Othello | protagonist; hero; Moor and general of Venetian army; gullible and older |
Iago | Othello’s ensign (standard bearer); antagonist; manipulative and destructive |
Desdemona | daughter of Brabantio; married to Othello; smothered to death by Othello |
Cassio | Othello’s lieutenant; resented by Iago; loses his place as lieutenant after a drunken brawl; wounded by Iago |
Duke of Venice | official authority in Venice; has great respect for Othello; sends Othello to Cyprus; indecisive in matters of state |
Brabantio | father of Desdemona; a Venetian senator; becomes angry when he hears about secret marriage between Othello and Desdemona; accuses Othello of witchcraft before meeting of the senate |
First Senator | intelligent and fair minded; discusses movement of Turkish fleet to Cyprus with the Duke |
Second Senator | discusses movement of Turkish fleet with Duke and First Senator; says that he is certain the Turks are advancing on Cyprus |
Gratiano | Venetian gentleman; kinsmen to Brabantio; friend of Lodovico; Desdemona’s uncle; takes all fortunes and property of Othello |
Lodovico | Venetian gentleman; kinsmen to Brabantio; proper, speaks well, handsome; emphasizes monstrosity of Othello’s jealousy; acts as a messenger from Venice to Cyprus; concludes the play |
Roderigo | Venetian gentleman; in love with Desdemona; tells Brabantio of Desdemona’s marriage to Othello; sells all belongings and falls into Iago’s trap; tries to stab Cassio but fails; murdered by Iago |
Montano | official in Cyprus (governor); stabbed by drunken Cassio |
Clown | servant in Othello’s household; tells musicians to leave Othello’s house; makes jokes |
Emilia | Iago’s wife; attendant to Desdemona; finds Desdemona’s handkerchief and brings it to Iago; tells truth about Iago’s evilness; killed by Iago |
Bianca | prostitute in Cyprus; in love with Cassio; asked by Cassio to copy embroidery of handkerchief; framed with Cassio and heard by Othello |
Othello Characters
July 15, 2019