The early modern definition of race very much differs from the current usage and definition of race today, according to Margo Hendricks, “the word race referred not to the linking of character with physical appearance, but to family and lineage” in addition to cultural customs. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello is esteemed for his military power; he is welcomed by Barbantio, and invited into his homes to tell of his adventures. Yet, in many instances the fact that he is a moor takes precedence over any military prowess he may possess. As a general in the Venetian Army, it is expected that utmost respect be shown at all times, yet this is not the case for Othello. Regardless of his acclaimed position of general in the Venetian military, the prejudices held by Iago and Barbantio outweigh his credentials as a civilized human being. His ally Barbantio questions his methods of getting Desdemona to marry him, and concludes that it had to be of some sort of Moorish witch craft or drug. Othello is also disrespected by Iago, a trusted confidant; his very essence is degraded and compared to that of a wild animal while Desdemona is seen as a pure white lamb, whom Othello has corrupted. Iago purposely uses the preconceived notions about Moors to convince others that his culture represents chaos, sexual immorality, and corruption. Iago also preys on Othello's jealousy to twist Othello’s emotions and convince him that Desdemona has been unfaithful.
In the Shakespeare’s play Othello, Othello is recognized as a moor and according to the Oxford dictionary the term moor, is defined as, “a native or inhabitant of ancient Mauretania, a region of North Africa corresponding to parts of present-day Morocco and Algeria. Later usually: a member of a Mu...
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...ituation Iago is finding ways to twist the innocent actions of Desdemona and Cassio to make it seem as if they are flirting and carrying on this affair for almost everyone to see. Enraged and eventually consumed by his emotions Othello’s takes Desdemona’s life due to the manipulation of this so called friend and confidant. A ‘friend and confidant’ who has been to battle with Othello and fought side by side, yet Iago is the one who ultimately uses and betrays Othello.
Therefore, Othello status as an esteemed general, does not overshadow his status as a moor. If anything his status as a moor in most cases overshadows the fact that he is a general, and that he is a civil human being. Unlike the portrayal that the Elizabethan had of moors, Othello was not uncivilized and he was not ruled by lust, chaos and corruption.
Othello had a public perception of being a military man, and a courageous leader. “Valiant
He writes the speech of almost all that show the Moors in a negative aspect. If it was not for the racism Shakespeare wrote towards them, the Moors might not have committed their violent acts. In Othello, the audience is introduced to a fantastic general who has just won a major battle and has received a commission to fight the Turks in Cyprus (Othello,1.2). Normally, a general of that many accolades would be highly regarded and would have the pick of any woman in Venice as his bride. However he is a Moor. This has society look down upon him and view him as brilliant, but inferior. Othello is referred to as “Barbary horse”, “lascivious Moor”, and “foul thief”. (Othello, 1.1.125/141, 1.2.80) What makes the description of these words so appalling is that they are uttered by Barabantio, who welcomed him like a son, and Iago, one of Othello’s most trusted advisors. Shakespeare allows these two characters to verbally tarnish the reputation of Othello so that by the time Desdemona is murdered, Othello is seen as a
Yet, again, Iago refers to Othello’s race as if it were a deciding factor in his actions. His statement leads to the question: Would Iago feel any more loyal to Othello if he were of a different complexion? Would Othello have the same problems if he were white? And ultimately, why would Othello so undisputedly believe the lies that he was told? In the article, “Othello’s Alienation,” Berry explains that Othello’s race is “not only a mark of his physical alienation but a symbol, to which every character in the play, himself included, must respond” (Berry 319).
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.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice" The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stanley Wells & |Gary Taylor. New York/London, W.W. Norton Company,1997. 2100-2174
Have you ever thought about how much Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life? Othello struggled a lot during the play because of his dark skin color. He was called several racist names like “the Moor,” “old black ram,” “Barbary horse,” and “thick lips” (Shakespeare 1.1.40; 1.1.88; 1.1.111; 1.1.66).The term “racism” has been around for several years; it started in the twentieth century (Bartels 433). By the way the Elizabethan era viewed black people was similar to how racism is today with all of the racial comments, and stereotypes. Being a black person in a mostly white ethnicity area at that time had to be challenging based on Othello’s experience. Othello was the black sheep crowded around a herd of white sheep, he was an outcast. Racist comments were made by many of the characters like Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo, and Emilia. If there was an award for most used racial comment towards Othello, Iago would win. Racism in Othello had a tremendous impact on Othello. He was judged by the color of his skin and not his personality. Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life by ruining his marriage with Desdemona, alienating him from everybody in Venice, and by making him an easy target to be manipulated by Iago.
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.
However, Othello is an exception for he is a well-respected general by his white leaders. Subsequently, when he marries Desdemona a young white girl everything changes. From here on the racism of the 17th century takes place. The language chosen to describe Othello shows that other races are treated differently in Venice. The use of animal imagery differentiates the characters from one another.
He is often the victim of direct insults towards his race, as well as the perception held by others that he as a person is no more than his skin color. An example of this when Roderigo refers to him as “thick-lips,” a trait of his race, rather than his personal identity (I, i, 66). Iago, the story’s villain, is particularly guilty of reducing Othello to this single trait in his animal depictions, referring to him as a “black ram” (I, i, 88) and a “barbary horse” (I, i, 110) in an attempt to emphasize the primitive nature of his kind. There is continued racism targeted at Othello in the form of the rejection of interracial marriage. When Othello marries Desdemona, the noble, white daughter of senator Brabantio, Brabantio accuses him of witchcraft with no basis other than the belief that under normal circumstances, his white daughter would have no reason to love a black man. Iago emphasizes this disgust, claiming that Othello is “tupping” Brabantio’s “white ewe” (I, i, 89). Through these established racist views, we are able to infer that Othello’s race strengthens the negative opinions some other characters have of him. Roderigo dislikes Othello more intensely for marrying Desdemona
Bartels, Emily C. “Making more of the Moor: Aaron, Othello, and Renaissance Refashionings of Race.” Shakespeare Quarterly 41.4 (1990): 433-54. JSTOR. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Othello: The Moor of Venice is probably Shakespeare's most controversial play. Throughout this work, there is a clear theme of racism, a racism that has become commonplace in Venetian society which rejects the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as anathema. The text expresses racism throughout the play within the language transaction of the dialogue to question the societal ethos established by Othello, thereby making him nothing less than a cultural "other." Furthermore, the character of Desdemona is displayed as mad, or out of her wits, for marrying such an "other," and the audience sees her slip from an angelic state of purity to that of a tainted character. Also, the menacing Iago, a mastermind of deviant rhetoric, is able to play Othello and Desdemona against one another until their marriage fails, while at the same time destroying his adversary and friend, Cassio. Thus Iago has a specific agenda, not only to get back at Othello for choosing Cassio instead of him, but also to make Cassio the victim of his plan to destroy the forbidden marriage referred to by Brabantio as a "treason of the blood" (1.2.166-167). Essentially, Iago is a representative of the white race, a pre-Nazi figure who tries to inform the public of the impurity of Othello and Desdemona's marriage. He demonstrates how this miscegenation is threatening to the existing social order. Thus, through analysis of racism, the play represents the hatred possessed by mankind -- a hate so strong that society sees the mixing with an "other" to be a curse to humanity and a terrible threat to Aryan culture.
To the people of Venice, Othello is nothing more than a Moor; in fact, Othello’s name is not used at all in the first scene of the play. They instead call him, “thick-lips” (I.i.66), “barbary horse (I.i.111), and “lascivious Moor” (I.i.126). Othello is nothing more than the color of his skin, he is an animal. However, when we meet Othello we see
Despite the great variety of shows and productions across the globe, racial inauthenticity continues to be a common phenomenon in theatre, musical theatre and classical music, as it is part of a long-withstanding system of stereotyping and typecasting. This essay aims to briefly unpack the historical relationship between race and performance, to illustrate how such cases of questionable casting have occurred in recent productions, and to examine how our current sociopolitical circumstances directly affect casting decisions in the western world. In the nineteenth century, minstrel shows emerged as a popular source of entertainment in North America. For these performances, the white male performers would cover their faces in burnt cork or paint,
Everyone in the world is born with a blank slate, not knowing anything about the world, or about yourself. How can the act of one person effect their entire culture as a whole? Where suddenly a Tourist who is Muslim turns all Muslims into terrorists. In the play Disgraced By Ayad Akhtar there is a strong view of how Americans privately hold onto their tribal identity. This is shown in the character Amir who is a South Asian Muslin, but over the years parted ways and became critical of Islam. He hides behind a Hindu name and identity to avoid the attention from his Muslim-ness but still manages to hold onto a piece of his tribal identity through his nephew, Abe. Similarly in the the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, there is a strong relationship
Firstly, Othello’s race and the racism around him ruined his marriage with Desdemona. Othello and Desdemona was a good couple, but you know what they say, all good things must come to an end. Almost everybody had a problem with their relationship. In that time, interracial relationships and marriage wasn’t allowed. While Brabantio was sleeping, Iago and Roderigo woke him up out of his sleep saying that Othello was having sex with his daughter Desdemona at that very moment. Brabantio didn’t believe them at first, but when he found out that they were telling the truth and his white daughter was with “the Moor” Othello, he didn’t take it lightly. He couldn’t believe that she would want to be with someone like Othello. He said that Othello must’ve used some type of magic to get Desdemona to fall in love with him. At that time it had to be a miracle for a black person to be with a white person, it was unheard of. Then he started calling Othello a Moor to his face and orders his guards to get him.