When reading the play Othello, a modern day reader cannot help but wonder if the play is racist. After all, there are several places found throughout the story that reference derogatory terms towards people of African descent. Comments such as, “Blacker devil”(5.2. 131), “an old black ram” (1.1.9), and, “Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (1.1.7), may leads the reader to believe that story is racist towards black people. However, this may not be true for a number of reasons, one being that these terms are only used out of spite or anger towards Othello. These types of comments aren’t seen too often during the story and are never used because the character generally has a racist view of Othello. Only when these characters are angered is when these racial slurs come about. In addition, Othello was written with the main protagonist to be a black man, and the antagonist to be white people. Therefore, this story can be interpreted in multiple ways with regards to racism.…
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.…
Shakespeare and race, is an article by Jonathan Gil Harris. The article discusses the understanding of race in Shakespeare works. Shakespeare conventions of race dose not infer to skin color, as he never uses the term and refer it to black characters. Aaron the Moor in Titus Andronicus is a great example of that. Moreover, the article states that we assume that we know the meaning of the word race still; it might be slippery and trick us ending up with a different meaning.…
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…
Since back in Shakespeare days, Moors were Arab Muslim or Spaniards that were looked down upon in society. They were treated like how the African American community was 70 years ago. Iago was a white man while Othello was a Moor. But Shakespeare never clearly stated what ethnicity Othello truly was. So the director of the movie had a chance to interpret Othello's ethnicity to where the audience can truly understand the emotions and symbolic meaning between Othello and Iago. So Othello is betrayed as an African American. The audience can really understand Iago's hatred since we know that the African Americans were treated really poorly back in our country. There use to be laws known as Jim Crow laws where blacks and whites were separated. When the African American community was allowed equal rights, many white Americans were upset with the outcome. Many white Americans went on lynching, hunting, and destroying many black communities. This information was than symbolized through Iago's character where we can see he's upset with Othello being able to be the same status or even better than his. We can even see how extremely jealous Iago is when we figure out Othello's military status is two ranks higher than…
Shakespeare writes about an African, Othello, who is called “thick-lips” and “lascivious moor” (I.i.42,76). It is true that Othello is from Africa and could be considered a moor, but he never displays any sort of inappropriate sexual desires. Iago slings these racial epithets (and many others) toward Othello to undermine his personhood and to mock characteristics that are the heart of who Othello is. Iago does more than insult Othello’s appearance, but undermines the history and culture of Othello – his entire life and upbringing. Racial epithets are also used by characters in Heart of Darkness.…
Race is very important in the play. Othello was a moor. In simplest terms he was a man of color. His race is what set him apart from the other characters. Also Othello is the only character of color which automatically set him inside. Being that he is a military general (a position not offered to black men) a lot of the characters don’t like him, and a lot of characters described him negatively because to them he was just a moor. But others respect and admire him because of his accomplishments. Iago was not his biggest fan so of coarse he said things that were not meant to be nice. “Iago: 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 if you arise I say!” (Act 1, Scene 1) Here Iago is upset that a moor is with a white woman. So he tells Desdemona’s father about the relationship. But all throughout what he is saying he is making racial slurs. In response to this Desdemona’s father says “BRABANTIO: She, in spite of nature, Of years, of country, credit, every thing, To fall in love with what she fear'd to look on! It is a judgment maim'd and most imperfect That will confess perfection so could err Against all rules of nature.” (Act 1, Scene 3) which means he feels that Desdemona’s feelings for Othello is wrong. It is unnatural since he is black and she is white. Even Othello himself describes his color as being something bad at one point. “Othello: All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven. 'Tis gone. Arise, black vengeance, from thy hollow cell! (Act 3, Scene 3) Throughout the play there are many comments as to Othello’s race. I personally think the whole play is based around two things his race in comparison to everyone else’s, and his race with Desdemona’s race because he is a “moor” and every one else is not. Well race and jealousy anyway but race is what stands out more.…
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’…
Iago uses the Elizabethan views and stereotypes to manipulate Othello to do his bidding. Iago assumes that Othello is insecure due to his ethnic heritage, and uses this to his advantage. Iago himself is influenced by the context--the Elizabethan society. While Iago is correct of Othello’s insecurity, it is because of the attitudes towards Blackamoors during the Elizabethan era that Othello was insecure itself. There is evidence that there were a considerable number of black people in England in the late 16th Century. But in 1601, Elizabeth I gave orders to deport them, citing concerns about their irregular behaviour and a fear that allowing them to stay in England would lead to overpopulation.…
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…
Before the play even starts we already have a sense of how race and place have a paramount importance in the play simple from the title ‘Othello: The Moor of Venice’. This illustrates the fact that Othello is defined by race by being ‘the Moor’ and being in the place ‘Venice’, and how this will affect the outcome of the play. This impression from Iago and Roderigo’s whom we meet at the very beginning of the play by their racist descriptions of him. Iago’s vulgar imagery of Othello the ‘black ram’ ‘tupping’ Desdemona the ‘white ewe’ is an example of this, and it plays on the well-established connotations of good and evil through colour. This is a dramatised example how ‘white society’ (in the case Roderigo and Iago) uses Othello’s skin colour to pervert a situation, and so making him feel like an outsider.…
In the 16th century, i.e. the people of the Elizabethan age strongly gave importance to race. William Shakespeare usually applied the issues of race and racism in his plays in order to arouse the interest and satisfy the Elizabethan audience.…
Ethnic minorities in high positions of leadership are becoming the highest growing and highest earning individuals in business. Their growth is attributed to their success in running and operating their businesses with solid leadership. These ethnic minorities often rank higher in many leadership measures over non-minorities. In the play Othello, Othello succeeds as a general thanks to his contacts and performance in his position. He makes himself a great example when he leads his crew through a rough storm and persevering against the Turkish fleet. However, racism is prominent in the workplace and in the play. In the workplace, blatant discrimination and racial remarks are well known by those minorities especially in a majority-driven business. In Othello, Iago’s psychopathy and stigma against Othello are more reactive than spoken attempting to get his reputation ruined and his job lost. Although Shakespeare misrepresents minorities in high positions in that those minorities are successful and well-liked by subordinates, he accurately depicts minorities in high positions today in the play Othello because racism continues to exist in the workplace and Othello is found to be an overall effective leader.…
Hatred is one of the strongest, most passionate feeling a person can have. It consumes a person and takes over their life. When someone hates, their thoughts and actions are taken over by a want to destroy the object of their hate. People will commit unfathomable actions strictly because of hatred. In many cases, people are willing to trade their freedom just to spite someone they hate. So what is the driving force that fuels the hatred in our world? To answer this question, we must define what hatred is.…
• 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.…