Othello Trivia
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96 free Othello trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
This Othello trivia quiz covers Shakespeare's tragedy from every angle. The plot questions follow Roderigo and Iago through the elopement, the Turkish threat to Cyprus, Cassio's drunken brawl, the dropped handkerchief, Bianca, the murder of Desdemona and the exposure by Emilia. Then come the sources: Cinthio's 1565 novella, the sand-filled socks, the Moorish ambassador who visited London in 1600, and why the play is dated to 1603–1604. A third strand covers Othello in performance: Richard Burbage, James Hewlett and Ira Aldridge, Paul Robeson's landmark 1943 Broadway run, Stanislavski, Olivier's Oscar-nominated film, Orson Welles's chaotic shoot, Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh, the teen adaptation O and Verdi's Otello. Numbers questions test the 1622 quarto, the 160 folio-only lines, the 1,097 lines that make Iago one of Shakespeare's longest roles and how many times "honest" appears. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Shakespeare and Hamlet quizzes next.
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Q 01Besides being passed over, what rumour does Iago say fuels his hatred of Othello?
Othello slept with his wife
Othello slept with his wife: Iago admits he doesn't know whether the rumour is true, yet vows to act on mere suspicion as if it were certain.
Q 02What does Othello demand that Iago produce against Desdemona, on pain of his wrath?
Ocular proof
Ocular proof: Othello wants to see the betrayal with his own eyes, but Iago says catching the lovers in the act is impossible and offers circumstantial evidence instead.
Q 03What military rank does Iago hold under Othello?
Ensign
Iago is Othello's ensign, called his 'ancient' in the text: the standard-bearer ranked below the lieutenant, the post he believes he deserved.
Q 04Whom does Othello promote to lieutenant, provoking Iago's resentment?
Cassio
Cassio: Iago sneers that the Florentine is a mere 'arithmetician' who never set a squadron in the field, and plots to get his place.
Q 05Who is Desdemona's father?
Brabantio
Brabantio, a senator, is the bride's father; he accuses Othello before the Duke of winning her by witchcraft and disowns her when she defends the marriage.
Q 06Which wealthy, dissolute gentleman pays Iago to help him win Desdemona?
Roderigo
Roderigo, a rich gentleman who hoped Iago could buy him the lady's favour, is finally stabbed by Iago in the dark to silence him.
Q 07Which enemy fleet is threatening Cyprus when Othello is dispatched there?
The Turks
The Turks: the senate sees through the Ottoman fleet's feint toward Rhodes and sends Othello to command the island's defence.
Q 08How does Othello say he won Desdemona's love, rather than by witchcraft?
By telling stories of his life
By telling stories of his life: her father, who now cries witchcraft, had often invited Othello home to tell them, and she fell for the storyteller.
Q 09What happens to the enemy fleet before Othello lands on Cyprus?
A storm destroys it
A storm destroys it: a 'desperate tempest' wrecks the enemy ships at sea, so the war Othello was sent to fight is over before he lands.
Q 10Who finds the dropped handkerchief and hands it to Iago?
Emilia
Emilia, Iago's wife, hands it over without knowing his plan, and her revelation of the truth about it exposes him in the final scene.
Q 11What fruit is embroidered on the handkerchief?
Strawberries
Strawberries: Iago describes it as 'spotted with strawberries', and Othello, who denied using magic to win his wife, later insists there is magic in its web.
Q 12In Othello, who is Bianca?
A courtesan involved with Cassio
Bianca is a courtesan involved with Cassio; Iago gets him laughing about her while Othello, eavesdropping, believes the talk is about his wife.
Q 13How does Othello kill Desdemona?
He smothers her
He smothers her: yet when help arrives, the dying Desdemona answers 'Nobody; I myself' to shield him with her last words.
Q 21Othello reached print a year before which Shakespeare collection?
First Folio
First Folio: two of Shakespeare's fellow actors gathered it after his death.
Q 22What song does Desdemona sing in a passage missing from Othello's first edition?
Willow Song
Willow Song: the first edition lets Desdemona mention her mother's maid's old song of willow, but only a later printing has her actually sing it.
Q 23What does Iago call jealousy when he warns Othello to beware of it?
The green-eyed monster
The green-eyed monster: Iago warns that jealousy 'doth mock the meat it feeds on', while deliberately planting that very feeling in Othello.
Q 14What rank does Othello hold when the play opens?
General
General: the senate needs him so urgently that he must sail to take command in Cyprus on the very night his secret marriage comes out.
Q 15What does Iago vow once he is exposed?
To never speak again
To never speak again: asked why he ensnared Othello, Iago answers 'Demand me nothing', so the several motives he gave earlier are never confirmed.
Q 16How does Othello die?
He commits suicide
He commits suicide: after learning the truth Othello stabs himself with a hidden weapon and dies kissing his wife's body, 'to die upon a kiss'.
Q 17Who apprehends both Iago and Othello for the murders at the end of the play?
Lodovico
Lodovico, the envoy from the senate, strips Othello of his command, orders Iago held for torture, and closes the play promising to report 'this heavy act' to the state.
Q 18Whose 1565 collection of novellas was Shakespeare's main source for Othello?
Cinthio
Cinthio: in his tale the Moor is later killed by his wife's relatives.
Q 19In the Italian tale behind Othello, how is the Moor's wife killed?
Beaten with sand-filled socks
Beaten with sand-filled socks: the killers then bring down the cracked bedroom ceiling on her so the death looks like an accident.
Q 20Which acting company played Othello at court in 1604?
The King's Men
The King's Men: Shakespeare's company, formerly the Lord Chamberlain's Men, took that name when James I came to the throne in 1603.
Q 24Which word appears over 40 times in Othello, most often in describing Iago?
Honest
Honest: everyone keeps calling him 'honest Iago', the play's central irony, since he is the one deceiving them all.
Q 25Which critic coined the phrase "motive-hunting of motive-less Malignity" to describe Iago?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: his note answers Iago's soliloquy, where he tries out one reason after another for a hatred that none of them explains.
Q 26Which critic suggested in 1693 that Othello should have been called "The Tragedy of the Handkerchief"?
Thomas Rymer
Thomas Rymer, in A Short View of Tragedy (1693), mocked the play's reliance on the handkerchief and drew the moral that wives should 'look well to their Linnen'.
Q 27Which visitor to London in 1600 may have helped inspire Othello?
The ambassador of the King of Barbary
The ambassador of the King of Barbary: his embassy officially came to talk trade, but its real aim was a military alliance with England against Spain.
Q 28Which star of Shakespeare's company was the first actor to play Othello?
Richard Burbage
Richard Burbage: after his death in 1619, a funeral elegy mourned 'the grieved Moor' among the great parts that died with him.
Q 29Who gave the first known professional performance of Othello by a Black actor, in 1820s New York?
James Hewlett
James Hewlett starred at New York's African Grove Theatre; his young castmate Ira Aldridge, unable to build an acting career in America, left for England and made Othello his most famous role.
Q 30Which actor's 1943 Othello set a Broadway record for a Shakespeare production?
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson: his run neared 300 performances, but in 1950 the US revoked his passport, stalling his career until it was restored eight years later.