How William Shakespeare Presents Othello in Act 1

How William Shakespeare Presents Othello in Act 1

Shakespeare successfully creates ambiguity in his portrayal of

Othello's character. He is seen as a man of opposing qualities and is

presented as both an animalistic and intensly passionate foreigner, as

well as a trusted, noble and honourable General in the Venetian army.

Shakespeare was interested in the whole question of actors playing

roles where they could convince an audience that they were something

they were not such as a saint or a woman. The idea was that if an

actor could seem to be a certain character, then how was it possible

to distinguish in real life whether a person was what he seemed and

whether an outside appearance masked an inner reality.

From the start of the play, Shakespeare manages to introduce doubt

about Othello's character. Although the characters briefly refer to

his ability as a soldier and his value to the Venetian state, for the

entire scene, they speak of him in a derogatory way. They make

repeated racial comments about Othello referring to him as 'the Moor'

and 'thick lips'. Their racist insults suggest Othello's animalistic

behaviour, especially Iago's crude suggestion to Brabantio that 'an

old black ram/is tupping your white ewe'. The insults also suggest

that Othello is dishonest and that he has 'robb'd' Brabantio of

Desdemona. Brabantio continues to accuse Othello of being a 'foul

thief' and that Desdemona was 'stol'n'.

The impression is also conveyed that Othello, because of his race, has

mysterious qualities that enable him to practice witchcraft. Iago

refers to him as the 'devil', which suggests he is linked to evil and

Roderigo suggests...

... middle of paper ...

...d what mighty magic', which

results in even the Duke approving of Othello's story of Desdemona's

love for him, 'I think this tale would win my daughter too'.

Through his contradictory portrayal of Othello in Act 1, it seems that

Shakespeare intended the audience to be open minded and unprejudiced.

He wanted to deliver the message that pre conceived beliefs are not

always correct and appearance and reality can be completely opposed He

wanted to represent that skin colour and religious beliefs do not

always mean that a person is good or bad and so by making Othello a

black hero, an experienced and accomplished warrior, physically

attractive to women, imaginative and a powerful public speaker,

Shakespeare opposes cultural misconceptions and reverses the racial

prejudice of his time that evil is indicated by skin colour.