What was the context of othello

Shakespeare’s classic play Othello is about a man who falsely accuses his wife of cheating on him, and believes this lie so strongly that he eventually takes her life. Some of the major themes in this play include racial prejudice, manipulation, and jealousy.

The story of Shakespeare’s Othello comes from the Hecatommithi, a collection of tales published in 1565 by Giraldi Cinthio. Cinthio in turn had been influenced by the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Although Shakespeare replicates Cinthio’s story very closely, he makes a couple of key changes.