Othello Vs Cinthio

Othello, a tragedy of faith by William Shakespeare was written in 1603. Othello was first performed by the King’s Men at the court of King James I on November 1, 1604. Othello is set against the backdrop of the wars between Venice and Turkey that raged in the latter part of the sixteenth century. The play is loosely based on a novella titled Capitano Moro by Cinthio. The play is driven by the themes of inherent racism, jealously, love and presumed betrayal. The only thing which Shakespeare has not changed from Cinthio’s original narrative is its plot. Othello of Othello is more refined and civilized when contrasted to Cinthio’s hero. In the words of G.K.Hunter “he [Shakespeare] made tragic hero out of Cinthio’s passionate and bloody love”.
The coming of Christianity solidified this viewpoint. In Middle ages pictorial representation of Christ’s tormentors, the tormentors are often painted with black color .Christian theology accepted the notion of white as saved souls and black as damned souls. This is also supported by Christian theological interpretation of Noah’s curse in The Bible. Noah's curse against Ham, in Genesis 9:25, is a curse against his son's lineage, by saying, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” By using the expression “servant of servants”, otherwise translated “slave of slaves”, this grammatical construction emphasizes the extreme degree of servitude that Canaans will undergo in relation to their "brothers". Ham was ruler of Africa and his brothers Shem and Japhet ruled Asia and Europe respectively. Blacks and Moors were therefore considered descendants of Ham, damned for eternal servitude and hence were a savage race. Hunter calls this theological reading “Gods providence at lunatic
Charles Lamb calls it “the perfect triumph of virtue, over accidents, of imagination over sense”. On the other hand Brabantio calls the marriage ”judge maimed and most imperfect”, on accounts of transgression of “all rules of nature”, resulting in “treason of blood”. His plea that this unusual marriage hence unnatural is imperfect ,is rejected by the Duke himself, for it is not hard for him to imagine his own daughter falling for Othello. And as Samuel Johnson notes in his notes on Othello ”It is no wonder that in any age or in any nation a lady –recluse, timorous and delicate should desire to hear of events of scenes which she could never see and admire the man who endured dangers and performed actions which however great were yet magnified by her timidity”. Her love for the dangers “I had passed” can be seen a desire for “forbidden pleasures”. Thus validating Othello’s self-image.She achieves vicarious sense of fulfillment through this marriage; undoubtedly Desdemona prizes the “virtue and valiant part” of