Along with Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth, Othello is one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. Set against the backdrop of the late the 16th century wars between Venice and Turkey, what distinguishes Othello is the role of its villain, Iago.

Iago is a character who essentially writes the play's main plot, plays a key role in it, and directs others, most notably the noble Moor, Othello. Othello succumbs to Iago's machinations when he believes in the infidelity of his young and beautiful wife, Desdemona. Indeed, not only is 'seeing' and the gap between appearance and reality a central theme of the play, it overlaps with and sheds light on other major thematic strands - trust, honour and reputation, patriarchy and the political state.

William Shakespeare, perhaps the greatest English playwright ever, was born in 1564. By 1592 he was sufficiently established as a playwright to be criticized in print. He was a leading member of the Lord Chamberlain's Company, which became the King's Men on the accession of James I in 1603. He died in April 1616 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.