William Shakespeare's Othello as a Victim Essay

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

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

Othello is a person of nobility and honesty. Although, the initial impression of Othello is one of poor manner and leadership by the exchange of dialogue between Roderigo and Iago, Shakespeare soon reveals his good natured self. Despite being a different color, the “black-skinned Othello is exonerated as being metaphorically white” (Adler, 5). He is confronted by Brabantio and guards and is accused of the heinous crime of kidnapping his daughter. He is threatened by the guards who are armed with swords and slandered by Brabantio. However, instead of fighting Othello quotes “Good signior, you shall more command with years than with your weapons.” (Act 1:2, 60-61). Despite being accused of stealing his daughter, Othello is wise and doesn’t retaliate with violence. He proves himself to be a better leader than Iago made him out to be. Upon being brought before

During the early 17th century, when Othello takes place, a Muslim character would have been strongly disliked and would be offered no chance for redemption from a Christian society. During this particular time in 17th century Europe, the idea of a Muslim offensive was something on the minds of many. In Othello, the invading of Cyprus can be seen as a representation of that Muslim threat. And Othello, too, is a symbol of that Muslim threat attempting to invade and overthrow Venice, according to Virginia Vaughn (Vaughn 22). But through removing the religious aspect of Othello’s character, Shakespeare allows for the audience to focus specifically on the color of his skin and his actions, rather than his religious differences. In doing so, this allows both the audience and the characters in the play to more open-minded and tolerant of Othello, as he has adopted their religion and has made an attempt to assimilate with the society of Venice. A statement such as, “Your son-in-law is far more fair than black,” stated by Duke of Venice, would never have been made if Othello had been a typical Muslim Moor (1.3.289). In making that statement, the Duke has gone beyond the initial dislike of Moors and has come to accept Othello, in a sense. This kind of acceptance would not have been possible if Othello had not been a Christian, but because Othello has converted, the Venetian society is more tolerant of him.

In William Shakespeare’s Othello, unspoken fears of being an outsider and concerns about his public image contribute to the downfall of a tragic hero named Othello. Othello, a general in the Venetian army’s, final monologue reflects the importance of reputation and the conformity needed to fit his surroundings. He is seen as an outsider of the Venetian culture; he is frequently referred to as “the Moor” and is called an abundance of racial slurs by the Venice born natives. Although Othello never voices his internal struggle to feel accepted by the people around him, his image and physical appearance are some of major issues he faces. Even in the moments before he stabs himself, Othello is more concerned with the

As a high ranking military officer Othello is respected to some extent, however Othello being a Moor makes him lose most if not all of the respect afforded to him because of his dark skin color. During Shakespeare’s time Africans were characterized as “ beast-like, lacking in reason” by English writers. Due to the fact that Africans had vastly different cultures than that of the one in Elizabethan England Africans were not seen as equals. To Europeans it was unfathomable that Africans had the brain capacity to do anything other than fight like brutes and be sexually permissive. It was said of Moors that they acted as if “ they continually lived in a forest among wild things”.

In his article “Othello’s Alienation” Edward Berry says that Shakespeare portrays Othello as a Moor because racial tension and anxiety pervade the atmosphere of Venetian society, and Othello himself, in his aspiration towards assimilation and anxieties about his blackness, internalizes a false dichotomy that can only dehumanize him (330). His otherness caused Venetians to assault him. The reason lies behind this can also be the fear Europeans have for Islam which was the religion of the most powerful empire of that time, the Ottomans, and the territories it controls. Since many African countries were controlled by the Muslims, Othello is probably coming from an Islamic background. Edward Said stated in his Orientalism: “For Europe, Islam was a lasting trauma. Until the end of the seventeenth century the "Ottoman peril" lurked alongside Europe to represent for the whole

Shakespeare used the comments of Iago, Brabantio and Roderigo at the beginning of Act One, so that we had preconceived ideas of Othello and were prepared to observe him as “different”, however as we learn about his true personality we feel terrible about forming such prejudiced opinions and therefore we place Othello high up on a pedestal. This is Shakespeare’s intention for his Tragedy, as this provides the central character, Othello, with a further distance to fall, adding significance to his disintegration later on in the play. We learn that the Duke, the highest authority in Venice, holds the utmost respect for Othello proving that the words of Iago, Brabantio and Roderigo do not reflect the opinion of all Venetians: “Valiant Othello”. We now begin to unravel that these particular characters are all biased against Othello, due to personal problems. Brabantio’s discovery of Othello’s marriage to his daughter sparks a hatred within him and his references to piracy and witchcraft exposes a racist element in his character: “O thou foul thief! Where hast thou stowed my daughter? Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her”.

In Shakespeare era Britain has a tight hegemonic control over black people. Black people are treated as inferior grades, without positions in all aspects of the society, and they have been deprived of their freedom and dignity. We can see clearly that Othello lives in the society which is dominated by the white people. He is severely discriminated by most of the people despite of his great contribution to the state. All kinds of bias that occurred to him are really unfair yet unavoidable. Being a Moor, he is naturally regarded as a horrible devil or necromancer.

Othello, in the simplest of terms, can be reduced to a play of jealously. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, when scholars focused on Shakespeare’s tale of the Moor, they centered all of their thoughts on the characters controlled by their own jealousy (James). In modern day, we’ve come to a time of civil rights where seeing the insane racism in this play is inevitable. To not see, this is an act of ignorance. Audiences during Shakespeare’s time would have been privy to this aspect as well, though they would not have been horrified as we are today. They would notice the subject of race in the play, but it was something they were used to. As a foreigner in Venice, Othello already has an uphill battle to climb to claim the role of the protagonist. For the majority of the time, an audience wants to see their own lives portrayed, or at the very least, they want to see something they can resonate with.

William Shakespeare`s Othello is a play set in Venice. The plot is based on a story about two people who love each other dearly and the problems and conflicts they face from the start. The conflicts are, for the most part, tied in with racial issues and questions of loyalty. These conflicts stem from the society around the couple, as well as from the couple themselves as they too are part of this society, but with very different backgrounds: The female protagonist is the daughter of a highly-respected Venetian senator: Brabantio. Othello--also known as the Moor--is a foreigner, black in color, has a past filled with tragic and exotic tales and has proved himself worthy of the title General in the

Othello is the main character in the play. Othello is the protagonist and the hero of the play, however many people in the play like Iago, Rodrigo, Cassio and Barbancio don’t like Othello mostly because he is black. They all make racial comments that make fun of Othello like calling him “thick-lips” (Act 1, Scene 1:67-68), “an old black ram” (Act 1, Scene 1:88-89), and “a Barbary horse”(Act 1, Scene 1:112). In the play there’s only one character that doesn’t make fun of Othello, call him names, or even mistreat him. That character is Othello himself. In the play there are many virtues that are brought up, however there’s one virtue that is very faint and hard to see. This virtue is hard to see because in order to figure out who possess it you

In the original context of Shakespeare’s play, Othello is a “Moor.” The term “Moor” referencing to a Moroccan-descended Muslim, came with many stereotypes, mostly stemming from their religion. In Elizabethan England, slavery was illegal, however, the Church of England was strictly enforced and racism was still present. Commonly, “Moors” had jobs as servants, musicians, or dancers and were not allowed, with few

Othello is treated in a positive way more than negative in Venice. He is probably treated with higher respect by other people of Venice because he is now a general of an entire army. He is even respected by a higher powers like the Duke. Othello is treated negatively so far by the characters that were introduced like by Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio but they do have their reasons. Brabantio used to invite Othello to his house and listen to his stories about the life he had led. Brabantio recently started to hate on Othello because of him secretly marrying Desdemona behind his back which enraged him. Brabantio is now racist towards Othello because he believed that his daughter would never fall for someone like him. He thinks that he can’t be