Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. It is based on the story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565.The story revolves around its two central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army and his treacherous ensign, Iago. Given its varied and enduring themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and repentance, Othello is still often performed in professional and community theatre alike, and has been the source for numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations.This is the Othello the reader meets at the beginning of this tragedy. The Renaissance ideal, an archetypal hero, sure of himself, valiant and honorable, in complete self-control when falsely accused of forcing fair Desdemona, the daughter of a nobleman, to marry him. When confronted by the Duke, his defense plea shines with splendid poetry, calm dignity and the voice of reason, charming everybody who listens to his refined soliloquy.But Othello is also a black African, known as The Moor, a General in the Venetian Army and a Christian. He is the epitome of many stereotypical paradoxes that coexist in him that somehow anticipate disaster, for there are evil forces that lure the gullible man to give way to the savage instincts of his double nature.Othello begins on a street in Venice, in the midst of an argument between Roderigo, a rich man, and Iago. Roderigo has been paying Iago to help him in his suit to Desdemona. But Roderigo has just learned that Desdemona has married Othello, a general whom Iago begrudgingly serves as ensign. Iago says he hates Othello, who recently passed him over for the position of lieutenant in favor of the inexperienced soldier Michael Cassio.Unseen, Iago and Roderigo cry out to Brabanzio that his daughter Desdemona has been stolen by and married to Othello, the Moor. Brabanzio finds that his daughter is indeed missing, and he gathers some officers to find Othello. Not wanting his hatred of Othello to be known, Iago leaves Roderigo and hurries back to Othello before Brabanzio sees him. At Othello's lodgings, Cassio arrives with an urgent message from the duke: Othello's help is needed in the matter of the imminent Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Not long afterward, Brabanzio arrives with Roderigo and others, and accuses Othello of stealing his daughter by witchcraft. When he finds out that Othello is on his way to speak with the duke, -Brabanzio decides to go along and accuse Othello before the assembled senate.Othello is renowned amongst literary scholars for the way it portrays the human emotion of jealousy. Throughout the play, good-natured characters make rash decisions based on the jealousy that they feel, most notably Othello.In the early acts, Othello is depicted as a typical heroic figure and holds admirable qualities, written with the intention of winning over the favour of the audience; however, as the play goes on, jealousy will manipulate his decisions and lead him into sin. While the majority of the evil that Othello carries out in the play can be cited as coming from Iago, it is jealousy that motivates him to perform wicked deeds. When Iago highlights the almost excessive amount of time that Cassio and his wife, Desdemona, are spending together, Othello becomes filled with rage and, following a series of events, will murder the one that he loves.Shakespeare explores man's ugliest trait in this opus and perfectly represents the idea of the 'tragic hero' in Othello, who wins over the responders early on but proceeds to make bad, almost wicked, decisions that will make it harder for the audience to like him until his eventual undoing. This idea of the tragic hero is made clear through the utilisation of jealousy, one of the various notable themes present in Othello.