Military Heroes In Othello

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Since the time and place of the the play which is set in Venice, a city known to have a strong military and contract large numbers of professional foreign soldiers, it wouldn 't be a surprise for a moor like young othello to be one of them, Othello or what most people call him “the moor” is respected for his military prowess. However, because Elizabethans viewed outsiders different from themselves with fear and horror, Othello is disparaged for being a moor. When Othello was written, Venice was known for its military power and for military leaders to be leaders of the city as well; because of this, Othello’s military position makes him a well respected leader in the play. Venice was “so successful at preventing invasion or outside control (Geography of Othello)” because the city “ was known to contract large number of mercenaries (Geography of Othello)” like Othello. Othello’s skill at being a soldier and his background as a mercenary leads him to becoming a general for the Venice military and a greatly admired leader of the city. In the play, when Othello and Brabantio ran into the Duke’s chamber, the Duke ecstatically told Othello,"Valiant Othello, we must straight employ you against the general enemy Ottoman (I.iii 50-51)," showing how much the Duke appreciates Othello’s bravery to send him on another mission. Also, the Duke gave Othello the job to defend Cyprus from the turkish fleet because he felt like Othello was the right person for that job. For this, the Duke

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