Racial Prejudice In Othello

It would be wrong to regard Othello as if the play was written after several centuries of imperialistic relations with Africa. In Shakespeare's time, racial prejudice could not be an urgent problem in the modern sense, that is, the problem of economic, political and sexual rivalry that arose in a society based on competition, as a vestige of slavery, and complicated by the movement for African independence. However, the Elizabethans probably had the most direct contacts with the Moors. Trade with North Africa had long flourished; in two cases, when the Moors were expelled from Spain, in 1658 and 1609, English ships transported them to Africa, and the crews of these vessels were likely to treat them with great sympathy. The British supported the

(I, 1, 126-127)

In "Othello" the most acute form shows the conflict between an outsider, also alien to the class, and the society is hierarchical, predatory and, consequently, not even human. Therefore Othello's color is not only an expression of racial protest, but also a much broader, human protest. Othello has learned to live in an alien society, but he is not a member of this society. Thus, a resident of the eastern states can get the manners of a native of the West and still not become one. However, at the same time, the color is available for the audience to feel the difference between the cultures.

Shakespeare essentially forced the white viewers to first perceive Othello through the eyes of Iago. Othello is a great man, distinguished not only physically, but also with his culture from the surrounding society. He recognizes only universal values, such as love and devotion. Nevertheless, by his naivety, he believes that he acquired all human rights in a society dominated by completely different values, he is defenseless against the unreasonable and cruel forces embodied in Iago; these forces are trying to make him as unreasonable as they are, and they almost