The Shakespeare tragedy featuring a character named Desdemona is Othello. Desdemona is the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio and the wife of Othello, a highly respected military commander serving Venice. She secretly marries Othello, defying her father’s expectations, and follows him to Cyprus when he is sent there on military duty.
The tragedy unfolds when Iago, Othello’s ensign, manipulates him into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful with Cassio. Iago uses insinuation, staged conversations, and a handkerchief that once belonged to Desdemona as supposed evidence. Othello’s jealousy overwhelms his judgment, and the play ends with him killing Desdemona before learning that she was innocent.
Desdemona is sometimes confused with Juliet because both are Shakespearean women whose marriages bring them into conflict with their families. Juliet belongs to Romeo and Juliet, however, while Desdemona belongs to Othello. The play is usually dated to around 1603 and is commonly grouped with Macbeth, King Lear, and Hamlet among Shakespeare’s major tragedies. Its source was a story by the Italian writer Cinthio.