Shakespeare Uses the Devil, Adam and Eve to Help Define Humanity in Othello In William Shakespeare’s, Othello, the author uses several references from the Christian religion in his effort to define what it means to be human. Shakespeare strives to define humanity and what it means for the characters. They struggle against the devil, the first major reference from the Bible, which the characters define as that which tempts and brings one to sin. Meanwhile, a second reference that reoccurs is the story of Adam and Eve from the Old Testament, which is reflected in the p