Gender and Race I 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

• A fear of foreigners during Elizabethan times fostered misogynistic and racist values, which is evident in the way Othello’s blackness becomes a symbol of alienation to which all characters in the play must respond.

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

Othello, by William Shakespeare is well known for its richness in literary content and elements pertinent to societal ideas. Moreover, women are portrayed in Othello in ways that confirm, but also contradict their treatment in Shakespeare’s time. Both female action and language represent these ideas such as expectations for a wife and expectations for how a woman is to act. That said, there are many other lines spoken by these characters that defy the expectations placed on women at time. Overall, the feminist critical lens allows a reader to understand Othello and the manner in which it is slightly sexist and controversial. This lens allows the reader to observe both discrepancies of how women are treated, and common characteristics found

In addition, Emilia proves her underrated intelligence by standing up for what she believes is right. Desdemona, Othello's wife, and Emilia's relationship grows because of her great loyalty towards her. At the end of the play Emilia stands up for Desdemona because Othello kills her. She explains Desdemona's true love for him and would never do anything to hurt him, which proves Desdemona's innocence. Not only does Emilia stand up for Desdemona, but she also voices her opinion to Othello. Emilia shows no fear standing up to Othello to prove to him that his wife has always been faithful. At first Othello finds it implausible but then Emilia says, "Thou art rash as fire, to say that she was false. O, she was heavenly true!" (Shakespeare V: ii, 165-166).Women are looked at in Othello as unintelligent and unfaithful, but Emilia changes that stereotype by standing up to the men. From the start Emilia and Iago's relationship always seemed rocky. Emilia's confidence in herself shows that she is not afraid to stand up to her husband. Emilia realizes the danger she puts herself in when she stands up to Iago. In order to make things right, she does whatever it takes, even if that means ruining their marriage or taking her life.

   Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.

Throughout time, writing has evolved such that gender, race and creed have taken on a more pivotal role in fiction. Some people argue that race in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Othello,” is hardly an issue. However, to many people, race is everything in “Othello. The challenges that Othello, the lead character, faces are directly attributed to his “Moor” complexion and if he were of a different nationality, the outcome of his situation would have been drastically different. These claims are supported by the articles of “Othello’s Alienation” by Edward Berry and “Race Mattered: Othello in Late Eighteenth-Century England” by Virginia Mason Vaughan that argue that race is a major element in “Othello.”

William Shakespeare reveals society’s assumptions about race due to the role the characters play in his work Othello. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates, through his elaborate character placement, how some individuals are valued over others by race to show how society places an imaginary hierarchy to represent the values of an individual by looks rather than personality and their human nature that eventually lead the individual to believe those remarks. Shakespeare represents the main character as a black individual unable to live his life with those he lives around due to the color of his skin, Othello remains the main character, hints the name of the book, but at the end of the play the assumption that a man will begin to belittle himself

Race was not the full extent to Othello's downfall; Iago was the most deceiving towards Othello. Where in the Elizabethan society, prejudice was thought of lightly, and the cultural view of Africans refers Othello who shows a strong portrayal of the African references throughout the play. Although Othello is not named as being African or Negro, Othello’s “thick lips” and black skin are pointed out on several occasions (Act 5) as well as a “lascivious Moor” (1.1.127). A strong African with Othello's social rank in the Elizabethan period would not have felt inferior towards the society because of nasty comments aforementioned due to his true modern demeanor. Although Othello's race plays a loud role in his character analysis, Othello's downfall

Men and Women, in Power and Race In Othello by William Shakespeare is a play about human nature and the relationships between the characters. When studying human relationships in different races and gender come into play. In the Venetian society that Othello takes place in it consists of both interracial and empowered groups. The relationships between each of the characters like Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Emilia, Cassio, Bianca, and a number of other characters, happen to revile what human nature and actions through words about someone’s true plans are.

Othello’s race is not vital for the storyline of the play because its only role is to cause Brabantio’s opposition to his marriage with Desdemona and his insecurity. For instance, when Brabantio finds out about Desdemona’s marriage, he assumes Othello is using drugs or magic to control her because Othello is a lower class Moor. In result, he opposes the relationship and immediately bears an immense hatred for Othello (1.2.62-79). His anger towards Othello quickly turns him against Desdemona too, and this serves to cause her to go with her husband to Cyprus, to avoid provoking her father further. However, if Othello were white and Brabantio approved of the union, she would still travel with Othello out of her love for him (1.3.249-260). Therefore,

Emilia defines the need for gender equality in which women should be entitled to the same rights and respect as men. After supper, Othello orders Desdemona to go to bed and to dismiss Emilia. Desdemona and Emilia have a discussion regarding the erosion arising between Othello’s and Desdemona’s marriage in which Emilia leads the conversation to her perspective on why women in marriages cheat on their husbands. Emilia believes that its the husband’s fault for the wife’s infidelity because the husband gives their wife the motive to do so when they may cheat themselves, get extremely jealous, deprive their wife from doing things or going to places, abuse their wife, or cut back on the money they give to their wife out of spite. Due to these actions,

Othello's treatment of race and sexuality makes it one of Shakespeare's most relevant and controversial plays. For some, the play's portrayal of a black man who marries and then brutally murders a white woman in a fit of rage and jealousy makes Othello a racist play. Othello is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. The play tells the story of a powerful general of the Venetian army, Othello, whose life and marriage are ruined by a conniving, deceitful, and envious soldier, Iago. By exploiting the literary qualities in the form of the themes and symbolism Othello will be classified as a literary work.

According to Iago, women are sport and full of game (1073). Like the hunter who pursues his prey in anticipation of reaping the fruits of that prized game, Iago views men as sporting women for fun. It is also with this hunter view that Iago can guiltlessly slay his own defenseless wife and cause Othello to do the same to Desdemona. Iago also thinks women are

William Shakespeare's Othello is only moderately interested in questions of race and racism. For Shakespeare, Othello's blackness was mainly a plot device. Though the bard did demonstrate concerns about racial and religious prejudice, in Othello and The Merchant of Venice, his interest in the tragedy of the Moor was principally psychological. For Shakespeare and his contemporary audience, Othello was about jealousy, hatred, and vindictiveness.