Othello is decidedly not a racist work and Othello is a decidedly racist work, though — as contradicting as it seems — not simultaneously. It contains racist material, reactions and perhaps stereotypes of its characters’ creed but the work itself is not racist. The audience’s application of the material is the final step to complete the work and reactions have varied through the years. A modern audience may recognize the racist tones while a 16th century audience may not bat an eye at any of the situations and actions; not out of agreement but ignorance and undeveloped prejudice. Considering both Shakespeare’s play and its source material, the titular character’s own actions and relationships, and the changing view of racism opposed to prejudice, Othello cannot be simply defined as black or white. First consider Othello’s inspiration, Cinthio’s “A Moorish Captain.” Though Shakespeare’s take on Cinthio’s story is not in itself a critique, what he added or subtracted from the material can suggest his intent. Some changes suggest racist motivations while others are neutral. Among the The most significant changes is Iago’s motive and Desdemona’s own doubts and those surrounding her (Coleridge). In Cinthio’s story, Iago’s motivation is his lust for Desdemona. Shakespeare’s turn is less precise, including but not limited to …show more content…
He once describes vengeance as black (Shakespeare 3.3 447) and Desdemona’s pale skin is compared to snow in the final act (Shakespeare 5.2 4). But these do not inherently invoke racism; they’re literary devices Shakespeare uses not as a means of assigning value but as pure description. Othello’s claim that “Haply, for I am black” (Shakespeare 3.3 265) strikes another, more self-aware tone when he doubts Desdemona’s affection, giving reason to believe the societal norms are indeed being tested and tests Onyeka’s claim that Tudor society was without racist
Othello IO Tinatin Kakabadze Period F 9/1/15 Word Count: 1222 “Race” in the context of Elizabethan England Race, in Elizabethan Era, which was from 1485 to 1603 and was known as the Golden Age of England, was usually ignored. People with dark skin were thought of as exotic and bizarre, though they had no rights as they were forced into England despite many protests. Due to the way North/West Africans clothed themselves, many people in Elizabethan England would call them ‘devils’ and other obscene things. Though, they soon grew a few rights and weren't ridiculed as much, but were still thought of as a lower race.
Weekly Response: Othello Throughout Othello Shakespeare is able to pontificate about how it is often found that appearance is more highly valued than character, yet character is far more significant. This concept is epitomized when the Duke says to Brabantio, “And, noble signior / If virtue no delighted beauty lack / Your son-in-law is far more fair than black,” (1.3.284-286).
The tragedy that unfolds in Shakespeare's Othello (1604) is caused by societal prejudice that triggers Othello's inherent naivety and susceptibility to jealousy. The Jacobean era's newfound creative nature influenced Shakespeare to include certain religious ideologies such as The Great Chain of Being. Through consistent racial prejudice directed towards Othello, we witness the belief that those of African descent are low class. Through prejudice, Othello gains a reverence for social status, which manifests into jealousy that allows him to be easily manipulated. The nature of Venetian society made it exceptionally difficult for Othello to gain social status.
Othello: A Close Reading This is an analysis of the lines 260-279 of the third scene of the third act of Shakespeare’s Othello. In an attempt to fulfill the incessant need for comfortable dichotomies, societies tend to be divided into two groups: the ‘in-crowd’ and the ‘others’. These strict dualities, constructed upon the inherent need for adversaries, are often as arbitrary as they are false and based on nothing but fear.
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
The correlation between relationships and experiences are co-existing functions that assist in operating societies. Since ancient times, social classes have existed within all communities and cultures; a sense of belonging is often determined by one’s position in the social hierarchy. Shakespeare’s Othello highlights determinants including race and gender that affect one’s standing in the hierarchy. An excerpt of Act 1, Scene 1 (Lines 110-112) explores this concept when Iago exclaims “Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you’ll have your nephews neigh to you.” Shakespeare cleverly incorporates animalistic imagery to showcase the role that race has in a society
This extent of hostility and aggression coming from several other sources in the play was enough to ruin Othello. Thus, Othello’s downfall was more of a result of his race being that the main underlying motive behind the characters’ efforts to destroy him was racism. It is inadequate to bypass the sociology behind racism, the concept of race, prior to defining what racism actually is. The common understanding of race suggests the division of groups based upon the color of one’s skin, hair, eyes, etc. “Although biologically meaningless when applied to humans – physical differences such as skin color have no natural association with group differences in ability or behavior – race nevertheless has tremendous significance in structuring social reality” (Clair).
When people of one race believe themselves to be superior to those of another, only catastrophe can result. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, racism was extremely prevalent, and white supremacy was much more pronounced. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello. Most characters in Othello display both covert racism and overt racism towards Othello.
In William Shakespeare’s Othello the two main characters are Iago and Othello. The entire story centers around Iago 's plan to achieve revenge on Othello for not promoting him to lieutenant. Throughout the story Iago tries to convince Othello that his wife Desdemona has cheated on him with his lieutenant Cassio. Iago’s plan is successfully and easily executed. Othello is tricked into believing that desdemona has been unfaithful and in the end he kills her.
Othello’s Role in Venetian Society If we take the textbook definition of ethnic groups and apply it to Othello and the Venetian society it is striking that he lacks a lot of features when compared to the “regular” Venetian society: no common background nor history and no shared customs. Therefore, not only his skin color sets him apart, but also his origin from another ethnic group, opening all kinds of
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.
We find both racial attitudes towards Othello even though he is a man that works hard to get what he wants. The racial attitude is only because of the era that they live in, the Elizabethan era in
In the play Othello, William Shakespeare creates an elaborate tragedy with various in depth characters, enhancing the story with powerful characterization. Iago, the main antagonist of Othello, exemplifies Shakespeare’s use of characterization to create in depth and complex characters. Using his manipulative nature, intellectual mind, egotistical attitude, and dishonesty, Iago controls the other characters in order to achieve his goal, leading Othello to succumb to an overwhelming jealousy causing his downfall. In order for Iago to gain control of the characters in the play, he manipulates Othello, Roderigo, Cassio, and more to believe false information and turn on one another.
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.
Comparing Othello to an “old black ram” introduces animalistic imagery, and puts him at a level below humans on the Great Chain of Being. The coming together of an animal and a human would disrupt the chain, and was thought to also disrupt the laws of nature and cause bizarre events to occur. The descriptive word, “black” highlighted that in the Renaissance times, black stood for sin and evilness. Emilia’s views on men are discovered through the metaphor comparing men to “stomachs” and women to “food”. Men “eat us hungrily, and when they are full they belch us”, implies men get rid of women as soon as they have had enough of them, and therefore should not be trusted.