| Desdemona |
| |
| Creator |
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
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| Play |
OthelloOthello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
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| Date |
c.1601-1604 |
| Source |
"Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio (1565) |
| Family and Associates |
Othello Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....
, husband
BrabantioBrabantio is a character in William Shakespeare's Othello . He is a Venetian senator and the father of Desdemona. He has entertained Othello is his home countless times before the play opens, thus giving Othello and Desdemona opportunity to fall in love...
, father
EmiliaEmilia is a character in the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. The character's origin is traced to the 1565 tale, "Un capitano Moro" from Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi. There, the character is described as young and virtuous, is referred to simply as the ensign's wife,...
, attendant and confidante |
| Role |
Othello's wife and murder victim • Brabantio's daughter • Cassio Michael Cassio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader." In the play, Cassio is a young and handsome lieutenant under Othello's...
's intercessor |
| Quote |
Sing willow, willow, willow (4.3) |
| Interpreters |
Margaret Hughes Margaret Hughes is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage.The occasion of her first performance was on December 8, 1660, in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, when she played the role of Desdemona in a production by Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company at...
Sarah SiddonsSarah Siddons was a British actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character: Lady Macbeth, a character...
Anna Mowatt
Helen Faucit
Ellen TerryDame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain....
Peggy AshcroftDame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
Uta HagenUta Thyra Hagen was a three-time Tony Award winning German-born American actress. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee...
Suzanne CloutierSuzanne Cloutier was a Canadian film actress.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, she appeared as Desdemona in Orson Welles' 1952 film adaptation of Othello. In 1953, she met Peter Ustinov while acting in a play, No Sign of the Dove...
Maggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 57 years...
|
Desdemona is a character in
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's
OthelloOthello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(c.1601-1604).
Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with
OthelloOthello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....
, a man several years her senior and not of her race. When her husband is deployed to
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
in the service of the
Republic of VeniceThe Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797...
, Desdemona accompanies him. There, her husband is manipulated by his
ensignEnsign is a junior rank of commissioned officer in the militaries of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
IagoIago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient...
into believing she is an
adultressAdultery is referred to as extramarital sex, philandery, or infidelity, but does not include fornication. The term "adultery" for many people carries a moral or religious association, while the term "extramarital sex" is morally or judgmentally neutral....
, and, in the last act, she is murdered by her estranged spouse.
The role has attracted notable actresses through the centuries and has the distinction of being the role performed by
Margaret HughesMargaret Hughes is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage.The occasion of her first performance was on December 8, 1660, in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, when she played the role of Desdemona in a production by Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company at...
, the first actress to appear on an English public stage.
Source
Othello has its source in the
1565-Births:*September 28 - Alessandro Tassoni, poet *date unknown**Gonzalo de Illescas, historian **Francis Meres, clergyman and author **Anthony Shirley, traveller and writer -Deaths:...
tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in
Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. While no English translation of Cinthio was available in print during Shakespeare's lifetime, it is possible that Shakespeare knew both the Italian original, Gabriel Chappuy's 1584 French translation, and an English translation in manuscript. Cinthio's tale may have been based on an actual incident occurring in Venice about 1508.
The only named character in Cinthio's story is "Disdemona", which means "unfortunate" in Greek; the other characters are identified only as the Moor, the ensign, the ensign's wife, and the squadron leader. In the original, the ensign lusts after Disdemona and is spurred to revenge when she rejects him. Unlike Shakespeare's Othello, the Moor in Cinthio's story never repents the murder of his wife. Both he and the ensign escape immediate prosecution but are killed much later. Cinthio also drew a moral (which he placed in the mouth of the lady) that European women are unwise to marry the temperamental males of other nations.
While Shakespeare followed Cinthio's tale very closely in composing
Othello, he deviated significantly in some details. He invented Desdemona's father,
BrabantioBrabantio is a character in William Shakespeare's Othello . He is a Venetian senator and the father of Desdemona. He has entertained Othello is his home countless times before the play opens, thus giving Othello and Desdemona opportunity to fall in love...
, and her dissolute Venetian admirer,
RoderigoRoderigo is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . He is a dissolute Venetian lusting after Othello's wife Desdemona. Roderigo has opened his purse to Iago in the mistaken belief that Iago is using his money to pave the way to Desdemona's bed...
. He invented the entire first act in which Iago arouses Brabantio's prejudices against Othello, and Desdemona defends her choice of husband before the Doge.
Shakespeare considerably expanded the role of Cinthio's ensign's wife. In Cinthio, she is simply Disdemona's companion but in Shakespeare she becomes Desdemona's attendant and confidante. In Cinthio, the ensign filches Desdemona's handkerchief from a sash at her waist; his wife is not involved in the mischief as is Shakespeare's Emilia. Later, Cinthio's ensign's wife learns of her husband's villainy in the handkerchief deception but feels constrained to remain silent. Unlike Shakespeare's Emilia, Cintho's ensign's wife lives to tell what she knows of Disdemona's death long after her husband and the Moor are dead.
Disdemona's death in Cinthio is strikingly different from Desdemona's death in Shakespeare. The poet's gentle scene between Desdemona and Emilia while preparing for bed does not exist in Cinthio, and Cinthio's murder of Disdemona is accomplished when the Moor commissions his ensign to bludgeon Disdemona to death with a sand-filled stocking. The two murderers then place her lifeless body upon her bed, smash her skull, and cause the cracked ceiling of the room to collapse upon her, giving the impression that the lady's skull was smashed by falling rafters.
Role in Othello
In the play's first act, Desdemona has eloped with Othello, a Moor in the service of the Venetian Republic. Before the Duke of Venice, his councilmen, and her father, she proclaims her love for Othello and defends her choice. Her father reluctantly accepts the union, but warns Othello that she will some day deceive him. When Othello is sent to Cyprus in the line of duty, Desdemona accompanies him with his ensign's wife,
EmiliaEmilia is a character in the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. The character's origin is traced to the 1565 tale, "Un capitano Moro" from Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi. There, the character is described as young and virtuous, is referred to simply as the ensign's wife,...
attending her.
In act 2, Othello's lieutenant,
CassioMichael Cassio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Othello. The source of the character is the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio; Cassio is unnamed in Cinthio but referred to as "the squadron leader." In the play, Cassio is a young and handsome lieutenant under Othello's...
is disgraced in a brawl, and falls from Othello's favor. Iago suggests to Cassio that he importune Desdemona to intercede for him, which he does. Meanwhile, Iago persuades Othello that Desdemona has formed an illicit relationship with Cassio. When Emilia finds a handkerchief belonging to Desdemona, her husband appropriates it and forbids Emilia to disclose its whereabouts to Desdemona. Iago plants the article in Cassio's room. Eventually, Othello sees Cassio with the handkerchief and accepts it as confirmation of Desdemona's infidelity.
Desdemona is concerned over the loss of the handkerchief but maintains that its loss will not cause Othello to grow angry. Emilia is more cynical, especially after Othello violently asks to see it. Desdemona is confused over her husband's behaviour, which culminates in his striking her in public and calling her a whore.
Desdemona is deeply upset by her husband's attacks but continues to assert her love. In the final act, Othello tells her that he knows she has been unfaithful, and is going to kill her. Despite Desdemona's claims of innocence, Othello refuses to believe her, and when he tells her that Cassio has been killed, Desdemona cries out. Othello becomes enraged and suffocates Desdemona, ignoring her pleas for mercy. When her maid Emilia rushes into the room, Desdemona rises weakly to defend Othello, then dies.
Etymology
The name Desdemona may come from the Greek
κακότυχοσ which means "ill-fated". Léone Teyssandier notes that it may indeed be how Othello views his wife, calling her an "ill-starred wench".
Cuts in performance
Desdemona's banter with Iago and Emilia at their arrival in Cyprus (2.1.100ff) has been traditionally regarded as distasteful and cut on moral and artistic grounds, being deemed unworthy of a noble tragedy such as
Othello and out of character for Desdemona. Today, however, the passage's purpose is sometimes viewed as a depiction of Desdemona's awareness of the way of the world, and her persistence in pursuing the exchanges as a characteristic innocent overconfidence displayed elsewhere in the play (3.3.41-83, 3.4.90ff).
Performance history
Desdemona's first interpreter was most certainly a boy actor with a singing voice.
On December 8, 1660, Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company acted
Othello at their Vere Street theatre, with
Margaret HughesMargaret Hughes is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage.The occasion of her first performance was on December 8, 1660, in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello, when she played the role of Desdemona in a production by Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company at...
as Desdemona — possibly the first time a professional actress appeared on a public stage in England. She certainly played Desdemona in the performance of
Othello seen by
Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys, FRS was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II...
on February 6, 1669.
Pepys was present for a performance of
Othello at the Cockpit on October 11, 1660, noting in his diary: "a pretty lady that sat by me called out to see Desdemona smothered."
In the eighteenth century, the play was sometimes cut to heighten the tragic nobility of the protagonist. Bell's acting version, for example, omitted several moments including Desdemona's conversation with Emilia before her death—a death which is accomplished in Bells' version by stabbing rather than suffocation.
In the nineteenth century, behind-the-scenes events in the lives of the play's performers garnered for
Othello a shocking and sensational reputation.
Charles KeanCharles John Kean , was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean.After preparatory education at Worplesdon and at Greenford, near Harrow, he was sent to Eton College, where he remained three years...
, for example, suffered a bitter divorce in 1825, and, in 1833, collapsed following a performance of the play, dying shortly thereafter.
Edwin ForrestEdwin Forrest was an American actor. Forrest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of Scottish and German descent.-Acting career:...
filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery only to be found guilty himself and ordered to pay alimony.
Ira AldridgeIra Frederick Aldridge was an American stage actor who made his career largely on the London stage...
, an American black actor who appeared in the role, married a white woman. Such events cultivated the play's shocking and sensational reputation, and
Tommaso SalviniTommaso Salvini was an Italian actor. His father and mother were both actors, and Tommaso first appeared when he was barely fourteen as Pasquino in Goldoni's Donne curiose. In 1847 he joined the company of Adelaide Ristori, who was then at the beginning of her brilliant career...
's savage and sensual performance only enhanced it. In his rendition, Desdemona's death was an especially violent affair. Further cultivating the drama's reputation were the performances of
Sarah SiddonsSarah Siddons was a British actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton and Elizabeth Whitlock. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character: Lady Macbeth, a character...
, Anna Mowatt, and
Ellen TerryDame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain....
who all played the melodramatic role of womanly innocence traduced and overwhelmed to the hilt.
In 1839,
Samuel PhelpsSamuel Phelps was an English actor, born in Devonport ....
and
William Charles MacreadyWilliam Charles Macready was an English actor.-Life:He was born in London, and educated at Rugby.It was his intention to go up to Oxford, but in 1809 the embarrassed affairs of his father, the lessee of several provincial theatres, called him to share the responsibilities of theatrical management...
alternated in the roles of Othello and Iago at the
Haymarket TheatreThe Theatre Royal Haymarket or Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre is a West End theatre in The Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
with Helen Faucit in the role of Desdemona. In 1881,
Ellen TerryDame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain....
performed the role at London's Lyceum Theatre with
Edwin BoothEdwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor. He was born near Bel Air, Maryland into the English American theatrical Booth family. Booth toured throughout America and to the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespeare; in 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a...
and
Henry IrvingSir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
alternating in the roles of Othello and Iago. The production was a great artistic and financial success.
In the twentieth century,
Peggy AshcroftDame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
played the character opposite
Paul RobesonPaul LeRoy Bustill Robeson was an internationally renowned American basso profundo concert singer, scholar, actor of film and stage, All-American and professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator and lawyer who was also noted for his wide-ranging social justice activism...
in London's
Savoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in 1930, and
Uta HagenUta Thyra Hagen was a three-time Tony Award winning German-born American actress. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee...
appeared in the role opposite Robeson in
Margaret WebsterMargaret Webster was an American-born theater actress, producer and director. Through her parents, she held dual USA/UK citizenship.- Career :...
's production at the
Schubert TheatreThe Schubert Theatre is a theater located in Gooding, Idaho, United States. Built in 1920, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.Many articles in the Gooding County Leader chronicle the history of this theater...
in New York City in 1943.
In cinema,
Suzanne CloutierSuzanne Cloutier was a Canadian film actress.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, she appeared as Desdemona in Orson Welles' 1952 film adaptation of Othello. In 1953, she met Peter Ustinov while acting in a play, No Sign of the Dove...
played Desdemona opposite
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
in a
versionOthello is a 1952 drama film based on the Shakespearean play, made by Mercury Productions Inc. and Les Films Marceau and distributed by United Artists . It was directed and produced by Orson Welles, who also played the title role . The screenplay was adapted by Welles and an uncredited Jean Sacha...
that won the
Palme D'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded to competing films at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film...
at the 1952
Cannes Film FestivalThe Cannes Film Festival , founded in 1946, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals. The private festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, in the resort town of Cannes, in the south of France.The 62nd edition started 13 May and ended 24 May 2009...
. In a 1966 film which holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations given to a Shakespeare film,
Maggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 57 years...
played the character opposite
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
. Smith and co-stars Olivier,
Frank FinlayFrancis "Frank" Finlay, CBE is a British stage, film and television actor.- Personal life :Finlay was born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of Margaret and Josiah Finlay, a butcher. A devout Catholic, he belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild. He was educated at St...
(Iago), and
Joyce RedmanJoyce Redman is an Irish actress.She was born in County Mayo, Ireland, to an Anglo-Irish family. She was educated by a private governess in Ireland, along with her three sisters. She was trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Her acting roles have been primarily in the theatre and...
(Emilia) all received acting nominations.
Irène JacobIrène Marie Jacob is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieslowski, who cast her in the lead role of The Double Life of Véronique...
played the character in a 1995 film opposite
Laurence FishburneLaurence John Fishburne III is an American actor of screen and stage, as well as a playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character's father Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood, "Cowboy...
. In
OO is a 2001 drama film, and a loose modern adaption of William Shakespeare's Othello.The film's intended release date coincided with the Columbine High School massacre, so the film was shelved. It was finally released later in 2001. It was directed by Tim Blake Nelson and written by Brad Kaaya. It...
(2001),
Julia StilesJulia O'Hara Stiles is an American stage and film actress.After beginning her career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet...
played a character based on Desdemona in a version of the play set in a contemporary high school.