Essay on Othello as a Black Man in a White Society

Othello is introduced as a noble Venetian general who has power and influence. Othello is one of the first African American tragic heroes introduced during the Shakespearean time. Although Othello is depicted as a great Venetian warrior throughout the play, his counterparts are not discrete when it comes to racial degradation. His inability to endure racial slurs allows him to become self-conscious and insecure and because of the repetitive racial slurs, Othello starts to believe that he is racially inferior to his white counterparts, and his insecurities over power him with jealousy and rage, ultimately ruining his life.

Shakespeare’s Othello, analyses the idea of racism in relationships. Racism is explored through the characters of Iago and Brabantio, where we see racial dialog throughout the play. This racism is aimed directly at Othello; a brave moor general and supreme commander of the Venetian army. Iago uses racism to target Othello with racial insults and uses it to manipulate others. White people during the Elizabethan Era believed that they are the superior race but in reality, they are not; all races are equal and everyone is equal to one another. Humans are not born racist, racism is a thing that a person develops and is absorbed under the influence of society. Shakespeare expresses racism as a negative thing and demonstrates this by showing how

Othello’s superiority does not give him the upper hand either. He is continuously looked down upon in society due to his skin colour. Othello is considered to be the “moor of Venice” (Shakespeare 115) and due to that he is thought to be undeserving of the post he has, by the people under him like Iago. His outsider status continuously leads to his mistreatment. At the beginning when Desdemona and Othello are together, Iago calls Othello “an old black ram” and tells Brabantio that he is “tupping your white ewe!” (Shakespeare 121-122). Brabantio takes Othello to the Duke where Othello continuously tells them that Desdemona chose him but Brabantio objectifies Othello telling him that no one would even “t’incur a general mock, [...] of such a thing” (Shakespeare 133). Along with this Othello is also falsely accused by others. Brabantio accuses him for tricking Desdemona into loving him and calls him a “foul thief” who has “enchanted [his]” (Shakespeare 132-133) daughter. Though his love for Desdemona is shown to be true and genuine and having proven himself as a war general time and time again, the colour of his skin is the reason that his intentions are misunderstood and he has a hard time convincing people of his honourable

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 raises the issue of how rampant beliefs and attitudes in a society can cause a person to question their sense of self. In a society where racial equality is near non-existent, Othello, a black skinned foreigner in the Venetian society, is constantly reminded of his status as an outsider. Othello, however, is not depicted in a stereotypical manner and despite occupying a highly respected position he is often confronted with blatant racism throughout the play. The prevailing attitudes and beliefs of Venetian society towards Othello are exploited by Iago in order to manipulate Othello’s self confidence and emotional state.

Haply, for I am black/ And have not those soft parts of conversation/ That chamberers have, or for I am declin’d/ Into the vale of years (yet that’s not much) She’s gone. I am abus’d: and my relief/ Must be to loathe her” (III.III. 304-309). As the emanation of social interaction among various races appear within English literature, the vault of new beginnings and change takes hold. William Shakespeare’s Othello, is most notably recognized for the character, Othello. Through various texts of literature, the idea of racial construct and discrimination was never an easy topic to come by. Since the play was written in Europe during the 1600s, the emergence of slave trades in this area further divided races. The play itself follows the tragedy for Othello, and the transition from a military general to a tragic hero. The limitation of power plays a huge role in Othello’s ability to withstand the manipulation of multiple characters. Although he is Moorish general in the Venetian army, he is still indeed a Moor, a socially lower class, muslim man. From this, cultural collision of ethnicity influences how Othello is treated and the disadvantages he faces because of his color. Through the mere jealousy in which Iago, Othello’s standard-bearer, has for Othello’s life, he proposes the idea to manipulate his life by using the one difference between all men, race. When Iago awakes Brabantio, the father of Desdemona, he hopes to initiate his plan to take down Othello. His description

Shakespeare’s culture consisted of a homogenous pool of residents who all very likely looked like one another, so seeing someone like Othello, whose appearance is quite different from theirs, was a novelty to them. It is important to note that when Shakespeare wrote this play (between 1600 and 1605) he was living in an era before the transatlantic slave trade when the modern obsession with the biological classification of people was absent. This early obsession with categorizing human beings based on physical features and appearance eventually paved the way for the enduring race constructs that exists today. Othello is casts as a black because his character is part of Shakespeare goal as a writer to further explore topics of identity, but in doing so he provided a platform for racism to eventually grow on.

In the first act, Roderigo using ‘thick black lips’ to describe a characterisation that would describe a person outside to the venetian quality, Iago using ‘Old black ram tupping the white ewe’ not only is describing a sexual act between Othello and Desdemona but it clearly represents that Iago is extremely judgmental towards Othello, using his skin colour as a negative towards Iago’s power. Today in society we can clearly see these racial issues still exist and continue to power through society. Iago in the play named Othello a devil, clearly stating the people from an African descent were associated with witchcraft. Throughout the play the use of Othello’s skin colour dehumanises him reinforcing how Venetian society have ostracised him. Throughout this the reader can understand Othello’s pain and struggle and can further emphasise and have a better understanding of of those character and his

“Othello” is a tragic play of jealousy, racism and struggle for power. Right from the beginning, Shakespeare has created vigorous dialogue and conflicting situations. There is a direct contrast between black and white in this play, with black meaning something negative and evil and white meaning pure and fairness. The clash between these two colours leads to severe hatred and enmity between a few people.

In several of Shakespeare's plays the writer introduces the notion of being considered an "other", and whether certain groups are "in" or "out". This theme is significantly portrayed in the play Othello, in which a black general living in Venice must constantly struggle to balance his dual nature of both Moor and Venetian. It is apparent that before the play begins, Othello has not yet resolved his duplicitous self-image; however, throughout the action of the play, he is put in a maliciously-designed situation which causes his insecurities and self doubt to breed, allowing the Venetian?s stereotype of the brutal and ignorant black man to consume Othello's eloquence and education adopted

The play, Othello, is certainly, in part, the tragedy of racism. Examples of racism are common throughout the dialog. This racism is directed toward Othello, a brave soldier from Africa and currently supreme commander of the Venetian army. Nearly every character uses a racial slur to insult Othello at one point in the play. Even Emilia sinks to the level of insulting Othello based on the color of his skin. The character that most commonly makes racist remarks in Othello is Iago. It is very apparent that Iago uses racism as a scapegoat to hate and blame Othello. Societal racism takes its toll on its victims. The effect of racism on Othello is quite evident and is one of the main causes for

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.

Othello’s race does not prominently impact his demise, although Shakespeare touches upon the issue of race, the reason for Othello’s demise lies somewhere else. However, the allegations of race directly lead to its tragic ending. Feelings of inadequacy and distrust without question aid in the tragedy. The fact that Othello’s skin color is important alters the interpretation of the tragedy within the play. The racism represented in Othello is not just about an instance of prejudices and prejudgments made by a crowd of people against another, but in fact has much more subtle and devastating consequences, specifically, that it is proliferated not only by the discriminatory section of society, but also by the target of this discrimination.

Along with critics making references to Othello’s race, many characters in the play do as well. The characters that are most racist refer to Othello by his real name less than the people who are least racist. “Othello’s blackness is not only a mark of his physical alienation but a symbol, to which every character in the play himself included must respond” (Berry, 1990). Othello does not refer to himself as African but rather as an exotic Venetian. Other characters do not see Othello as that. Many characters call Othello numerous names other than his real one. “For Iago Othello is an old black ram, the devil, and a barbary horse” (Berry, 1990). Many see Othello’s blackness as a symbol of ugliness, bestiality, treachery, and demonic. None of those words describe how Othello really is. Those words are the stereotypical definition of what a black man is. This stereotypical definition puts Othello is a predicament and makes his acceptance in the Venetian society difficult. “Once such critics conclude that Othello is not a stereotype, he tends to lose his individuality as a Moor and to become a representative of humanity” (Berry, 1990). The stereotypical image of a black man plays an important role in the play’s ending.

saying he will “tear her all to pieces” and he tells Iago to let him