Othello

[ oh-thel-oh, uh-thel-oh ]

noun
  1. a tragedy (1604) by Shakespeare.

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Cultural definitions for Othello

Othello

A tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character, a Moor, or dark-skinned Muslim, is a general commanding the forces of Venice. The villain Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona, the general's beautiful and faithful wife, has been guilty of adultery; at the end of the play, Othello smothers Desdemona. A famous line from the play is Othello's description of himself as “one that loved not wisely but too well.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.