Othello Characters

(Click the character infographic to download.) Othello is the first great black protagonist in Western literature... and he's still one of the most famous (which is a big problem, and why you shoul...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Iago is one of the most notorious and mysterious villains of all time—it's no accident that the hyper-annoying and malicious sidekick to Jafar...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Desdemona is a beautiful, young, white, Venetian debutante. And she's a total Daddy's girl... until she falls head over heels in love with Othello. Sh...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Desperate HousewifeYou'd be desperate and jaded too if you realized that monogramming "Mrs. Emilia Iago" on all your towels meant that... you were mar...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Top Brass-ioWhen we begin, Cassio is one of Othello's soldiers, recently appointed the general's second-in-command. This infuriates Iago—because he...

Roderigo is a rich, unintelligent guy who thinks that if he sends Desdemona enough expensive presents, she'll fall in love with him. He's hired Iago to be his wingman, but Iago basically uses him a...

Desdemona's father, Brabantio, is a rich and important Venetian politician. He likes Othello and invites him to visit his house a lot—but he never expected Othello to "steal" his daughter. Furthe...

Bianca is a Venetian courtesan who is in love with Cassio... who in turn sees her as a laughable nuisance. Shakespeare's portrayal of Bianca is sympathetic—when Cassio treats her like garbage, it...

The important men in charge of Venice. They think Othello's pretty great—and even that he might make a pretty great son-in-law.

Desdemona's cousin and a member of Venice's diplomatic service, Lodovico arrives in Cyprus just in time to see Desdemona get slapped by her new husband, and then witness the deaths of all the main...

Governor of Cyprus before Othello showed up to take command, Montano ends up getting in a fight with Cassio, and in turn gets Cassio in serious trouble.

Desdemona's uncle. He's a wee bit of a jerk: when he finds out that Desdemona is dead, he says something lame like "Gee, it's a good thing her dad is dead, otherwise he would have been really upset...