Racial Prejudice In Othello

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”.

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

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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

The Scarlet Letter can be interpreted in many ways and each and every person’s opinion might differ from another. Many objects are considered symbols throughout the book and all of them build up to the climax of the story. The biggest and most prominent symbol in the Scarlet Letter, in my own opinion, was Pearl. Pearl is the best symbol in the book because she is the living, breathing reason of Hester Prynne’s and Arthur Dimmesdale’s hidden romance, that led to pain, torture, and eventually death.

Three sources analyze the racial conflicts of white actors playing colored parts, and all agreed that it was not a trivial situation, for audiences, or actors. Racial tensions are very popular with the media. While there is some minor tension today, the movies and plays of Othello top the charts for most racial conflicts. First, The article, “Othello: the role that entices and engages actors of all skin colours,” by Andrew Dickson shows the history of the actors that played Othello, and when the actors were black, they were either not cast, due to segregationists, or were criticized in their performance for the same reason. Also, this article uses diction to convey the seriousness of white vs. minority crisis. Next, the video, “SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED White Actors Playing Othello” by PBS, shows the performances of many Othello actors that were white. Additionally, the video shows one white actor who used makeup to make himself more than than black. The video uses hyperbole to describe the absurdity of Othello movies. For example, Laurence Olivier, the 1964 Othello was black-top showing how far film industries will go to cover-up racial tensions, and the narrator describes the makeup as ridiculous,and dramatic. Finally, the last article, “Aladdin: putting a white character in Disney’s live-action remake is offensive,” by Hannah Flint displays that film industries feel obligated to please a white audience, keeping the minorities second fiddle by adding characters white people

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.

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.

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 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

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, 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

The protagonist of the play, Othello, becomes the monster driven by racial prejudice that Venetians depict him to be. The word “moor’ is an indicator of the divide between Othello, a Morrocan with darker skin, and the Venetians of Italy, with fair skin. Even those who respect Othello use the word “moor” to replace his name. By the end of the play, he becomes the cruel character Iago wanted him to be.

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

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,