The Story That Started It All
William Shakespeare based his play "Othello" on a story called "Hecatommithi" by Giraldi Cinthio's. This was a collection of a hundred tales that was printed in Italy in the sixteenth century. It is thought that Shakespeare read the original Italian version and got inspired to write his own. In writing his own version, Shakespeare kept most of the original ideas but also added some of his own twists.
Giraldi, Giovanni Battista , 1504-73, Italian author, known also as Cinthio, Cintio, Cinzio, or Cyntius. He wrote tragedies, lyric verse, and tales. Some of the…
