• written by author William Shakespeare, published 1622 under the title The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice
• Othello is a play of the genre tragedy
• the story follows Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army - who is secretly married to a white noblewoman - and his downfall and final decease
• set in the late 16^th century (during the wars between Venice and Turkey) in Venice and the island of Cyprus
• thematic topics include love, military, betrayal, vengeance
• conflict: the differences in age, race, and experience of protagonist Othello and his wife Desdemona and Iago sabotaging their marriage