Racism in William Shakespeare’s Othello Essay

The issue of race is one filled with controversy and passion, even today in the twenty-first centaury. In today’s day and age it is more shuttle and underground then it was in its most recent ‘hay-day’. In our time today we see it as more of a shameful, offensive and intolerant thing, but it was the norm in the early 15th and 16th century. Today those people that are outwardly racist are seen as outcasts. In this essay I will tempt to show how even though it was the norm in Victorian England, Shakespeare already had another mind set, and was trying in this creative way that the mind set of the people was not correct even for that time. How and why did Shakespeare purposely portray Othello the Moor as a tragic hero, like Hamlet or King

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

• Using grotesque animal imagery, Iago voices an explicitly stereotypical view of Othello, as a “Barbary horse,” depicting him as an animalistic outsider. Through the image of conflict in black and white, Iago emphasises on the racial demarcation between Othello and Desdemona, that “an old black ram is tupping your white ewe,” associating Othello with uncontrolled animalistic sexuality. Iago’s overt and vicious racism becomes representative of the reigning stereotype of the African on the

Ryan, Kiernan. “Racism, Misogyny and 'Motiveless Malignity' in Othello.” The British Library, The British Library, 15 Mar. 2011, https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/racism-misogyny-and-motiveless-malignity-in-othello

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.

Racism is a theme that is prominently evident throughout Shakespeare's Othello. Through this theme, there are several perceptions of an individual's race which are exhibited to establish the

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.

Throughout the years the play Othello by William Shakespeare has been adapted both on the screen and on stage many times. The questions or race and racism that have quite often been a point of discussion with William Shakespeare’s play Othello can be seen through the bard, however some may argue that Othello’s skin colour was purely a plot device. This paper will look at two film that have been re-made since the 1960’s, which provides an analysis of the concept of race and how political ideas and events of that time have influenced each adaptation. It will be seen that the film version of Othello directed by Oliver Parker in 1995 compared to the film version directed by Geoff Sax in 2001 present’s race with differing degrees.

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.”

Shakespeare has written many classic play writes that in time people fall in love with is literature repeatedly. Othello, is one of the many classics that he wrote and perhaps may be one of the most controversial play writes that involve racism, betrayal, and love. The story goes in depth about interracial relationships and the status of a black man in a white privileged societies’ uprising. Othello’s first man in command, Iago and other citizens in the Venice spout racial slurs throughout the dialog as a scapegoat to blame and show hatred towards Othello. Throughout the play, the only true person who saw Othello for himself was his love Desdemona, in which she had a tragic fate that lead to her death from the insecurities, jealousy, and racism towards Othello.

Othello, a play full of lies, deception, and sin, is filled with underlying tones of racism alongside these other negative aspects. William Shakespeare, most likely unintentionally, displayed the bigotry and racism that was politically and socially prevalent during their time period. He showed this throughout with his usage of characterization and word choice when speaking of Othello, who was of Middle-Eastern descent, which was looked down upon. Unfortunately since then not much has been changed regarding the stereotypes that people have fabricated about people from these specific ethnic ancestries. This same bigotry and racism can still unfortunately be seen today in presidential campaigns, social conversations, and many other aspects of

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

By 1604, the first performance of 'Othello', racism and racial prejudice were firmly ingrained in the English psyche. It is possible to claim that the play is both racist in its approach to the character of Othello and in its generalised negative view of all that is not Christian or civilised. If one perceives that the play presents Othello's race and skin colour as something animalistic, uncivilised and as having an inherent darkness, as many characters and even Othello himself do, the notions of a 'civilised' moor can be seen to be an oxymoron in the ideology of the play. This can be clearly seen in the claims of Brabantio 'thou foul thief.../Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her.' This contradiction in Othello, or dichotomy, is clearly revealed in Act 1 scene 2 . In attempting to explain himself Othello is clearly presented as a skilled orator, intelligent and self-controlled, 'Most potent, grave and reverent signiors', not the passionate, rude an uncivilised barbarian we are presented with by Iago and Roderigo. Yet as part of his explanation Othello presents the audience with tales of that which is uncivilised and exotic, 'The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads/ do grow beneath their shoulders.' In essence he is presenting himself as a calm and civilised being who is from and has been part of 'Rough

Philippians 2:4 says, “Do no merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (New American Standard Bible). God warns His people to turn from their selfish ways and be more concerned with the well being of others instead of only being concerned with one’s self. However, selfishness has been a sin that the human race has struggled with since the beginning of time. Shakespeare shows this age-old struggle with many characters in Othello. Racism is a way of life that can be used negatively to tear people down. Although race is not something that can be controlled, or managed throughout history it has been a characteristic used to harshly label people and used to make others feel inferior because of the color of their skin. Racism is used prevalently in Othello. Some characters in Othello driven by their selfish, sinful nature employ different types of racist language in an effort to degrade the main character and appear superior while others remain confident in themselves and refrain from racist behavior.