In Shakespeare’s Othello, race is a concept that is only minimally explored. Characters in the play

Roderigo also shows racism throughout the play although it is due more to a combination of Iago’s manipulations and his love of Desdemona than his natural feelings. Iago shows racism all throughout the play

• 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

In the tragedy Othello, Shakespeare demonstrates how the treatment of people can be influenced by their racial background, and contributes to the downfall of a heroic character like Othello. Shakespeare reveals how the stereotypical representation of a tragic hero was created because of the racial prejudice of its society. At the moment when Othello has his conversation with Iago, it ends in Othello’s disbelief of his wife’s honesty. Iago’s word hatched the debase of Othello’s language and noble minds, which makes Othello question himself of the unnatural marriage between him and Desdemona. “…Not to affect many proposed matches/ Of her own clime, complexion, and degree…” Iago makes Othello to doubt the pureness of their love, and the possibility

The issue of race in Othello has only become important in modern times. It has no real relevance in its original context. Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ is set against a backdrop of societal tensions, from the regulations of aristocracy that Desdemona breaks ‘free’ of, to the rebellion of defying the church, and the gradual integration of different cultures. Racism has thrived for thousands of years, and although there was not a name for it during Shakespeare’s time, racism is threaded through ‘Othello’.

In act One, scene one we see Iago's conversation with Roderigo about Cassio being promoted ahead of him and how Iago believes that this is because of favourtism. This suggests one of many reasons why Iago plots against Othello. From this conversation we see that Iago is envious of Cassio being promoted ahead of him, and plotting against Othello as a means of seeeeking revenge. “I follow him to serve my turn upon him”. Iago believes that he

He turns against his friend, Othello, and labels him as a lesser person because of his race. Iago's easy provocation of an important Venetian senator by using Othello's racial characteristics shows how prevalent racism is in the play.

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.”

Yes, I do believe that race played a factor in to Othello’s demise. The reason why I say race played a factor in Othello’s demise, because of Othello lack of self-confidence about being African American. Othello felt like he was an outsider. Othello let Iago gets in his head and tell him that being black could affect his relationship with Desdemona and other people. That is what started to make him lack confidence which lead to self-destruction of his self, because he started to have disbelief and insecurities about his self. Othello believed that Desdemona might fall out of love with him, because he is black. It seemed that Othello thought that Desdemona would leave him for someone

Racism seems to be a big concern in Shakespeare’s tragic play, Othello. Because the hero of the play is an outsider, a Moor, we have an idea how blacks were regarded in England, in Elizabethan times. There are many references that bring about the issue of racism from the very beginning to the end. In the tragedy, where Othello is coming from is not mentioned, yet through the descriptions the reader is informed that he belongs to one of the Eastern nationalities such as African, Ottoman Turk or Arab. In this paper I am going to analyze some episodes involving a prejudicial, racist attitude and try to discuss whether Shakespeare was a racist or not. Even though the play is full of offensive definitions of black

Other than these luxurious items, there was also a clear class system that distinguished the slaves from the poor, the poor to the middle class and the middle class to the upper class. This system was more than often a racial degradation as the ethnic minorities were treated as slaves or workers. ‘An honourable murderer,’ this is Othello’s words after he kills Desdemona and wounds Iago. Throughout the play, the main character Iago shows a certain hate for the ‘Moor’ with detestable remarks such as “I hate the Moor; And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets ‘Has done my office: I know not if’t be true; But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety” Iago says this because he suspects that Othello, being black, has been playing around with his wife, this is said out of jealousy towards Othello.

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

Othello is one of the Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy which illustrates a tragic downfall of a black protagonist, Othello. Although in the play, Othello is a socially secured man working as a military general, his social status seems to be cancelled out by his colour. In the society of Venice, Othello is referred to as an outsider not only because of his cultural difference but also his colour, Therefore, in the play, Othello is depicted as a victim of racism even though he himself does not seem to acknowledge that he is victimised because of racism.

What made Iago irritated was the fact that Cassio had no experience in war when he did and Cassio was chosen instead of him. The second is that Othello was a moor and during that time racism was an accepted part of society; people of color were thought of as savage. An example of Iago prejudice is when he says “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is

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