Othello Characters

Othello Characters guide

Duke of Venice: Introduced to us in Act I, Scene III, he sends Othello with his wife Desdemona to Cypress to thwart a suspected Turkish invasion there. The Duke hopes Othello's leadership of his Venetian forces will see the Venetian's triumphant. When Brabantio tries to have Othello punished for allegedly seducing his daughter Desdemona with witchcraft, the Duke displays his wisdom, learning the truth by allowing Brabantio, Othello and Desdemona to tell their sides of the story. He later wisely tells Brabantio to accept Othello and Desdemona's marriage, arguing Brabantio will gain a "son" in the process. Responsible for Cassio being made Governor of Cypress (replacing Othello), in Act IV, Scene I and for Othello being recalled from Cypress.

Brabantio: Desdemona's father and a senator in Venice, he is initially outraged in Act I, Scene I when Iago and Roderigo unfairly report that his fair daughter has been seduced by Othello who must have been using "magic" to persuade her to be intimate with him. In Act I, Scene III, Brabantio tries to petition the Duke to punish Othello, but this fails when it is learned that Desdemona fell in love with Othello by her own free will. Told by the Duke to accept Othello and Desdemona's marriage, Brabantio resists, never liking Othello despite his reputation as a soldier, which is how Othello is readily accepted and respected by the Duke and others...

Cassio: Othello's friend, Cassio was made Othello's lieutenant rather than Iago who expected the appointment. Disrespectfully described by Iago as lacking real "battlefield" experience, Cassio is instead a schooled soldier, not one who learned his craft on the front-line as Iago has. Deeply admiring of Othello's wife Desdemona, it is this admiration that Iago uses to suggest he is having an affair with Desdemona, leading to her death and indirectly that of Emilia and Othello as well.


Iago: Othello's ancient, a position below lieutenant. Perhaps Shakespeare's most evil figure, not for his treachery which is arguably surpassed by Macbeth (who kills his king in his sleep while staying at his castle as a trusting guest), but for the manner in which he effortlessly manipulates all those around him to do his bidding (kill Cassio, destroy Othello, discredit Desdemona's virtue) by taking advantage of their trust and using his victim's own motivations (Roderigo's desire for Desdemona, Cassio's desire to be reinstated) and weaknesses (Othello's pride, Cassio's impaired judgment whilst drunk), to achieve his ends.

Though Iago does kill when he stabs and murders Roderigo, he created most of his devastation through the use of others who unwittingly follow their own agenda which Iago subverts to achieve a web of events which succeeds in making Cassio first lose his position as Othello's lieutenant, then petition Desdemona to be reinstated which allows Iago to suggest Desdemona's adultery and later to motivate Roderigo to kill him (Cassio).

Iago is pragmatic. We see this in the manner in which he uses opportunity to aid his plan to hurt Cassio and Othello. When Iago realizes Cassio's admiration of Desdemona, he immediately formulates a plan to use this to make Othello suspect adultery.

Though Iago appears to have the goal of misery for Othello and Cassio, he does not appear to have a specific detailed plan, he continually refers to using insights he makes about Cassio, Othello, Roderigo and Desdemona to further his plan in his asides in the play.

Iago's pragmatism is also evident in his use of Roderigo. He uses this well-healed (wealthy) Venetian for money by promising to forward gifts on to Desdemona he instead uses for his own ends.

Roderigo: A wealthy Venetian gentleman, Roderigo pays Iago to keep him informed of Desdemona's activities since he hopes to one day marry her. Trusting of Iago, he nonetheless questions Iago repetitively on his loyalty to him in Act I, and later on what has happened to gifts given to him to pass on to Desdemona.


Desdemona: Daughter to Brabantio and wife to Othello, Desdemona is continuously distrusted by those who should love and trust her most. First in Act I, her father Brabantio refuses to believe she could love Othello without Othello using witchcraft.

Later Othello, her husband ignores her pleas of innocence to the accusation of infidelity by Othello. Loving and loyal right to the end, she refuses to tell Emilia that Othello killed her since she does not want her love to suffer even when he killed her...

Well meaning, she helps Cassio by trying to speak of his demotion to Othello but this earns her Othello's wrath since he sees it as proof that she is having an affair with Cassio because she is concerned for his welfare.

Naive to some extent, she finds it impossible to believe a woman could be unfaithful, Emilia contrasting with her belief that such people do exist since in the right circumstances she herself, would commit adultery.

Emilia: Wife to Iago and not particularly loved by Iago, Emilia could be argued to be a major seed in Iago's downfall. Though introduced in Act II, Scene I (Lines 96-108) in less than respectful tones by Iago, Emilia is trusted as a friend by Desdemona. Nonetheless she is loyal to Iago, giving Desdemona's handkerchief to Iago instead of back to Desdemona.

Bianca: Mistress to Cassio, Bianca plays a limited but significant role in this play. As Cassio's neglected girlfriend, she is given Desdemona's handkerchief to copy by Cassio, only later to return it angrily back to Cassio, which a hiding Othello takes as proof that Cassio has Desdemona's handkerchief proving that Desdemona was unfaithful to him.