Othello and Desdemona after their secret marriage.
Othello is the main character in William Shakespeare's play, "Othello, The Moor of Venice," which was first performed in 1603 or 1604 and first published in 1622. Many critics consider Othello one of Shakespeare's most demanding roles. To play Othello well on stage, you must show that, while you are not a fool, you nevertheless trust a man who gives you many reasons not to trust him, and you will need to convince the audience that you genuinely love a woman whom you will marry against her father's wishes and then murder.
Instructions
1. Read Shakespeare's text carefully. Very subtle details can change the way you approach a Shakespearean character, and Othello is no exception to this. For instance, if you read Act I, scene 3 very closely, you will notice that, despite their disagreement concerning his marriage to Desdemona, Othello still respects Brabantio. While Othello normally speaks in a very elaborate, formal style (which Iago lambastes as "a bombast circumstance / Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war"), he speaks very plainly to Brabantio, even after the latter has tried to arrest him:
DUKE OF VENICE
If you please,
Be't at her father's.
BRABANTIO
I'll not have it so.
OTHELLO
Nor I.
This is not petulance or veiled hostility; rather it is Othello's attempt at being cordial to someone who has refused to give him the benefit of a doubt.
2. Consult works of Shakespeare criticism. Harold Bloom's "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human" contains a wealth of critical commentary on the Bard, much of which is useful to actors trying to play Othello. Bloom emphasizes Othello's worthiness as a hero, which he says many 20th-century critics and productions have ignored. Bloom reminds the reader and actor that, up to this final scene, Othello exudes authority. Bloom draws attention to the ease with which Othello commands others, as in Act I, scene 2, when he stops Iago and others from beginning a street fight: "Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them."
3. Study previous Othello performances. Many famous actors have played Othello in the 20th century, including Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Orson Welles, James Earl Jones, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Gambon, all of whose performances are available on film. Each actor has approached the role differently: Olivier and Burton stressed Othello's heroic virtues, while Welles made him an almost pathetically defeated figure. Hopkins and Gambon both emphasize the darker side of Othello: the sheer masculine rage that allows him mercilessly to kill Desdemona.
