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Othello
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Orson Welles as Othello leans over Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, who lies on a bed with her eyes closed, in a dramatic scene from the 1951 film Othello. Othello, as portrayed by Laurence Fishburne (centre), with Irène Jacob (left) as Desdemona and Kenneth Branagh (right) as Iago, 1995 Othello “Ira Frederick Aldridge as Othello,” painting by Henry Perronet Briggs, c. 1830; in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
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Still from the motion picture version of Shakespeare's Othello, with Orson Welles as Othello and Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, 1951; directed by Welles.
Still from the motion picture version of Shakespeare's Othello, with Orson Welles as Othello and Suzanne Cloutier as Desdemona, 1951; directed by Welles.

Othello

fictional character
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History

Othello, a Moorish general in the service of Venice in Shakespeare’s Othello. Driven by jealousy that has been skillfully manipulated, Othello takes the life of Desdemona, his doting wife, and then his own.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.