How old is Iago in Othello?

Answer 1

In Act One Scene 3 Iago says "I have looked upon the world for four times seven years" which means he's twenty-eight. Othello is middle-aged, but his age is not given in the text. Iago calls him an "old black ram".

Answer 2

There is some debate about how long the action takes in Othello - based on contradictory indicators in the text, one can argue that the bulk of the play happens in less than 36 hours after Othello's arrival in Cypress; one can also argue that it takes several weeks. For a longer discussion see the attached link.

The play can take over three hours to perform: the performance at the New Globe starring Eamonn Walker takes 195 minutes.

Othello is reckoned as Shakespeare's ninth longest play, at 3323 lines.

Answer 3

The age difference is never actually given but Othello is hinted at being friends with Desdemona's father so the age difference could be more than ten years apart. Remember that in those days people were more free to marry people who were much older or younger than they; they were not bound by today's stifling conventions which consider a marriage between people far apart in age "gross" or "icky".

Answer 4

Othello was written sometime before 1604 when it was first performed

Answer 5

Shakespeare was approximately 39 years old.

Answer 6

Iago is 28 years old in the play.

Answer 7

28