Othello: the Noble Savage

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Othello: The Noble Savage

There are many opposing views to the way that Othello is defined within Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Othello. Some suggest that Othello is a savage "Moor," and at no point is he the noble "Venetian" he attempts to portray himself as. Others suggest that Othello is the noble "Venetian" he portrays himself as, and his ultimate demise stems directly from Iago being a savage. Yet some agree that Othello is both the noble "Venetian" and the savage "Moor," unable to fully interpolate himself into the "Venetian" paradigm, but becoming, rather, a "noble savage."

When the play begins, Othello is introduced as a military leader and a Christian, both characteristics of a noble "Venetian." According to Bell: " When we first meet him (Othello), he is a Christian and a `self-made man' who has overcome the handicaps of being foreign and black in the white Venetian world in which he has found his place" (2). Once Desdemona's father, Brabanzio, discovers the wedlock that has taken place, he is the first to point out that Othello is, in fact, a Moor when he states: "Here is this man, this Moor..." (1.3.71). Othello responds to this with the courtesy, modesty, and refined manners of any noble Venetian by saying: "It is most true, true I have married her/ The very head and front of my offending/ Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech/ And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace..."(1.3.79-82). In every way, Othello has portrayed himself to be equal to the most noble of "Venetians," even when faced with the accusations that he must have wooed Desdemona using potions or witchcraft. Othello asks that they let Desdemona speak for herself on how she came to love this Moor that he is. Desdemona...

... middle of paper ...

...ve been able to use this idea against him, in which case he may have maintained the noble identity he accepted for himself. Ultimately, Othello becomes a little bit of both, being able to neither cast off the savageness which he has risen above, nor to fully interpolate himself to the standards of the noble Venetian paradigm, becoming instead, a noble savage.

Works Cited

Bell, Millicent. "Shakespeare's Moor." Raritan vol. 21, no.4 (Spring 2002): The H.W.

Wilson Company, 2002. 1-14

Fitzpatrick, John, and Bryan Reynolds. "Venetian Ideology or Transversal Power?"

Performing Transversally: Re-imagining Shakespeare and the Critical Future. Ed. Bryan Reynolds. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 53-77.

Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt.

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1997. 2100-2172.

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