In Shakespeare’s play Othello; the Moor of Venice, written by William Shakespeare, Iago feels overlooked and plans to take revenge against his General, Othello, also known as the Moor of Venice. Iago manipulates Othello into believing that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair, which provokes Othello’s jealousy, Othello allows this jealousy to consume him, murders Desdemona, and then kills himself. Race affects everything throughout the drama as it shapes the plot and the behavior of the other characters, as they treat Othello significantly more poorly than how they treat each other. In Othello; the Moor of Venice, Othello’s race acts as a weapon against him that other characters could use and manipulate to treat him as an outsider and create …show more content…
In line 426, Iago states in his soliloquy, “I hate the Moor;” However, Iago proceeds to have various lines and soliloquies where he reveals his true motives against Othello to the audience. Iago refers to Othello throughout the play with derogatory terms like “Barbary horse,” an “old black ram,” an “erring barbarian,” and “thick-lips.” Iago purposely identifies Othello strictly by his race; he will not refer to him as an individual or even as his general rank. Iago also strictly uses animalistic characteristics and names to refer to Othello, making him seem less human-like to himself, as Iago craves to feel power over Othello due to his race. One of these examples includes lines 97 to 101, when Iago states, “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise!, arise! Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you”. Not only is the comparison between animals and their hyper-sexuality to Othello made here, but it is also the comparison between the devil and Othello that is shown. Iago uses this to manipulate Brabantio's fears of miscegenation and the sixteenth-century idea of black men being evil and the devil taking the form of a black man. This is one of the …show more content…
Additionally, there is a moment where Othello states in lines 442 to 445, “All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven ‘Tis gone. Arise, black vengeance, from thy hollow cell!” These lines show that Othello has begun to feel a lack of pride and confidence within himself and that he is not proud nor comfortable in his skin due to the treatment from Iago and
He exhibits misogynistic tendencies, viewing women as objects to be used and discarded for his benefit. He refers to women derogatorily, using derogatory language and engaging in sexist behavior “good wench, foolish wife, villainous wh*re, filth”(V.ii.229). For example, he refers to Desdemona as a "white ewe" and accuses her of being promiscuous without any evidence. Iago's treatment of women reflects the darker aspects of the male psyche, highlighting the destructive consequences of unchecked masculine energy when it aligns with the outlaw archetype. Iago's treatment of women in "Othello" can be seen as a manifestation of the outlaw archetype's negative masculine energy.
Othello is the General of the Cyprus army with honest Iago by his side. During this time racism was happening and Othello was a part of it. Othello tried his best for everybody to like him; people would talk behind his back, call him names, and would eventually ruin his life. Iago was an ensign in the army, and his “good” friend, who would put lies into Othello's head, which eventually, he took control of Othello. In this essay Othello will display cultural criticism and how it displays him as a person in the story.
In Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello’s Moor background and the subsequent racism and marginalization he receives, results in his eventual downfall. Initially, Othello’s background affects his identity, making him easily manipulated by Iago. Furthermore, Iago manipulates Othello into several situations where Othello is discriminated. This results in the progressive growth of Othello’s feelings of suspicion and jealousy. Finally, Othello is marginalized
The following passage is significant to the play ‘Othello’ in retrospect to the plot progression, as it reiterates themes and introduces important facets to the plot development. Through Iago’s cunning manipulation and Shakespeare’s crafting of language, this passage is constructed as a pivotal point of the play, marking the transition of Othello’s personality and revealing his deepest insecurities that eventually lead to his downfall and tragic ending. Iago wields a lot of power over all the characters throughout the play, but in this passage in particular he is presented at his most powerful. The passage is riddled with subtle suggestions and insinuations by Iago to raise Othello’s suspicions of his wife’s fidelity, opening with the admonition to “beware, my lord, of jealousy!
(III.iii.230-234). Thus he reminded Othello that possibly he was not considered suitable for her love. Knowing that his blackness placed him in society as an outsider, Othello began to suspect that his personality and accomplishments could never overcome his inferior background. He questioned his confidence in the reputation and social standing he thought he had gained, and he failed to notice the presence of evil and dishonesty in others. Iago’s appearance, as a
The mischance Othello was facing was the announcement of his wife faithlessness,Iago and Othello worked on that because they hate Othello by reason of his blackness, the announcement caused Othello downfall because he murdered his wife after this declaration. All of that coupled with Brabantio accusation, in the original Brabantio twice incriminated Othello of using sorcery to seduce his daughter (I.1 172-173 and I.i.i 73-80). Also the Venetians society was commonly a white civilization, to confirm it when William Shakespeare used this metaphor: “an old white ram is tupping your white ewe...” tupping mean having a sexual intercourse with a woman. By using this metaphor Iago is comparing Othello to a black animal and Desdemona to a white ewe (Act 1. Scene 1), this represented racial tension.
Over the course of the play, multiple characters make an issue with Othello's race. These characters share a common theme of hatred and resentment against Othello. Their hatred is fueled for various reasons, but these characters have no qualms of using Othello's African descent as a cause for concern. Right from the beginning, Iago shows hatred towards Othello for not getting the job he wanted. Instead of making his hate for Othello public, he elects to hurt Othello over time.
Despite the play's racist society, Brabantio's prejudice is validated and reinforced by Iago's early sexualizing and racializing characterization of Othello. Iago's relationship to the world he conjures up is discussed in the article's conclusion since the play itself appears to come from Iago's wounded "I." He is an expert at dividing people in two and luring them into his realm of self-alienation. Lago's character shows how Racism is a psychological problem that affects not only its victims but also its
Throughout the play, Iago portrays himself as malicious, while Othello portrays himself as affectionate through his own use of diction, but everything changes as Othello is baited by Iago’s lies and begins to mirror, in his actions and words, the evil Iago embodies. Toward the beginning of the play, Iago and Othello appear to be complete opposites. In terms of good and evil, Iago depicted himself as evil through his harsh word choices, while with sentimental word choices Othello conveyed the good. Immediately, Iago reveals his monstrous character, full of hatred, without a drop of shame as he declares, “I hate the Moor” (1.3.386). This specific diction,“hate” informs the audience of his pessimistic feelings and unwillingness
Iago’s constant animalistic language shows that he views others as animals rather than people, thus, Iago dehumanizing the other characters. In Act One, scene one, Iago describes Othello as an “old black ram” (Shakespeare 1276). This description of Othello is comparing him to a ram, and such animalistic references show that Iago does not view Othello an equal. In his view of Othello as unhumanistic, Iago is most likely willing to treat him as an animal. The audience sees this treatment through his constant manipulations of Othello’s mind, planting seeds of jealousy.
In ‘Othello’, our titular character has worked his way up from slavery to reach his high position of army general, but he still holds himself to particularly great standards because of how his double consciousness has affected him. In the opening of the play, the people of Venice are outraged at the fact he has eloped with the senator’s daughter, Desdemona, both because he was not one of the approved suitors, and because he is a “Moor”. Othello realizes he must change himself and behave in an acceptable manner for the white society around him in order to be accepted by the people, and so he boasts that he is “from men of royal siege”, making certain that his “demerits may speak unbonetted as to proud a fortune as this that I have reached”. He makes clear in his speech that he considers himself deserving of both his position and his wife, through using the intense, powerful language of the people around him, filled with beautiful imagery and recountings of the struggles he has been through, as though he feels the need to validate himself and prove his worth in their terms. This is further shown later, as we see Othello’s insecurities come to light, displaying that he is not as certain of his identity as that he presents to others.
Manipulation of the African Race in Othello In William Shakespeare’s Othello, racism is a principal theme that drives the plot of the entire play. An outlier in Venice, Othello the moor or African, is targeted by his ensign Iago because Cassio who seems to be unqualified, was promoted to a lieutenant before he was. Iago is driven by envy and jealousy and creates a confusing and elaborate plan to deprive Cassio of his position. Iago also shares these envious motives with Roderigo, a man lusting over Othello’s wife.
Throughout the play, Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio display covert or overt racism towards Othello. At the beginning of the play, Iago, Othello’s ensign, and Roderigo, a wealthy man in love with Desdemona, discuss Othello’s marriage and their hatred for Othello. During their dialogue, the first references made of Othello are “his Moorship” and “the Moor,” which is how most of the characters refer to Othello (Shakespeare 687). Rather than referring to Othello nominally, they refer to him by his ethnicity, showing their inherent racism.
Othello is painfully conscious of his outsider position as a black man in a world where white people predominate. The remarks and attitudes of people around him serve as continuous reminders of his peculiarity. Othello confesses his racial vulnerability in Act I, Scene II, calling himself a "old black ram" and referring to himself as such. Due to his insecurities, Iago may exploit Othello's dread of being rejected and shunned as a tool to manipulate him into turning on his wife and closest supporters. Another way in which Othello's perceived shortcomings are linked to his race is through his jealousy.
His love and passion for Desdemona and his insecurities lead him to be easily influenced into jealously and aggression. Othello was a general of defense in Venice, but his race causes conflict and those around to judge him. Unlike the rest of the characters in Othello, Othello is continuously labeled as “the Moor” (I.i.39), mentioning his “thick-lips” (I.i.66) hinting that he is darker skinned, being from North Africa, which is unaccepted in