Animal Imagery In Othello Essay

MacDonald’s utilize a singular animal image of a mouse in the comedy Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) to embody Constance’s cowardly and gullible characteristic perceived by the “Academe” community, exploited by Claude Night and seen within herself. Comparably to Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, who utilize several animal imagery to convey Othello’s primitive animalist characteristic, which is contained within his race as alleged by Venetian society, exploited by Iago and seen within himself.

Both Shakespeare and MacDonald utilize animal imagery as a mode for the protagonist’s community to express their perceived superiority. Shakespeare’s exposits the 17th-century Venetian ideologies that races of a darker-skin are less evolved which make them more susceptible to savage animalist behavior. These animalist tendencies are characterized as savagery and insatiablelibido govern by their primal instinct not ethics. Iago’s exploit these ideologies in an effort to eliminate Othello as he resents him for not promoting him as his lieutenant as well as believing that he had had sexual relations with his wife. Iago generate fear in Brabantio, a Venetian senator, by suggesting that the Othello has genetic corrupting his bloodline by engaging in vulgar animalist sexual acts with his daughter, Desdemona. Iago convey this genetic corrupting by suggestion that Brabantio will have “gennets”, Spanish horses, as close relatives if he allows it to continue. (I.i.110) Iago characterizes Othello to Brabantio as a brutishly “old black ram” sexuality tainting Desdemona virtuous “white” purity (I.i.91-92). Iago emphasis Othello’s otherness by depict him as a northern African and animalist as a “Barbary horse” (I.i.108-109). As a breed, Barb hor...

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...s is convey within Shakespearian world of Othello as Iago describer Constance as “bookish mouse”, as she is hiding within world of literature not rather then having the courage to deal with her problem in the real world (MacDonald, 35). In contrasting to Othello, Constance can rise about her mouse label by changing her timid, cowardly and gullibility behavior.

Although Othello contradict his animalist racially stereotypes by portraying a gentle and civility behaviour by the end of the play he internalizes the savage animalistic characteristics within himself. He testify that he had killed Muslim Turk represented by a “circumcised dog” to saved beaten Venetian who he see himself as (V.ii.351). Othello demonstrates how he killed the Turk as he “smote” in the same manner as “[he stabs himself]” to purge the Turkish within him and to recapture his honor. (V.ii.352).