Shakespeare's Othello character's

Shakespeare's Othello character's 

Othello 

In the beginning of the play he is represented as a noble character whose respected as a war hero, However by the end he turns into an irrational, violent and jealous husband whose insanity and guilt for the murder of his wife drives him to commit suicide. Othello is from north america, he’s obsessed with self image and all the prejudice he has to face and overcome, that is why in the end  he is led to believe that his wife has been cheating on him.

During Shakespeare’s era the first person to play Othello was Richard Burbage, this is because he was a good friend of Shakespeare as well as being an actor and business partner, he was one of the most successful actors from The Globe. Also because there was a lot of segregation they couldn't have a black actor so Richard Burbage was painted black

Desdemona 

Desdemona, she was the main female protagonist of Othello. She was described as a beautiful, young, white girl. Her character goes against the patriarchal society that Shakespeare would have been writing for.  In the beginning of the play she’s a very adventurous young girl who loves to explore. However, we discover that she is very naive. This is because although Othello physically and verbally abuses her, she still loves and stays with him. This is a clear representation of the patriarchy and society before feminism.By her death she’s broken down due to all the rage from her husband Othello about a cheating scandal. Throughout her abuse she always blames herself for the torment.

Surprisingly the first person to play Desdemona was Margaret Hughes and she was actually one of the first actress to take the stage

Iago 

Iago, who was known as the villain of this tragedy, he is a very notorious and mysterious character.  He pulls pulls out every stock to get revenge on Othello. He’s also very manipulative, this is conveyed when he persuades Othello that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. On the other side he is actually very clever  in the way his plots with a sense of craftsmanship. Looking at his final result, his plan was truly elegant and villainous but you can't doubt that he is smart.We can see his clear motivation that is driven by his anger towards Othello for.not making him lieutenant and his belief that Othello has slept with his wife. Iago is unlike any other Shakespeare character on his understanding on what he is doing and why. He knows he is going to be deceitful to gain what he wants. 'i am not what I am.’

Iago is often our focus in this play, We follow his storyline more than Othello's, and we spend more time with him than Othello. We watch him in a variety of relationships If it weren't for the fact that Iago undergoes basically zero changes, you could even argue that he's the main character. Iago’s lack of emotional jousting In the play shows his lack of remorse and catharsis, placing him as a perfect example of a antagonist.

The first person believed to have played Iago was Robert Armin. He became the leading comedy actor that was party of The Chamberlain's men.