; watch his soliloquies and judge for yourself.

Comments

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About the author

William Shakespeare Author · English · 1564–1616

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was the greatest playwright, poet and actor of the English Renaissance. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he is known as the "Bard of Avon." He wrote roughly thirty-seven to thirty-nine plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and narrative poems. His representative works include Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. His works span tragedy, comedy and history play, distinguished by rich, poetic language and profound characterization. His explorations of human nature, power, love and fate have had a lasting influence, and his works have been translated into many languages and circulated widely around the world.