Racism in Shakespeare
Racism in Shakespeare’s Othello
Racism and discrimination against Africans has existed long before the times of anti- miscegenation laws and lynching in the Deep South. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, we can see that racism against those of color existed even in the 17th century. “Shakespeare 's play is the text that will at once unsettle and fill in, substantiate and resolve what the audience suspects it already knows about the essence of blackness as the savage and libidinous Other” (Little 305). Shakespeare wields the prejudice that he knows the audience has come with, by making Othello the victim of Iago’s malicious plan. “The weight of critical tradition… presents a Shakespeare who finds racial and cultural difference insignificant and who assimilates his Moor into the ‘human’ condition” (Berry 316). Shakespeare uses the preconceived notions about “Moors” and turns them into a grand twist in the play. Though it is never explicitly said, the evidence that the protagonist Othello is, in fact, black, is overwhelming. For example, Iago says “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (Shakespeare 2921), referring to Othello and Desdemona’s elopement in both a racist and vulgar way, as well as referring to Othello as a Barbary horse (Shakespeare 2921) which is lowering him to an inhumane level. Another example is when the Duke of Venice tells Brabanzio “And, noble signor, If virtue no delighted beauty lack, your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (Shakespeare 2933). Even Othello himself regards his own blackness “My name, that was as fresh as Dian 's visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face” (Shakespeare 2961). Some might consider these as vague examples, and would much rather interpret Othello’s “blackness” metaphorically or allegorically as the savageness of his character. Shakespeare tends to name his plays after its main character(s), for instance, Hamlet, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,
Racism and discrimination against Africans has existed long before the times of anti- miscegenation laws and lynching in the Deep South. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, we can see that racism against those of color existed even in the 17th century. “Shakespeare 's play is the text that will at once unsettle and fill in, substantiate and resolve what the audience suspects it already knows about the essence of blackness as the savage and libidinous Other” (Little 305). Shakespeare wields the prejudice that he knows the audience has come with, by making Othello the victim of Iago’s malicious plan. “The weight of critical tradition… presents a Shakespeare who finds racial and cultural difference insignificant and who assimilates his Moor into the ‘human’ condition” (Berry 316). Shakespeare uses the preconceived notions about “Moors” and turns them into a grand twist in the play. Though it is never explicitly said, the evidence that the protagonist Othello is, in fact, black, is overwhelming. For example, Iago says “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe” (Shakespeare 2921), referring to Othello and Desdemona’s elopement in both a racist and vulgar way, as well as referring to Othello as a Barbary horse (Shakespeare 2921) which is lowering him to an inhumane level. Another example is when the Duke of Venice tells Brabanzio “And, noble signor, If virtue no delighted beauty lack, your son-in-law is far more fair than black” (Shakespeare 2933). Even Othello himself regards his own blackness “My name, that was as fresh as Dian 's visage, is now begrimed and black as mine own face” (Shakespeare 2961). Some might consider these as vague examples, and would much rather interpret Othello’s “blackness” metaphorically or allegorically as the savageness of his character. Shakespeare tends to name his plays after its main character(s), for instance, Hamlet, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,
Cited: Berry, Edward, Othello 's Alienation, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 Vol. 30, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (Spring, 1990), pp King, Martin Luther “I Have a Dream” August 28, 1963. Orkin, Martin, Othello and the "plain face" Of Racism, Shakespeare Quarterly Vol. 38, No. 2 (Summer, 1987), pp