During the Renaissance period, a relationship between two people from different racial background was unheard of and seen as unconventional, so society did not approve as they believed this relationship couldn’t be based on love but pure lust. Iago uses the taboo topic of interracial relationship to warn Desdemona’s father Brabantio as his first attempt of malevolent trickery in Act one, Scene One when he says ‘you have lost half your soul; an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe’. The racial reference regarding the Moor creates an animalistic imagery of Othello as a sexual predator, so before the audience are officially introduced to the protagonist, we are forced see Othello from Iago’s perspective, immediately disliking the Moor. Shakespeare …show more content…
This is seen as destructive because it’s a dramatic irony as the audience are aware of Iago’s plan and Iago tries to convince Brabantio that Othello sees his daughter as inferior and merely an object of lust and physical desires. Likewise, in The Snow Child by Angela Carter, she subverts the tale of Snow white and explores themes of male perversion and sexual corruption. It is evident that the Count desires a child he describes as ‘white as snow’, ‘red as blood’ and ‘black as the bird’s feathers’. Carter also uses colours to expose the counts perverted intensions; the colour ‘white’ connotes innocence and purity, ‘red’ as sexual maturity, and ‘black’ his evil intensions. When the child he described so precisely appeared in front of him she was ‘the child of his desires’; here we are forced to consider whether his desires are parental or simply for sexual gratification. This soon becomes clear when the count ‘unfastened his breeches and thrust his virile member into the dead …show more content…
Carter emphasises the destructive nature of the count’s love; he has a parental desire to have a child whom he can love and protect, but he allows his perversion to take over and abuse this child. Therefore, Carter uses the count as a symbol to highlight the perverted ideologies of men in this patriarchal society, and this makes love destructive because men are unable to see women past sexual objects but as human beings. However, Duffy focuses on the positive aspect of love, and how love does not always and how the passage of time has a significant effect on love. Duffy begins the poem by explaining the importance of the relationship between love and time for instance when the speaker says ‘Love’s time ‘s beggar…makes love rich’. Carter’s use of personification and metaphor shows the desperation love is for more time; love is the beggar and time is the person, and every moment time allows more time for love to last its appreciates
How is the theme of suffering portrayed in ‘Othello’, ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’?
Iago plays on Othello’s own insecurity about his race to trigger jealousy; an example of this would be his observation on lines 227 and 228, where he insinuates that Desdemona may be better suited to somebody “of her own clime, complexion and degree”. This follows a quote from Othello, stating that his relationship is ‘nature erring from itself’, allowing the audience to see his own uncertainty about his ethnic background, which Iago then develops and twists to suit his needs. Iago’s quote implies that Desdemona would be better matched with a man of similar race, such as Cassio, rather than Othello, which is designed to spark jealousy within Othello, and is shown to have a profound effect on him towards the end of the scene, with his aside to the audience “Why did I marry”.
Therefore, even before Othello is physically presented to the audience, the Elizabethan audience would already have an image of Othello being wild and “moorish” since they would have the similar notion as Iago and Rodrigo towards black men. Therefore, Shakespeare establishes the racist concepts from the very beginning of the play to set the base for the tragic downfall of Othello. Racist language is not only limited to the beginning of the play; it is constant throughut the play. Iago uses racist words when he wakes up Brabantio to inform him about Desdemona’s marriage. Iago says an “old black ram” is “tupping” Brabnatio’s “white ewe” which is highly racist and reveals the Elizabethan society’s prejudice against black men. The Elizabethan era believed that black men have animal-like and sexual nature and Iago uses this notion to make Brabantio fear about the mixed marriage and persuade him to stand against Othello. Also, Iago makes use of the racist Elizabethan notion that the colour black meant evilness by calling Othello as “the devil”. This is ironical because in the play, Iago is the one who is playing the role of “the devil” whereas Othello just the biggest victim who is manipulated by Iago. The irony adds on as Iago, white man, is the most evil one in the play where normally according to Elizabethan racist notion, black men are the one who should be the
Even Brabantio, Othello’s own father-in-law, displays disdain toward Othello for marrying his daughter, in his calling him a “lascivious moor.” Also there is a particularly strong conversation between Iago and Barbarantio, in which Iago states “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise; Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you.” This statement shows a great deal of hatred toward the marriage of Othello and Desdemona. Iago is saying that if Desdemona were to have sex with Othello, “an old black ram”, it would defile Desdemona’s pure nature, “white ewe” (ewe being a lamb). This is not so much the act of the two people sleeping with each other as it is the fact that Othello is of African descent. Why else would Iago refer Desdemona as the “white ewe” and not just and ewe. The white part seems to display purity in Iago’s eyes. Also there is the part about the devil making a grandsire out of you. This is talking of how Desdemona and Othello’s children would be of a mixed race, of which Barbarantio would be the grandfather. Another racist comment Iago makes to Barbarantio of the interracial marriage of Desdemona and Othello is, “…You’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse. You’ll have your nephews neigh to you. You’ll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans.” This refers to Othello as a Barbarian, or African, horse who will climb
From a visual perspective, the film is captivating, especially the love scene between Othello and Desdemona. To say that this is based on the O.J Simpson trial is perplexing. Although Parker does selectively reduce the dialogue from Shakespeare’s play, all that has been selectively captured and included from the play, is straight out of the play. Although there is no basis between the film and the O.J Simpson trial the commonality between the true is that they both invite the audience to look and think about how conscious we are about the issues of race within society. Unlike 400 years ago, in modern society, it is very much impossible to ignore Iago’s character and not determine that he is in fact a racist. The symbolism used by Parker where Iago delivers his monologue over the chess board, where the chess pieces have been positioned to show a black king opposing a white queen and knight, is used to clearly illustrate Iago’s manipulative character in trying to make Othello question whether Desdemona is even attracted to him because of his colour. Instead, Iago pairs both the white queen and the white knight signifying a more likely choice for Desdemona would be Cassio.
In the beginning, Iago provokes disturbing, animalistic imagery in Brabantio’s mind that suggest Othello is inhumanely raping Desdemona, by stating,"Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe" (Act 1: Scene 1.88-89). Iago condemns Othello, by connecting his skin color to one of a meaningless, black ram. In contrast to Othello’s dark complexion, Desdemona’s fair complexion emphasizes her delicate and beautiful nature as it directly connects to one of a white ewe. The bestial imagery accentuates the differences of Othello and Desdemona by comparing each to a stereotypical extreme.
It the only thing that makes him estranged from all the other characters. In the opening scene of the play, Shakespeare “exoticizes Othello with [his] references to him not by name but as, "the Moor," and as an "extravagant and wheeling stranger" (1.1.58 and 1.1.37)”(Aubrey 1). During that time black people were slaves which is why the racism in Othello was definitely racism and one of Iago’s forms of control. Othello earned his status despite his physical appearance, so its lowering to use that description of Othello when he is more than that. Furthermore, not only is Othello being outcasted in the play but also to the audience. It is set by Iago that the idea of a black man and a white woman together is inhuman. He constantly uses derogatory terms to describe to Brabantio To corrupt Othello and Desdemona’s relations. Iago claims that Brabantio will “have [his] daughter covered with a Barbary horse. [He’ll] have [his] nephews neigh to [him]. [He'll] have coursers for cousins and jennets for germans” (Act 1 scene 1 line 125-127 )if he does not do anything to stop them. Iago says this to describe to Brabantio what his mixed would look like. Moreover the animals he uses are not pure breeds which is what he want to emphasize to Brabantio that the act itself of Othello and Desdemona being together is bestial nut having his grandkids being mixed is something that Brabantio cannot stand to think about. Iago
When Iago makes a point of including Othello’s race in a conversation with a confidant, it proves that he feels that Othello’s race is the reason for his actions. There is an obvious abhorrence for Othello based upon his race. Later in the play, Iago goes on to say “If she had been blessed, she would never have loved the Moor” (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum “WRAC” ). This statement shows that Iago is jealous of Othello because he won the love of Desdemona and is cause for insecurities on his part. Iago must now question his marriage and whether or not Othello is cause for infidelity. These insecurities act as extra motivation for Iago’s actions.
Othello is a Moor, born in northern Africa. From the beginning of the play Iago voices a hatred for Othello rooted in his race. In Act I Scene I Iago refers to Othello as, “an old black ram,” (90), “…a Barbary horse…” (113), and speaks to the unnaturalness of the union between Desdemona and Othello saying, “…your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs” (116-17). These quotes are all derogatory terms, demeaning Othello and comparing him to an animal. Sixteenth century audiences would have seen this comparison to animals very offensive because at that time the chain of being was very important. The chain of being is a hierarchical order of creation. At the top are humans (reason), followed by animals (motion, sense), plants (growth), and stones (mere existence). Calling Othello a ram and a horse made him less than human in Elizabethan times, expressing Iago’s deep rooted hatred of Othello based on race. When referring to the two backed beast Iago reveals his belief that the marriage of Othello, a Moor, and Desdemona, a Venetian, is unnatural. Later in the play he also says, “Not to affect many proposed matches/ Of her own clime, complexion, and degree, / Whereto we see in all things nature tends-/ Foh! One may smell in such a will most rank, / Foul disproportion, thoughts unnatural” (Act III Scene III, 245-49)
Othello or The Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare is a tragedy of race. Shakespeare creates a hero who does not fall under a racist stereotype, Othello is a nobleman, a decorated soldier, very well respected by his men (with the exception of Iago). One of the few characteristics that harms, rather than helps him, is that he is dark-skinned in a society utterly dominated by men prejudiced against those with dark skin. At the start of the play, he appears confident that, "My parts, my title, and my perfect soul / Shall manifest me rightly." (Shakespeare, 1, 2, 36-37) But Iago makes sure to use Othello's race against him as much as possible. As a brave soldier from Africa and recently instated supreme commander of the Venetian army, Shakespeare still allows Othello to succumb to the subtle racism that surrounds him. Most of it comes forward through the dialog, and is directed toward Othello. Shakespeare makes no effort to hide this colorful language, nearly every character uses a racial slur to insult Othello at some point in the play. Even Emilia, who doesn’t trust her own husband, sinks to the level of insulting Othello based on the color of his skin. Though the main character to make racist remarks in Othello is Iago, making him a representation of white supremacy. The effect of racism on Othello is quite evident and is one of the main causes of his insecurity about his marriage. These black stereotypes show up in the play and lead to the problem with trying to produce
The fear of interracial marriage in Venetian society is used by Iago in an attempt to alienate Othello. Othello himself acknowledges the fact that interracial marriage is frowned upon and that racism still applies to him despite his position. A common attitude in Venetian society is that black men and women are inhuman and animalistic in nature; Iago capitalizes on this idea in order to aid his plan of antagonizing Othello. Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, is a prime example of the attitude of Venetian society as a whole, in the sense that he “loved” Othello as long as he remained a servant of Venice and would rather Othello not intermingle amongst the Venetian society. Initially Brabantio “oft invited [Othello]” to his home and “queston’d [him] the story of [his] life”, showing an admiration and sincere interest for Othello’s
Brabantio shows his racist ways clearly here; he feels that his daughter could never love Othello unless she had been somehow tricked! When one looks deeper into this mindset we understand how loving Othello, the Moor, could be seen as such an issue to her father. Then and even today color is associated with, “sin, damnation, and eventually, sexual promiscuity” (Hall, 182). White on the other hand is associated with, “purity, virginity, and virtue” (Hall, 183). For Desdemona to love Othello she must give up her innocence. For a “pure” and “virtuous” woman to love a man such as Othello she must be a “sinner” and a “whore.” This “realization” of his daughter’s lack of purity causes Brabantio to die due to pure grief as Gratiano explains to us:
To begin, Iago’s encouragement of prejudice leads to Othello’s manifestation of darkness. For instance, when Iago unveils to Rodrigo that he has a plan to attain Desdemona’s affection for him, he in contrast dehumanizes Othello he reveals that “If I the Moor I would not be Iago. In following him I follow but myself; Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, but seeming so for my peculiar end. For when my outward action doth demonstrate” (I.i.57–65). This illustrates, Iago’s true nature that he holds prejudice and hatred for Othello by referring to him as a Moor, it proves that he only views him as substandard. Iago will pretend to serve him, but in reality he is only loyal to himself. This foreshadows that Iago will use negative connotations of race to manipulate Othello into thinking he is worthless. Thus, planting in Othello’s mind thoughts of adultery and hypocrisy. Later, resulting in the uprising of jealousy and darkness of Othello’s character. So Rodrigo, can obtain Desdemona’s love. Promotion of racial bias is also, evident when Iago tries to insinuate that Desdemona is unfaithful. He argues that “not to affect many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion, and degree, Where to we see in all things nature tends—Foh! One may smell in such a will most rank, Foul disproportions,
What if instead of trick or treating on halloween you were preparing to celebrate the dead. During the same time of year of halloween is a latino holiday called Day Of The Dead. It is a holiday that celebrates and jokes about the death it is three days from October thirty first to November second. There are costumes worn meant to represent the person before they were dead. Latinos believe that the dead come back during those three days.
Racism is a glaring problem amongst the characters of the play. Othello is clearly affected by it and feels that he must prove himself equal to everyone else. Iago cleverly feeds Othello’s insecurity by constantly reminding him that he is racially distinct. He points out the obvious differences between Othello and Desdemona. He tells Othello that Desdemona will eventually regret that she hasn’t chosen someone of her own ethnicity and will desire someone,