How Does Iago Use Racism In Othello

Othello, a play written by William Shakespeare in 1603 is a tragedy that deals with love, death, betrayal, and racism. Othello is about an interracial couple that snuck off and got married. People found out and decided to tell her family. They wanted him dead and did everything in their power to break them up, including making it seem like the wife had an affair. That thought alone led the husband to kill his wife. Othello has a lot of different themes throughout its course, racism is the theme that stuck out to me the most, because it was ridiculous and unfair.

In Act 1, Scene 1, Iago uses racism to enrage Desdemona’s father. “Zounds, sir, you’re robbed! For shame, put on your gown”, (Act 1, Scene 1) Iago wakes Desdemona’s father up by telling

him that he had been robbed and tells him that an old black ram was having sex with his daughter and if he didn’t wake up soon he would have black children. Back during that time it was not okay for blacks to date whites. Whites were known to be classier and wealthier, blacks were known as low life and poor. People were disgusted to see such an image of so.
Throughout the first scene, Othello is never called by his name. The characters refer to Othello as “him”, “he”, or “the moor”. At one point Iago says “Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse” (Act 1, Scene 1), meaning african horse. No one respects Othello, because of his skin color or the fact that he was wealthy and a prince. They still consider him beneath them and believe that he does not deserve to be married to their kind.
As a matter of fact, In Act 1, they call Othello multiple animal names such as horse and even black ram. When they compare animals to a particular race, it not only insults the character, but it also insults the crowd if the crowd is that race. “…You’ll have your daughter / covered with a Barbary horse." Comments as such were accepted back then and was intended to be taken lightly. Allowing this only made people think even more less of African Americans. That quote alone helped others know what Othello looked like before he was visually introduced to the audience.
In conclusion, Othello was a very meaningful tragedy. It talked about so many real life issues, such as racism. In this day and age, people still are racist and don’t support interracial relationships. Racism is kind of a big deal now, because of all the cops shooting african americans and the justice system in general. When it comes to dating outside of your race, it’s not that many consequences. At the most, you will get stared at and talked about, but love is love.