Othello is a play about tragedy, written by William Shakespeare, edited by Christopher Bentley in 1982. The society and context of Shakespeare's writing is important in understanding the play because it was dramatically influenced by the people and the society Shakespeare lived in. Shakespeare's play Othello explores a variety of aspects such as the historical context which refers to the time the text was composed and events that happened during the creation of the play, the literary context involves the style of writing and the language used throughout the play, and the social context which relates to the role of men and women, and racism. These aspects have influenced Shakespeare's writing of the play and this can be observed in Othello.
             Firstly, the historical context considers the attitude towards race, love and marriage, and the role of the military in Shakespeare's time, revealing some of the social and political controversies reflected in Othello. The play has been marked with risk because of the plays focus on racial prejudice and gender conflict. The play presents conflicting attitudes towards race and religion, war and the military, and love. Othello was written in the Elizabethan times and race and colour were separate and never brought together. Othello has been misjudged by his colour and people such as Iago showed negative attitudes towards him, "an old black ram" (I, i, 88). This shows that in the period of the Elizabethan times, many people misjudged blacks and they were seen as villains.
             This was also written during the war with Turkey to fight for Cyprus, as the enemies were trying to take over the land, "a Turkish fleet, and bearing up to Cyprus" (I, iii, 7). Most of the characters are defined by their military rank. Military rank is highly valued by Iago as the reason he wants revenge for Othello is because he promoted Cassio to Lieutenant and not him. Iago deeply hates t...