Seven Ages

Tragedy · c. 1604

Shakespeare’s Othello

A domestic tragedy with the machinery of a thriller.

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By the Seven Ages editors2 min read · Contains affiliate links

Othello, a Black general at the height of Venetian success, marries Desdemona; his ensign Iago, passed over and implacable, sets out to destroy them with nothing but insinuation and a handkerchief. It is nearly unbearable to watch work.

Iago speaks more lines than Othello, and the play’s enduring horror is how thin his stated motives are next to the scale of the harm. Tightly plotted, painfully intimate, and the tragedy that plays best of all in a small room.

Which edition?

Front cover: Arden Shakespeare, Third Series (revised) — Othello.

1Arden Shakespeare, Third Series (revised)

Ed. E. A. J. Honigmann, introduction by Ayanna Thompson · Bloomsbury, 2016

Honigmann’s definitive text, reframed by Thompson’s essential new introduction.

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Front cover: Oxford World’s Classics — Othello.

2Oxford World’s Classics

Ed. Michael Neill · Oxford University Press, 2006

Neill’s long introduction is a masterclass — unflinching about what the play asks of us.

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Typeset series plate: The New Cambridge Shakespeare — Othello. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the book's cover.THE NEW CAMBRIDGESHAKESPEAREOthello

3The New Cambridge Shakespeare

Ed. Norman Sanders · Cambridge University Press

A clear reading text with sensible, uncluttered notes.

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Front cover: Folger Shakespeare Library — Othello.

4Folger Shakespeare LibraryFirst read? Start here

Ed. Barbara Mowat & Paul Werstine · Simon & Schuster

Facing-page glosses keep the temptation scenes at full speed.

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Cover images from Open Library.

Othello on stage

Othello on screen

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation Othello (1951), directed by Orson Welles. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.1951OthelloORSON WELLES

1Othello (1951)

Film · dir. Orson Welles

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation Othello (1965), directed by Stuart Burge. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.1965OthelloSTUART BURGE

2Othello (1965)

Film · dir. Stuart Burge

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation Othello (1995), directed by Oliver Parker. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.1995OthelloOLIVER PARKER

3Othello (1995)

Film · dir. Oliver Parker

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation O (2001), directed by Tim Blake Nelson. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.2001OTIM BLAKE NELSON

4O (2001)

Film · dir. Tim Blake Nelson · inspired by Othello

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation Omkara (2006), directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.2006OmkaraVISHAL BHARDWAJ

5Omkara (2006)

Film · dir. Vishal Bhardwaj · inspired by Othello

Othello in rural Uttar Pradesh

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Mark it in your record when you finish — one seat, kept for decades.

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