Shakespeare’s Condemnation of Prejudice in Othello
American history is a cornucopia of racial tension, beginning with the slave trade and spanning the centuries to the Ku Klux Klan and to the days of Martin Luther King. There is evidence that racial prejudice was just as prevalent in sixteenth century England as in modern day America. Othello can be seen as Shakespeare’s condemnation of racial prejudice.
The character of Iago uses racial stereotypes both to disparage Othello and to plant the seeds of jealousy in him. Iago calls to Brabantio "an old black ram / is tupping your white ewe." (I,i,96-7) He uses this image to enrage the old man and to denigrate Othello. Later in the scene, Iago refers to Othello as a "Barbary horse," indicating his North African heritage and at the same time conveying a sense of inferiority. (I,i,124) He continues this insulting metaphor by referring to Othello and Desdemona’s future progeny as "gennets," a term for Spanish horses. (I,i,126) This opening scene sets the stage for not only Iago’s hatred of Othello, but for his prejudice against him. In his consolation of Roderigo, Iago calls Othello "an / erring barbarian" whom Desdemona will leave when she is tired of him. (I,iii,377-8) Again to Roderigo, Iago queries "what delight shall" Desdemona "have to look upon the devil?" (II,i,258) While drinking with the men of the watch in Cyprus, Iago raises a toast "to the health of black Othello." (II,iii,30) These remarks eventually are turned on Othello himself as Iago suggests that Desdemona would not love a Moor. Iago claims that all Venetian women are prone to infidelity in his speech:
I know our country disposition well:
In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks
They dare n...
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...I,iii,507) Before he kills Desdemona, he notes how white her skin is, describing it as "that whiter skin of hers than snow / and smooth as monumental alabaster." (V,ii,4-5) Othello, we know, has been driven to kill Desdemona by his jealousy. However, it is clear that his jealousy is inspired by the racial prejudice that is prevalent throughout the play.
By analyzing this play, we can come to understand the dangers of racial injustice. If I may take the liberty of paraphrasing: "O beware, my lord, of racial prejudice! It is the green-eyes monster, which doth damage the society it thrives in." In the character of Iago, Shakespeare demonstrates the dangers of holding racial prejudices. Othello is the victim of the pervasive social stereotypes which lead to his downfall. This play should serve as a warning of the horrid plague of racism which festers in our society.
AH-CHO!!! The patient finally sneezed us out of her nose! That was a very enjoyable journey. It was so fascinating going inside the human body and getting an up close look at the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. It is just amazing on how all this is going on inside our body and we do not even notice it is happening. It is also fascinating on how the body automatically knows what to do when there is an infection of some sort going on. Now it you will excuse me, I am going to go take a shower. Something about coming out of a human’s nose that makes me feel icky.
Segregation kept musicians from playing songs together, but in West Memphis there was places were blacks and whites could listen together. Due to many clubs opened late at night there was many choices for Memphians to choose from. An example is Willie Mitchell who collaborated with other artists and for several years while his band enjoyed the residency of Danny’s Club in West Memphis. Memphis and the mid-south have played a dominant role in shaping American music thanks to the creativity of some regional artists and the major impact they have caused. (Bowman)
Most women with gestational diabetes return to normal glucose tolerance postpartum, however, they are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes in any additional pregnancies and for getting type 2 diabetes later in life. Lifestyle modifications aimed at reducing or preventing weight gain and increasing physical activity after pregnancy is recommended and can reduce the risk of subsequent diabetes.
Throughout Shakespeare's "Othello", one of the most poignant themes is that of race and racial prejudice. Various critics are of the view that "Othello" was written as a social commentary, depicting the discrimination present in formal Venetian society. These ideas of racial prejudice are portrayed through Othello, the protagonist, who is referred to as "the Moor", an African or a black man.
Races were viewed differently during the past, specifically the Elizabethan era. It was unexpected for the readers when they discovered the race of Othello. The protagonist, or the “good guy”, was usually portrayed as a light-skinned character in literature works. However, the main character in the play Othello was a black army general who is powerful and well respected by other characters. The critic G.K. Hunter looked further into the race of Othello and discovered the difference of races during the Elizabethans, “Hunter reviews the notions Elizabethans held about foreigners in general and blacks in particular, finding that there existed a widespread association of blacks with sin, wickednes...
Kansas City was founded in 1838 at the meeting of the Missouri and Kansas rivers and was incorporated in its present form in 1853. Kansas City, Kansas, is the location of several important battles during the Civil War. The city is well known for its diverse offerings to the musical styles of jazz and blues as well as to its two most noted cuisine, Kansas City strip steak and Kansas City-style barbecue.
Throughout human history, the topic of theology has been a central aspect of everyday life. A common denominator of all modern-day religions is that they provide a set of rules which one is to follow in order to live as a good, moral being. When a deity (or a group of deities) commands followers to abide by specific moral standards though a vehicle such as prophets, religious texts or otherwise, this is called Divine Command Theory (DCT). Those who accept this theory believe that moral action coincides with what has been ordered by the deities, and immoral action would occur when one deviates from these orders. Despite this theory remaining relevant into the twenty-first century, it has still yet to solve one age-old dilemma. The Euthyphro Argument has stumped philosophers for years, but some Divine Command theorists believe they can overcome the massive obstacles it presents. In this paper, I will argue that it is impossible for one to resolve the Euthyphro Argument no matter how it is approached, and that the challenges it presents to DCT are insurmountable. To begin, I will first introduce the Euthyphro Argument and its two horns. Following this, I will summarize the best response a Divine Command theorist could possibly hold for the first horn of the Euthyphro Argument, and subsequently render it untrue. I will then repeat this process for the second horn of the dilemma. Once both of the original claims have proven to be unshakable, I will address the common attempt by Divine Command theorists to work around the issue by claiming it is not in fact a dilemma at all.
An aspect of reading Othello that cannot be overlooked is the issue of race in the play. Attitudes towards race in Elizabethan England were negative. If we look at representations of different races in theatre of the period, we find that there are many negative connotations through the language that arise. The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice says “Mislike me not for my complexion.” (The Merchant of Venice.) This foreshadows some of the language of Othello. This however is quite soft language when we consider how Elizabethan theatre represented other races as being violent and bloodthirsty. In this we have, “In the night-time secretly would I steal to travellers’ chambers, and there cut their throats.” (The Jew of Malta.) This was said by the Turkish character in Marlowe’s, “The Jew of Malta.” Furthermore in, The Battle of Alcazar we have, “Dammed let him be, dammed and condemned to bear. All torments, tortures, plagues and pains of hell.” So as you can see through out Elizabethan theatre this villainous image of black men, and blackness in general was prevalent. In this period in London it wasn’t necessarily a common place for blacks but there were defiantly African Americans living in London. They appear in England in the late 16th century, and it was not entirely uncommon for people of wealth to have black musicians, servants, and even Queen Elizabeth had black musicians in her service. However, in 1596 she tried to have them all expelled. What historians have found is that there were hardly any really expelled, because people who had black servants in their household, refuse to give them up because there was no compensation. According to Imtiaz Habib, Shakespeare would have definitely ...
Macbeth is so paranoid that he has Macduff’s family slaughtered. Macduff is not there to protect his family, when the murderers arrive at his home because he ran away to England. When the murderers arrive and announce that Macduff is a traitor for leaving Scotland, Macduff’s son denies all accusations. When one of the murderers hears this, he kills Macduff’s son by stabbing him. The murderer then runs after Lady Macduff. This tragic message reaches Macduff while he is in England. While in England Malcolm and Macduff plan to take the kingdom back and kill Macbeth. The assassination of his family pushes Macduff more into killing Macbeth. Later in the play Macduff succeeds in killing Macbeth. I think this act suggests that all of the evil that evildoers do, will soon catch up with them or come back to haunt them in the end, such as it did for Macbeth.
Othello does not want to harm or stain Desdemona’s skin, instead he wants to preserve it as it is, white. Overall, Shakespeare use of race causes paranoia in Othello, which eventually led to the murder of Desdemona. Race still impacts today’s society, and is still as much of problem now as it was then. Thousands of gangs, which divide themselves by race, kill each other mercilessly.
Othello, from the onset, is shown to us a play of love and jealousy. There is however more to this play than just love and jealousy; there is underlying racism, hate, deception, pride, and even sexism between these pages. Othello is a transcendent play, one that will survive the perils of time simply because it is still relevant. Even today, over 400 years later, there are still issues of racism and sexism. Hate is as natural as love in humans and Othello gets right to the root of that. We witness this from the very first scene, “…you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse/ you’ll have your nephews neigh to you” (I.i.112-14); to the very last, “Moor she was chaste. She loved thee, cruel Moor” (V.ii.258). Moor however is used as an insult all throughout the play; not so much the word itself but the feel of the word. Between these pages we see many different ways as to how the cultural differences between Othello and the other characters.
Because of racism, Othello becomes much more vulnerable to manipulation and is easily tricked by Iago. Racism assures that Othello will remain isolated from his peers while Iago tinkers with his mind by separating him from his white peers and making him the outsider. Although Othello is not solely the tragedy of racism, it truly could not be a tragedy without the negative pressures of racism. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. The.
In addition to the potential dangers of accidents in generating stations, nuclear waste is a continuing problem that is growing exponentially. Nuclear waste can remain radioactive for about 600 years and disposing these wastes or storing them is an immense problem. Everyone wants the energy generated by power plants, but no one wants to take responsibility for the waste. Thus far, it is stored deep in the earth, but these storage areas are potentially dangerous and will eventually run out. Some have suggested sending the waste into space, but no one is sure of the repercussions.
In the Sixteenth century, as we see clearly from Othello and other works of both Shakespeare and Cinthio's original version of Othello, race was a topic of great debate and discussion. Today, in the twenty-first century the debate retains its controversy and passion. However, attitudes towards race have taken a dramatic turn during the last century. In the developed world people are now living in an increasingly cosmopolitan society would undoubtedly be more tolerant and would reject or even be offended by racial discrimination to any person or sections of the community. Openly 'racist' people today are seen as outcasts. Taking this into account, the way a modern audience would react to race and racism in Othello is dependent upon the way in which that modern audience would interpret 'Othello'. This prompts the questions of what sort of message Shakespeare wanted to send to his audience and was Othello the moor portrayed as a tragic hero or did his character eventually come to resemble the prejudices of which he was a victim. Shakespeare also discusses the issue of race with other characters such as the hateful Iago and the prejudices hidden deep in Barbantio.
In the tragedy Othello, Shakespeare creates a mood that challenges the way a person sees his or her self and the world. Subjects like racism, sexism, love, hate, jealously, pride, and trickery are thoroughly developed in the play of Othello to enable the audience to view the characters and also themselves. The Shakespearean tragedy of Othello was written in a time of great racial tensions in England. According to Eldred Jones, in 1600 just three years before Othello was written, Queen Elizabeth proclaimed an Edict for the Transportation of all "negars and blackmoores" out of the country ("Othello- An Interpretation" Critical Essays 39). It is in this atmosphere that Shakespeare began the masterpiece of Othello, a drama about a noble black Arab general, Othello, who falls in love with and marries, Desdemona, a young white daughter of a senator. From the above knowledge one may conclude that Shakespeare wrote Othello to express that all people, of all ethnicity, are basically the same in human nature. Shakespeare borrowed the idea of Othello from an Italian love story by Giraldi Cinthio. However, Shakespeare focuses more on the differences in color and age between Othello and Desdemona than Cinthio. Shakespeare does this to escalate Othello’s isolation from the rest of Venetian society and to display Othello’s vulnerability due to his color. In the tragedy not only is Othello susceptible to weaknesses but so is every major character . The tragedy reminds humans that even one’s good nature can be taken advantage of for the worse. The drama Othello expresses, through relationships and emotional attitudes, a theme that all humans are vulnerable to destruction even if they are in positions of power and glory.