Why Is Othello Called The Moor

William Shakespeare is easily one of history’s greatest contributors to theatre and the English language. His writings are used today to teach students not because of their magnificent use of prose or his ability to write about universal ideas. His writings are used because of his excellent ability to make a reader or viewer think about the deeper meaning behind characters and objects in each piece he created. The play Othello was written using symbols to represent deeper hidden meanings. Othello is often referred to as “the moor” by the other characters throughout the play. While it is a derogatory term for Othello, I believe it has a dual meaning. A moorhen is a common type of bird found throughout Europe typically in marshes and bogs. By calling Othello “the moor” Shakespeare is not just identifying his race, but is calling Othello a bird that is out of place. With Othello being the bird in this story it only makes
Iago also deceives Othello by strategically placing key items and people throughout the play. In this sense Iago is seen as the spider of the play, weaving and crafting lies in an attempt to make all of the other characters do things that they would not normally do. Iago also is capable of getting close enough to Othello to whisper into his ears and manipulate Othello to destroy the very things that he fought so hard to get. By tricking Othello into murdering his wife and getting Cassio drunk Iago moves up the chain of command. Iago realizes that he cannot remove Othello by murdering him as Othello is much too strong and would squash him as he almost did at the beach. But, by creatively deceiving Othello and planting the idea that his wife was unfaithful Iago was able to use Othello’s strong sense of honor and loyalty against to get Othello to commit murder which lead to his removal from a position of