WWE SmackDown

For other uses, see Desdemona.

File:Othellopainting.jpeg

Othello and Desdemona in Venice by Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856)

Desdemona is the principal female character in the tragedy Othello, the Moor of Venice (1604) by William Shakespeare. Her origin is traced to Shakespeare's source, Cinthio's Hecatommithi which the poet followed closely in composing Othello. Desdemona is the wife of Othello, a Moor in the service of the Venetian Republic, and falls victim to his villainous ensign Iago, who convinces Othello she is unfaithful. Desdemona dies at her husband's hands in the final scene of the play. Othello premiered November 1, 1604 at the court of King James I, and, following the Interregnum, Desdemona was probably the role performed by the first actress to appear on an English public stage. Notable actresses have since performed the role to acclaim. Desdemona has been adapted to other media including ballet and opera.

Origins

The plot for Othello was developed from a story in Cinthio's the Hecatommithi, "Un Capitano Moro", which it follows closely. The only named character in Cinthio's story is "Disdemona", which means "unfortunate" in Greek; the other characters are identified only as "the standard-bearer", "the captain", and "the Moor". In the original, the standard-bearer lusts after Disdemona and is spurred to revenge when she rejects him. Unlike Othello, the Moor in Cinthio's story never repents the murder of his beloved, and both he and the standard-bearer escape Venice and 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.

Performance history

On December 8, 1660, Thomas Killigrew's new King's Company acted Othello at their Vere Street theatre, with Margaret Hughes 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 Pepys on February 6, 1669.

Desdemona has seen notable modern interpreters. Uta Hagen played the character opposite Paul Robeson in an acclaimed 1943 Broadway production. Suzanne Cloutier played Desdemona opposite Orson Welles in his controversial 1952 film. In a 1966 film, Maggie Smith played the character opposite Laurence Oliver's Othello. The film holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations for acting given to a Shakespeare film with Smith, Olivier, Frank Finlay (Iago), and Joyce Redman (Emilia) all being nominated. Irene Jacob played the character in a 1995 film opposite Laurence Fishburne. In O (2001), Julia Stiles plays a character based on Desdemona in a version of the play set in a contemporary high school. Desdemona is a character in Jose Limon's ballet The Moor's Pavanne (1949) and in operas by Rossini (1816) and Verdi (1887).