The summary of Othello should begin withhistory of the origin of the work. As you know, the story was borrowed by Shakespeare from the book Chintio Giraldi "One Hundred Legends". In general, the borrowing of images and the processing of the plot was characteristic of the writer. Ancient chronicles, novels, pikareski, stories of sailors - all this gave Shakespeare rich material, which he fully used to create his magic works. As for Othello itself, the short content should begin with the author calling the central character of the play the Moor. In the Middle Ages, this name in Europe denoted all descendants from Spain and Central Africa, that is, Arabs and Berbers. Moors were considered skillful sailors and warriors. Some researchers put forward the theory that the main prototype of the jealous was the Italian Maurizio Othello, who commanded the Venetian troops in Cyprus. Little information remained about him; It is only known that it was not literary Othello who lost his wife under extremely mysterious circumstances - there may have been a murder, which he, however, successfully concealed. If you are visiting Cyprus today, the locals will proudly show you the castle in Famagusta, in which Othello allegedly strangled his innocent wife. Perhaps you have already covered the short content of Othello, then you may wonder why Shakespeare gave his hero a black skin? The solution is simple: the abbreviation on behalf of Maurizio is "Mauro", which in Italian means "Moor".
Plot
The summary of Othello can fit inseveral lines: the famous military commander Othello meets Desdemona, a girl from a rich and noble family. Struck by his courage and enchanted by the wonderful stories, the girl gives her heart to the Moor, which, naturally, makes the arrogant and haughty father angry. Soon a marriage takes place, and the commander with his young wife leaves for a distant garrison. There his assistant Yago and noble Rodrigo, in love with Desdemona, are already plotting: Iago inspires the Moor, that Desdemona surrendered to Cassio. To give credibility to the slander, the two-faced Iago steals a handkerchief from the girl and tosses him to Cassio. For the jealous Othello, this evidence becomes irrefutable evidence: in a rage he strangles the sufferer, and after it turns out the truth, it is killed himself.
System of characters
The summary of Othello includescharacterization of the central characters. The first place in the tragedy is occupied by Othello - a figure, undoubtedly, tragic. A warrior, a hero, a loving spouse, an extremely trusting person, but terrible in anger. Having committed murder, he ends up with himself, unable to bear the pain of conscience. His secretary, Iago - a strong character, unprincipled and immoral. His devastated soul is opposed to the character of Desdemona, a pure, naive, open, but spiritually strong girl.
Its image is accompanied by an atmosphere of doom:all seems to hint at a tragic denouement. The death of Desdemona in this context becomes a genuine catharsis. Before us is a true drama, which based on an old story Shakespeare created - "Othello". The summary, of course, can not convey the wealth of the writer's language, his mastery of metaphors, his wonderful play of words. Therefore, we advise all the same to get acquainted with the work in the original.
