Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, his father was a successful glove-maker
as a child, Shakespeare went to grammar school but he never visited a university
in 1582, he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children together
when Shakespeare left his family in order to join a group of a actors as a playwright and actor as well, he became famous very quickly and has ever been considered as the most popular playwright in England
both Queen Elizabeth I and King James I favoured Shakespeare as a playwright
when Shakespeare died in 1616, he was a wealthy and renowned man
after his death, his works were collected and printed in numerous editions
due to his low education, there are some theories that hint at the fact that Shakespeare did not write all of the texts by himself - some believe that it was Francis Bacon who wrote some texts
however, many scholars do not consider those theories to be true due to the lack of credible evidence
Shakespeare is thus the author of 37 plays and 154 sonnets
Historical Background
the wars between Venice and Turkey during the end of the 16th century served as a backdrop for Othello
Cyprus used to be a Venetian outpost that was attacked in 1570 by the Turkish army and conquered one year later
the story of Othello is based on an Italian prose tale written in 1565 by Giovanni Batista Giraldi Cinzio
a Moorish general is mislead by his ensign into thinking that his wife is betraying him
Shakespeare added characters such as Roderigo and Brabantio and made Iago the arch-villain
he also accelerated the action (it only lasts a few days) and used the military and political conflict as a backdrop
to this day, it is not clear whether Othello has sub-Saharan or Northern African ancestry
during the time when Othello was first written and performed, the African slave trade was just beginning in London which is also part of the play‘s ancestry
during the reign of Elizabeth I., Italian people were associated with wickedness and loose morals while Venice as city and setting was associated with passion that ultimately lead to jealousy and general sexual tension
Iago is a Spanish name and he might thus represent the Spanish villain which at that times was the Spanish Armada that threatened English ports
