Between William Shakespeare's most extensive and philosophical tragedies, Hamlet and King Learis Othello, his greatest, Othello: analysis. Othello is a play about sexual jealousy and how one man can convince another man, who loves his wife dearly, that she has been unfaithful ยท 3.161. Welcome to the Othello study guide. Our team of writers explored the play in depth and answered the most crucial questions about it. The author of Othello, William Shakespeare, was the most famous playwright of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This affected the themes and setting of the play. Literary analysis of Othello. Othello, Shakespeare In Shakespeare's play Othello, Iago uses racial distinction to persuade Othello to believe that there is an affair between Desdemona and Cassio. Iago feeds on Othello's insecurities to fuel his fury. Othello's doubt ultimately leads to his downfall, his doubt in himself causes it.