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Shakespeare use of imagery
Shakespeare use of imagery
Shakespeare use of imagery
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It seems to be a perennial feature of human society that individuals judge each other by using the language of similarity and difference. Some of these judgments are reasoned, taking into account the actual qualities of the individual being assessed. Too many of these judgments are superficial, presuming from the existence of one readily observable characteristic a whole host of unrelated characteristics. Assessment and prejudice should be very different activities, but too often human beings combine the two, muddling their understanding of other individuals and the world. Shakespeare frequently features in his plays a character who is outwardly different from the rest, designating him clearly as “other.” By introducing individuals who differ in some observable way from the cultures they inhabit, Shakespeare forces his audience to question the nature of humanity and our definitions of difference. Why do we create the categories that we do? Why do we associate one physical quality with other social and moral ones? Are these categorizations rational? Through his black characters in Titus Andronicus and Othello, Shakespeare demonstrates that the main culture uses racial stereotypes to blame the “other” for society’s problems while failing to see the causes of the same problems in themselves. Such prejudices therefore endanger both the “other” and the main culture that exhibits prejudice. By portraying Aaron and Othello as complex human characters who share more in common with white characters in similar situations than they do with each other, Shakespeare shows that racism undermines the humanity that unites us all. In order to understand Aaron and Othello, we must first ask how Elizabethan culture would have view... ... middle of paper ... ...were courage, pride, guilelessness, credulity and easily aroused passions” (1). Understanding the Elizabethan preconceptions about Moors will permit a deeper understanding of the black characters that Shakespeare created. Works Cited Cowhig, Ruth. “Blacks in English Renaissance Drama.” The Black Presence in English Literature. Ed. David Dabydeen. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985. D’Amico, Jack. The Moor in English Renaissance Drama. Tampa: University of South Florida Press, 1991. Jones, Eldred. Othello’s Countrymen: The African in English Renaissance Drama. London: Oxford University Press, 1965. McLendon, Jacquelyn Y. “‘A Round Unvarnished Tale’: (Mis)Reading Othello or African American Strategies of Dissent.” Othello: New Essays by Black Writers. Ed. Mythili Kaul. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1997.
Bernstein, Robin. "Inventing a Fishbowl: White Supremacy and the Critical Reception of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun."Modern Drama 42.1 (Spring 1999): 16-27. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 192. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
...Gardner, Helen. “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from “The Noble Moor.” British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.
The European Renaissance forever changed the life of the contemporary individual. Explosive advancements in education, technology, and trade broadened geographic and mental horizons; however, in England these developments were paired with population crises of poverty and unemployment. In addition, the increased interaction with foreign cultures fomented by various commercial and diplomatic engagements gave rise to apprehension in English sensibility. Eventually, Christian England would attempt to reshape these ‘strangers’ in their image and modern racial tensions sprung forth. Recursion of the trope of race, under the guise of blackness, heathenry, or even femininity occurs extensively in literary tradition, and especially within Shakespeare’s oeuvre. “There exists in all literature an archetypal figure who escapes both poles of the classic definition – appearing sometimes as hero, sometimes as villain, sometimes as clown…[he] has been named variously the ‘shadow,’ the ‘other,’ the ‘alien,’ the ‘outsider,’ the ‘stranger.’” It is with this borderline figure, mired in ambiguity, that this investigation is concerned: primarily with the stranger as the Moor in Othello, the Welsh in Henry IV, Part 1, and the woman in both.
Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences can be seen through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism. The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey sax’s Othello, reflect the context and values of their times.
The Venetian society in which the Shakespearean play, Othello is set in is a clear representation of the writer’s context. The values, attitudes and beliefs that Shakespeare reveals in the opening and closing scenes of Othello, are the exact to the ones accepted by the Elizabethans of the sixteenth century. With the limited number of Black people being around, in Othello we can see the racist remarks that are being made upon one, as well as the resilience to accept one within a society. Even though the play itself is set in Venice and Cyprus, it reflects highly upon the values and beliefs of Shakespeare’s own society where people believed strongly in the great chain of being, danger of emotions and punishment for major sins.
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)
In Shakespeare’s Othello, race is a concept that is only minimally explored. Characters in the play assume that, since they are English, they are superior and foreign characters (like Othello the Moor) are inferior. This is not questioned much at all, and in fact it is assumed outright that Othello is indeed a lesser man because of his skin color and the ways in which characters like Iago and Roderigo treat him. While an early modern audience would accept this concept without hesitation, an audience of today’s age is left to question whether Othello is actually acting out because of the societal pressures, beliefs, and actions put upon him, or because he is inherently different as a person who is not white. While Shakespeare seems to think the contrary, Othello’s development in his actions and words—from a confident general to a depressed, wife-killing maniac—show clearly that his demise and his reactions were products of his peers (namely, Iago) and that he is not inherently different because of his race. Ultimately, it was all Iago’s fault.
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.
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.
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.
Snyder, Susan. "Beyond the Comedy: Othello" Modern Critical Interpretations, Othello Ed. Harold Bloom, Pub. Chelsea House New Haven CT 1987.
Though the examples and connections presented here may seem tenuous, they speak to much larger questions concerning the link between representation and identity. Hughes’ work is centered upon the limitations that assimilations into “whiteness” present for black culture, yet these limitations would appear to have origins within the Euro-centric and thus “white” literary canon of authors like Shakespeare. Beyond the similarities of assimilation that exist in the character of Othello and the middle-class blacks that Hughes discusses, there is, in my mind, a definite link between representations of “blackness” in literature and the racial insecurity that is seen by Hughes. I would argue that the former has in some ways influenced the latter. Why
Gardner, Helen. “Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from “The Noble Moor.” British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.
"Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay." DiYanni, Robert. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1393-1453. Print.
...imes. Fifty eight times he is referred to as “The Moor”. Black and white is juxtaposed frequently, with white the image of goodness and purity and black the colour of evil. Bianca describes Othello as a “black devil” while Iago plans to turn “[Desdemona’s] name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage…begrimed and black”. These racial slurs correspond with the social context of the Elizabethan era, when black residents negatively viewed. Although much has changed, this is still applicable to present society, where prejudices remain. Nonetheless in Shakespeare’s play, the hero is a black man and the villain a base, amoral white man with crude language.