Preview

Racism And Patriarchalism In Othello By Andrew Davies

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
135 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racism And Patriarchalism In Othello By Andrew Davies
THESIS:
The central issues of racism and patriarchalism in William Shakespeare’s play Othello are consistently portrayed in Andrew Davies’s contemporary film appropriation of Othello, however are greatly contrasted through the influential changes in society. In order to remain relevant to the developing values of audiences, both Shakespeare and Davies successfully explore these main themes through the representation of relationships and the malicious attributes of some characters.

PARAGRAPH 1: Racism
Racism is a constant issue portrayed by characters in both Shakespeare and Davies’ adaptations of Othello, that has reconditioned due to the influence of changing values in society.

PARAGRAPH 2: Patriarchal values
Although both adaptations of
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Valanesha Washington's Shooting Report
    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Valanesha Washington's Shooting Report

    New year’s day 2015, Valanesha Washington was sitting in her bedroom not knowing that will be the last place she be seen alive, was killed in a drive by shooting in her own home. She was taken to OU medical center where she later died she was only 19 years old. Two days’ later police got a tip on the shooting, 18-year-old Daryan Jones was responsible for the shooting that cause Valanesha’s death. Daryan Jones was charged with first degree murder and can serve up to 20 years to life in prison. In the past year rapes and murders has reached its high while other crimes have decreased, people of Oklahoma City fear for their life knowing that they can be the next victims.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Power, Race and Women in Othello by Shakespear and Sax
    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Power, Race and Women in Othello by Shakespear and Sax

    • A fear of foreigners during Elizabethan times fostered misogynistic and racist values, which is evident in the way Othello’s blackness becomes a symbol of alienation to which all characters in the play must respond.…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing The Organizational Structures Of Apple And The NHS
    • 3222 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Comparing The Organizational Structures Of Apple And The NHS

    I am writing this report for organisational structures which are different structures based on different categories in the business. For example a business like Volkswagen base their structure around the products as the products needs the most attention and all departments have to be involved in the production of the vehicles.…

    • 3222 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Elizabethan Attitudes to Women, Race and Transgression in Othello
    • 1113 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Elizabethan Attitudes to Women, Race and Transgression in Othello

    Throughout Shakespeare’s Othello, the concepts of race, gender and transgression are continually explored and employed to reflect the characteristics of Elizabethan values and attitudes expressed in Elizabethan society, through rejection and acceptance of gender and racial stereotypes in the first three scenes of Act One - the pinnacle of this being the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. Shakespeare forces the audience to challenge these stereotypes by portraying the African Moor, Othello, with a high level of status, authority and power within the military, and challenging the social conventions of the Elizabethan era by creating a marital union between two people of different races. By doing this, Shakespeare confronts the norms and values of society through use of Elizabethan attitudes, scrutinizing what it considered to be normal and acceptable within society and the reasons for this.…

    • 1113 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Contemporaneity In William Shakespeare's Othello
    • 3051 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Contemporaneity In William Shakespeare's Othello

    And in Lionel’s and Virginia Tiger’s words, “So are the times the respective plays are about, and so are the issues these times generate.”In An Othello the artfulness of Othello’s supporting characters is lost - “all the various psychologically elegant gestures of the Cassios, Iagos, Roderigos” These subtleties are burned away by the heat and their absence taunts us. “What remains striking is the muscular contemporaneity of Shakespeare’s ideas about Moors, about fathers of white girls, about rich fathers, about the feckless passions of the socially…

    • 3051 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Othello Story Racist?
    • 1774 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Othello Story Racist?

    "Racism in Othello." Racism in Shakespeare 's World. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .…

    • 1774 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Othello - Textual Integrity
    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Othello - Textual Integrity

    Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello has the ability throughout time to relate to the intrinsic nature of the human condition. Exposing the vulnerability of humanity, Shakespeare confronts the universal concerns such as racism and discrimination, which have a sense of timelessness still present from the Elizabethan age to the modern day. Potentially leading an eternal life, the play Othello is able to be interpreted by each individual differently through the complex language and understanding which ensures its validity in different contexts in society. These diverse interpretations include my own which has further formed an insight on the concern of human emotion such as jealousy and love, when logical reasoning is overpowered by these sporadic emotional inclinations. The collapse of Othello from a stable and rational hero, to a man driven insane by passion is a prime example of this, also framing the power of society on an individual choices and development as a character.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jealousy And Racism In William Shakespeare's Othello
    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jealousy And Racism In William Shakespeare's Othello

    The works of Shakespeare are so significant as the effect of racism, a key concept, which is relevant to both Shakespearean and contemporary audiences, is portrayed through a racial epithet spoken by Roderigo in Act 1 Scene 1 “Your fair daughter, transported, to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor”. The derogatory language describes Othello as impure, allowing the audience to understand the typical…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Andrew Davis Othello
    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Andrew Davis Othello

    Davies is able to expand on Shakespeare’s themes such as racism in the scene where Othello addresses the angry mob outside the police headquarters. In this scene, Davies uses short sharp editing to create a sense of chaos and foreshadowing. He expands on Shakespeare’s theme of racism by using an angry mob to highlight the need to change racial prejudice within society. In Davies film, we see that there is a need to get rid of racism, whereas in the play, racism is an accepted aspect of society. Davies illustrates the changes in society overtime. Davies expands the knowledge of the contemporary audience on the hidden messages on…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Life Support Ethical Issues
    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Life Support Ethical Issues

    Legal/Ethical issue 1 Life support, a 72 year old woman, was admitted to the Neurological Intensive Care Unit following a cerebral hemorrhage that left her with severe brain damage and ventilator.1 The husband disregarded the patients’ rights by refusing to abide by his wife’s wishes as stated in her living will The patient’s living will specified that she did not want to be on a ventilator support or other artificial life support in the event of a permanent unconscious condition or terminal condition.1 The doctors told the husband, who is the next of kin and surrogate decision-making authority, that his wife had suffered, “A cerebral hemorrhage that left her with severe brain damage and ventilator dependent”1. This represents a legal/ethical issue because the husband is not acting in the wife’s best interest and honoring her living will. His plan is to keep her on life support because he does not consider her situation as imminently terminal. The living will is a valid document. This…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Discrimination In Othello
    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page

    Theme Of Discrimination In Othello

    Ideas of discrimination and racism have also been reflected within the play through the characterisation of Othello. Described as having “thick lips” and a darker skin tone, the protagonist experiences a sense of isolation from society due to his evident difference in physical appearance.. By demonstrating ideas of separation in the play, the reader is poised to read it as a text that incorporates strong ideas of discrimination, both evident during Shakespeare’s time and our current society. This discriminating prejudice leads to the deterioration of Othello’s confidence, where he states ‘for I am black’and ‘unworthy of love’. Ideas of discrimination and racism becomes particularly apparent when Iago constantly addresses Othello as ‘The Moor’…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Enduring Value - Othello
    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Enduring Value - Othello

    Shakespeare’s masterpiece Othello has remained relevant beyond its original context not merely because of its universal themes of love and betrayal, but rather, due to its textual integrity, and the enduring value which is enhanced through the exploration of such issues, as marginalisation and the psychology of villainy. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Othello as being an outsider, and being “othered” by the Venetian society due to his different race, reflects traditional Elizabethan values and ethics regarding racial prejudice and inequality. These recurring issues, of social intolerance and racial bias are prevalent concerns in our modern society. Shakespeare’s expresses the nature of villainy through his antagonist, Iago, as he explores issues of betrayal and deceit. These issues, revolving around Othello’s passion, struggle and vulnerability, as an outsider, are representative of the human condition, hence making it pivotal, of why “Othello” has remained relevant in a different context.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Racism in Othello by Shakespear
    • 1166 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Racism in Othello by Shakespear

    Othello in Shakespeare's play is a black moor from North Africa surrounded by the white society of Venice. Many critics argue against racism in Othello although they believe it has got a racist theme. I think there are quite lots of proofs in the play which show that theme of racism is dominant and the problem of race should not be ignored. First, I will have a brief look at the meaning of black in the English society and the existence of racism in the 16th century and also where the character of Othello emerges from. Then I will refer to the attitudes of other characters towards Othello to conclude racism has been emphasized in the play.…

    • 1166 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Racism In Othello
    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Racism In Othello

    The main focus of the visual essay is on the issue of race in Othello by William Shakespeare. The visual essay highlights the struggles Othello has to face in the play because of his race and nationality. The essay includes visuals about the use of vivid animal imagery to express the racial hatred towards Othello, for example, Iago refers to Othello as a “Barbary horse” when reporting to Brabanito about his daughter’s relationship and says “You’ll have your nephews neigh to you”. This animal imagery of the horse is included in the essay to demonstrate the hatred towards Othello in the play because of his race. Similarly, Othello is subject to racial discrimination again when Brabanito accuses that Othello used “spells and medicines” (1.3.68) to seduce Desdemona because “Sans witchcraft could not ... fall in love with what she feared to look on?” (1.3.67-101). This is included in the visual essay through the use of the…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    changing perspectives on Othello
    • 1130 Words
    • 3 Pages

    changing perspectives on Othello

    My interest in Othello is drawn to the way that race and colour is presented. Shakespeare was revolutionary in his casting of a black man to be the tragic hero and a white man to be the villain. In Jacobean society and even in many societies tody, the audience would of expected to see a black man as the felon. The setting in Cyprus is dramatically significant as it is isolated in the wild frontiers of war. Away from the structured society of Venice social norms and hierarchy are not relevant allowing Shakespeare to place a Moor in a position of authority. This daring theme of a black man in power has remained controversial ever since and it wasn’t until 1833 that a black man actually played the part. The issue of mixed race relationships was especially an issue in segregated America up until the twentieth century with Othello being played with blackface till 1940. The unnatural war setting also enables Iago’s passion to be unmasked,…

    • 1130 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics