#30 in Drama & theatre
Othello
- 176
- Pages
- about 3 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Othello” is a lean, relentless tragedy of jealousy, driven less by its hero than by the ensign who quietly poisons his mind. Watching Iago work on him, hint by hint, is as uncomfortable as it is gripping. Some readers find the verse harder going than in Shakespeare’s other plays, and an annotated edition helps. Take it slowly, or aloud.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, often shortened to Othello, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulated by his ensign, Iago, into suspecting his wife Desdemona of infidelity. Othello is widely considered one of Shakespeare's greatest works and is usually classified among his major tragedies alongside Macbeth, King Lear, and Hamlet. Unpublished in the author's life, the play survives in one quarto edition from 1622 and in the First Folio.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 643 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 81% of the weight and the score stays at 7.6 — the Drama & theatre average of 7.6 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.6 | 42 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 7.6 | 601 | 94% |
Frequently asked
How long is Othello?
It has 176 pages — longer than 74% of the ranked books in Drama & theatre.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Drama & theatre — and a score of 7.6, the closest to this book.
