OTHELLO CRITICS QUOTES
CHARACTERS
Character Critic Year Quote
Othello Thomas 1693 ‘his love and his jealousy are no part of a
Rymer soldier’s character, unless for comedy.’
Dr Johnson 1765 ‘boundless in his confidence, ardent in his
affection, inflexible in his resolution, and
obdurate in his revenge.’
‘Othello is a sympathetic and noble character
whose downfall is created by a being of pure
evil.’
A.C. Bradley 1904 ‘Othello is the most romantic of all of
Shakespeare’s characters.’
‘Othello’s nature is all of one piece. His trust,
where he trusts, is absolute. Hesitation is
almost impossible to him.’
‘any man situated as Othello was would have
T.S. Eliot been disturbed by Iago’s communications’
1927 ‘Othello is anything but noble and endeavours
to escape reality.’
1952 ‘The mind that undoes him is not Iago’s but his
F.R. Leavis own.’
1958 ‘Othello, in his magnanimous way, is
egotistical.’
Ruth Cowhig 1977 ‘An alien in a white society.’
Anita Loomba 1987 ‘Othello is an honorary white man at the
beginning of the play, but by the end, he is a
total outsider.’
Caryl Phillips 1987 ‘Othello feels constantly threatened and
profoundly insecure.’
Karen 1988 ‘[…] represented as heroic and tragic at a
Newman historical moment when the only role blacks
played on stage was that of a villain of low
status.’
Fintan 1990 ‘the two minds begin to fuse together, as Iago’s
O’Toole words give shape to Othello’s thoughts, so
Othello starts to sound more and more like
Iago. Like Iago, he starts to turn people into
animals in his imagery […] Like Iago, he starts to
appeal to the devil’
Anita Loomba 2002 ‘his jealousy is rooted […] in his difference from
Desdemona, a difference that Iago plays upon
in order to persuade Othello that his wife
cannot really love him for very long.’
Iago Dr Johnson 1765 ‘the cool malignity of Iago, silent in his
resentment, subtle in his designs, and studious
CHARACTERS
Character Critic Year Quote
Othello Thomas 1693 ‘his love and his jealousy are no part of a
Rymer soldier’s character, unless for comedy.’
Dr Johnson 1765 ‘boundless in his confidence, ardent in his
affection, inflexible in his resolution, and
obdurate in his revenge.’
‘Othello is a sympathetic and noble character
whose downfall is created by a being of pure
evil.’
A.C. Bradley 1904 ‘Othello is the most romantic of all of
Shakespeare’s characters.’
‘Othello’s nature is all of one piece. His trust,
where he trusts, is absolute. Hesitation is
almost impossible to him.’
‘any man situated as Othello was would have
T.S. Eliot been disturbed by Iago’s communications’
1927 ‘Othello is anything but noble and endeavours
to escape reality.’
1952 ‘The mind that undoes him is not Iago’s but his
F.R. Leavis own.’
1958 ‘Othello, in his magnanimous way, is
egotistical.’
Ruth Cowhig 1977 ‘An alien in a white society.’
Anita Loomba 1987 ‘Othello is an honorary white man at the
beginning of the play, but by the end, he is a
total outsider.’
Caryl Phillips 1987 ‘Othello feels constantly threatened and
profoundly insecure.’
Karen 1988 ‘[…] represented as heroic and tragic at a
Newman historical moment when the only role blacks
played on stage was that of a villain of low
status.’
Fintan 1990 ‘the two minds begin to fuse together, as Iago’s
O’Toole words give shape to Othello’s thoughts, so
Othello starts to sound more and more like
Iago. Like Iago, he starts to turn people into
animals in his imagery […] Like Iago, he starts to
appeal to the devil’
Anita Loomba 2002 ‘his jealousy is rooted […] in his difference from
Desdemona, a difference that Iago plays upon
in order to persuade Othello that his wife
cannot really love him for very long.’
Iago Dr Johnson 1765 ‘the cool malignity of Iago, silent in his
resentment, subtle in his designs, and studious
