The primary source for Othello is a short story from Gli Hecatommithi, a collection of tales published in 1565 by Geraldi Cinthio. The story from the collection dealing with “The Unfaithfulness of Husbands and Wives” provides an ideal place for an Elizabethan dramatist to look for a plot. Since no translation of this work is known to have appeared before 1753, scholars believe that Shakespeare either read the work in its original Italian, or that he was familiar with a French translation of Cinthio’s tales, published in 1585 by Gabriel Chappuys.

In Cinthio’s tale, the wife is known as Disdemona, but the other characters are designated by titles only. There are also significant differences in the length of time over which the drama takes place, details of setting, and characters’ actions.

Commentators have also suggested that Pliny’s Natural History provided Shakespeare with details to enhance Othello’s exotic adventures and his alien origins. It has even been suggested by Geoffrey Bullough that Shakespeare consulted John Pory’s translation of Leo Africanus’ A Geographical History of Africa, which distinguishes between Moors of northern and southern Africa and characterizes both groups as candid and unaffected, but prone to jealousy. Shakespeare was also familiar with fifteenth and early sixteenth century accounts of wars between Venice and Turkey, during which time Venice regained temporary control of Cyprus.

It is agreed by most scholars that Shakespeare wrote Othello in 1604, but some have suggested a composition date as early as 1603 or even 1602. The earliest recorded performance of the play was that by the King’s Men “in the Banketinge house at Whit Hall” on November 1, 1604. However, it is also possible that the play was performed earlier that year in a public theater.

Othello was first printed in quarto form in 1622, and then in the First Folio of 1623; however, there are many variations between the texts of Q1 and F1. The First Folio contains approximately 160 lines that are not in the First Quarto, but it has notably fewer stage directions. In contrast, the First Quarto contains about 13 lines or partial lines not found in the First Folio. Despite the differences, textual commentators generally agree that the folio edition was printed from a copy of the First Quarto, together with corrections and additions from some reliable manuscript, such as an acting company prompt-book.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Shakespearean tragedy was revived with leading actors such as Thomas Betterton and Barton Booth playing the role of Othello. Betterton was noted for the “moving and graceful energy with which Othello had addressed the Senate.” When Booth “wept, his tears broke from him perforce. He never whimpered, whined or blubbered; in his rage he never mouthed or ranted.”

In the nineteenth century, Edmund Kean was described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as having brought “flashes of lightning” to the interpretation of Shakespeare. Ira Aldridge, the most famous figure in Black theater history, played Othello with Edmund Kean as his Iago. However natural a Black Othello seems, at that time, it was a novelty to audiences for whom the tradition of a Berber chieftain went virtually unchallenged. Aldridge’s performance made a deep impression in America and abroad.

The twentieth century includes notable performances by Paul Robeson, whose “tenderness, simplicity, and trust were deeply moving.” In 1964 Lawrence Olivier “took London by storm” with his portrayal of Othello. John Gielgud’s portrayal of “the disintegration of [Othello’s] character was traced with immense power and excellent variety.” Iago’s role as played by Christopher Plummer and Ian McKellen has been acclaimed.

Cinematic versions of Othello are impressive, as is Orson Welles’ 1952 interpretation, which has been described as “one of the screen’s sublime achievements” by Vincent Canby of The New York Times. The most recent interpretation of Othello is a film that includes Laurence Fishburne as Othello and Kenneth Branagh as Iago.

Although Othello contains themes that resonate with twentieth-century audiences, such as crimes of passion, modern viewers often find themselves disturbed by the racism evident in the treatment of Othello by other characters. Just as we recognize the racism in our contemporary world, it is possible that Shakespeare was addressing the racism of his own era, not just that of the Venetian society portrayed in the play. Shakespeare’s Othello is set in Venice and Cyprus, yet the Venetian society's fear of cultural differences, manifested through racism, might reflect Elizabethan England's anxiety about preserving its cultural identity amid extensive exploration and early colonization of the New World. The Turk and the Moor, representing cultural values different from those of Western society, pose a threat to Venetian society but can also be interpreted as symbols of Elizabethan England's fear of losing its cultural values due to colonization and the mixing of different cultures. Similarly, Desdemona's portrayal as the epitome of Venetian virtue and fidelity might be less about Venetian gender expectations and more about calming English fears that interracial relationships would disrupt the order and culture of English society.

On one level, adultery in Othello can be seen as personal betrayal that leads to the downfall of both Iago and Othello, as jealousy is stoked in Othello by his confidant, "honest Iago." On another level, adultery may be perceived as a threat to the entire society. In Shakespeare's time, as well as in modern times, some people might believe that a society that fails to control women's sexual behavior risks losing paternal certainty—since paternity is uncertain in cases of infidelity—and also risks losing cultural identity through miscegenation. Iago professes to hate Othello because Othello overlooked him for a promotion and allegedly slept with his wife, Emilia. However, a third, unstated motive might be Iago's desire to preserve his society’s racial and cultural identity. Alternatively, Iago might be driven by his own personal racism, which becomes prominent as he grapples with the fact that his superior is a Black man.

When Emilia exposes Iago's schemes, the others urge him to explain his motives. This moment would seem ideal for him to disclose his frustration over the lost promotion and his jealous suspicions of Othello. However, he responds, "Demand me nothing; what you know, you know: / From this time forth I never will speak word" (V.ii.303-04). On one hand, this assertion maintains his power and control until the end. On the other hand, it suggests he might be unable to express his motives because they stem from the deep-seated and unacknowledged racist sentiments of his society. He acts as an agent of a state that harbors irreconcilable doubts about the marriage of a Black Moor to a White woman.

Iago arguably embodies the voice of racial intolerance. He exclaims to Brabantio, "your daughter and the Moor are [now] making the beast with two backs" (I.i.116-17) and "Even now, now, very now, an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe" (I.i.88-89). These metaphors are designed to alarm Brabantio and evoke his deepest fears. Themes of racism and unchecked female sexuality resonate throughout the play, reaching their peak when imagined as the offspring of Desdemona and Othello's union. Iago makes his most fervent appeal when he warns Brabantio, "you'll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you; you'll have coursers for cousins, and gennets for germans" (I.i.111-13). Although Iago assumes the role of repairing the cultural rift caused by Desdemona and Othello's marriage, he is not alone. Desdemona's own father cannot believe she would fall in love with someone she feared to look at:

To fall in love with what she fear'd to look!
It is a judgment maim'd, and most imperfect,
That will confess perfection so could err
Against all rules of nature….
(I.iii.98-101)

Brabantio is convinced that Othello has led her astray using magic potions and witchcraft to win her affection.

Iago admits that he also loves Desdemona (II.i.295). However, it is a love based neither on lust nor on an appreciation of her inner beauty. What he admires is the idea of Desdemona as the "perfect" woman, a paragon of sensibilities that must not be allowed to err. While the audience is aware that Desdemona has remained faithful to Othello, in the eyes of Iago and others, she is guilty of a greater transgression: her marriage to Othello.

Othello brings us closer to an understanding of Greek tragedy than any other Shakespearean play. Othello may never fully grasp the magnitude of his error. His ignorant misstep is swiftly punished by powerful and unstoppable forces. What evokes fear and pity in the modern reader is the recognition of Othello's vulnerability and the suspicion that these unstoppable forces are born from societal fears and ignorance.