# Othello

**Author:** William Shakespeare
**Grade range:** Grades 10–12
**Age range:** 15–18
**First published:** 1603
**Page count:** 368
**Genre:** Drama
**ISBN-13:** `9780743477550`
**ISBN-10:** `0743477553`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/othello
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

Shakespeare's tragedy follows Othello, a respected Moorish general in the Venetian army, as his ensign Iago feeds him false evidence of his wife Desdemona's infidelity. Iago's patient manipulation drives Othello from love to murderous jealousy, exposing how reputation, race, and insecurity can be weaponized. A standard text in tenth- to twelfth-grade and AP English, it is one of the most taught of Shakespeare's tragedies for its compact structure and its still-resonant questions about trust and prejudice.

## Themes

- jealousy
- racism
- betrayal
- reputation
- race

## Content notes

- violence
- racism
- domestic violence

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