Examples Of Racism In Othello

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

In Illustrating the downfall of the heroic character in this play, the internalize of Othello’s racism also contributes to his fatal flaw in a certain extent, which combined with his rashness later on. Shakespeare presents the Renaissance view of race and reveals how the stereotypes influenced Othello’s perception of himself. “A malignant and turbaned Turk/ beat a venetian… I took by th’ throat the circumcised dog/ and smote him thus.” The insulting and stereotypical language Othello uses shows himself internalized the racist ideas. He compares his jealousy to a cancerous disease also uses negative racial terms to compare himself metaphorically to a dog, showing his own tale. By using the animalistic imagery, his language debased along with describing himself as a ‘circumcised dog’. Later on in the play, after Othello had smother Desdemona, he regrets with using an imagery by comparing himself as an Indian. “…one whose hand, Like the base Indian threw a pearl away, ‘Richer than all his tribe’”. Othello uses derogatory terms to describe himself to a native American Indian who does not know the value of the metaphoric ‘pearl’ – his wife, Desdemona, that he discards. Othello’s blindness and internalizing of racist ideas built up the downfall of himself, and illustrates the fatal flaw to

Othello: Shakespeare Tackles Racial Identity Based on an article titled “The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello” published in Shakespeare Quarterly, “The terms black and white have been complex and confusing since the beginning of the language, and Shakespeare seems to have fully exploited their complexity within Othello” (Adler). The topics of race and racial identity have always seem to appear in criticisms of almost any popular or overanalyzed text. With William Shakespeare being the most popular of all dramatic works, it is only expected for his plays to be criticized a lot more than others of lesser prominence.

“My name, that was as fresh As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black As mine own face. (3.3.385)” When Othello says these lines it is evident that he starts to internalize a lot of racist comments made by his white counterparts which makes this a pivotal part of the play. At this point Othello suspects that Desdemona is unfaithful with Cassio and insinuates that his reputation is tarnished and “begrimed” because of Desdemona’s uncertain cheating. It was very common during the Elizabethan time period that wives were a big part of a husband’s reputation because wives were a representation of husbands. When Othello refers to his name as being ‘fresh as Diane’s visage’ he compares the freshness of a white fame with no blemishes to his name. When Othello fears that his wife has cheated on him he compares his name to ‘begrimed of black’, blaming his wife for tarnishing his reputation. By comparing the blackness of his own skin with something unclean and grimy, Othello internalizes the racist comments Venetian characters (like Brabantio) have been saying all along.

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

Although Othello is set in Venice and Cyprus, the attitudes and values shared in the text are probably reflective of the attitudes and values of Shakespeare's own society. It is difficult to assess the attitudes and values of people in sixteenth-century Britain to the relatively few blacks living amongst them. We are given an insight into those attitudes and values through the representation of race and

Whether this is what Shakespeare intended, the text is filled with racist commentary, stereotypes, and implications that anything other than the norm, in this case, blackness, is bad and disruptive to the status quo. Othello’s race and complexion clearly set

At the end of the 16th century people burned cats for sport, hunted witches, and the leach was the pinnacle of medical technology. However, they did get one thing right. 16th century englishmen had views on interracial marriage that were arguably more sophisticated than those of the American South until as recently as 2009. Shakespeare's Othello illustrates this with how the Venetians treat the protagonist, Othello. He is treated as not only equal but in many cases superior and senior. Racism in Othello is remarkable, because of its absence, yet we find it challenging to hear shakespeare's words without projecting our experience of racism onto them.

A lot of things change over time but not always what we want to change. A 400 year old burden has followed us into 2018 Racism has many different forms, many of which we see in Othello. All cultures and races have become victims to racism in 2018. Racism can be used in forms of nicknames, assumptions because of different origin and this one specifically is used early against Othello who happens to be the only black man in any sort of power in Venice.

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

Delaney Neville Mrs. Bell Eng. 1 Pre I.B. 07 April 2015 Othello: Insecurity In Shakespeare’s late tragedy Othello Shakespeare portrays Othello to have insecurity issues and makes this something Iago uses this against him. The character Othello is the leader of the Venetian army, he is much respected and has a good reputation because of his victories in battle. He is known to command “Like a full soldier” (2.1.36).

One of the major issues in Shakespeare's Othello is the impact of the race of the main character, Othello. His skin color is non-white, usually portrayed as African although some productions portray him as an Arabian. Othello is referred to by his name only seventeen times in the play. He is referred to as "The Moor" fifty-eight times. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) states that a Moor is "Any individual of the swarthy races of Africa or Asia which have adopted the Mohammedan religion. In Spanish history the terms Moo, Saracens, and Arabs are synonymous." This indicates that Othello is constantly being degraded and set up as an evil person throughout the play. What this really means is that

Shakespeare’s Othello takes place in Elizabethan Venice, a time in which racial tensions were high and ‘outsiders’ were treated dismally. In the words of Paul Robeson, the first African American actor to portray Othello on Broadway in 1943, “In the Venice of that time [Othello] was in practically the same position as a coloured man in America today [1930]” (Shmoop). As the parallel suggests, Moors at the time were very unsuccessful in society compared to their contemporaries, and were thought of very lowly. Othello, however, is considered at the start of the play to be different from the other members of his race. He has become a successful general, and much of the dialogue surrounding Othello emphasizes the amount of respect and honor that he has accrued.

The Tragedy of Othello is a play that is dominated by the theme of prejudice, manipulation, and racism and jealous. One of the themes that manifest itself from the beginning of the play is racism and prejudice. Shakespeare in actuality introduces the theme of racism and prejudice early in the play. Some of the characters face prejudice and racism either directly or indirectly. In Act Ⅰ, Iago and Roderigo ridicule Othello in racial terms such as “thick lips” and “Barbary horse”.

In the play Othello written by Shakespeare, the issue of racism is addressed. Othello, the protagonist of the play, is African American or black. “According to Lois Whitney, many of Othello’s specific attributes probably derive from Shakespeare’s reading of Leo Africanus, whose Geographical Historie of Africa which was translated and published in London in 1600”(Berry, 1990). Many critics have different views on this. “If Shakespeare depended upon Leo Africanus for such details, he must have been much more interested in racial psychology than critics such as Bradley or Heilman suggest”(Berry, 1990). One of the most prominent features of this Shakespeare play is the