Prejudice And Racism In Shakespeare's Othello

384 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Anti racism in Othello and other Shakespearen works

Lucas Dorula
Mr. Keller
AP Literature and Composition
October 20, 2017
(Creative Title)
Written during Elizabethan times, William Shakespeare's Othello provides insight into how race and racism has a role in society. Racism functions as one of the main forces that compels Iago to plot against Othello and ultimately lead to the tragic outcome of the play. However, the apparent racism acts as a facade, there to conceal the bigger issue: the distrust of women in the play. But herein lies the question - is Othello just a black man, villainized by white men and the victim of racism, or is he simply an accomplish to the patriarchal society in which he lives, conforming to the same behavior towards women as his white Venetian equivalents? The dynamics of the play act upon the idea of male superiority over women no more than by the oppressive racism towards one of the main male characters, Othello. Othello serves as an example to show the inequality in power between not only men and women, but also between race. Shakespeare reveals the role that gender …show more content…

Roderigo refers to Othello as “the thick-lips” (1.172); Iago labels him a “Barbary horse” (1.1.125); Brabantio suggests he has used “charms” to hex his daughter and wishes that the white Roderigo would “had had her” instead (1.1.193,198). Othello has not even made a formal appearance in the play, yet in Act 1 Scene 1 they depict him as a villain who has “stol'n” the senator’s daughter (1.3.73). Nevertheless, the counsel pardons Othello and give him their blessing. The duke’s line “Your son-in-law is far more fair than black” grants the black-skinned Othello a metaphorical whiteness

Show More
Related

  • The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello

    4758 Words  | 10 Pages

    The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice has been attributed to various psychological, mythical, racial, social sources: Othello’s status as racial outsider in Venetian society, his pagan roots in Christian society, hubris and/or hamartia in Othello or in Desdemona. While any of these interpretations no doubt helps to inform a fuller discussion of the play, I would like to focus the question of the cause of this tragedy in another area: the realm of gender. I will argue that the tragedy occurs as a result of the protagonists’ overwhelming adherence to their society’s stereotyped gender roles, and that Iago further encourages and manipulates these gender roles to his own ends. In this essay, I use the word “gender” to describe those physical, biological, behavioral, verbal, textual, mythic, and power dynamic cues that signal to others in the society, specifically the society of this play, that one is perceived as belonging or not belonging to a specific category of masculine or feminine (Bornstein 26-30). I will also use Kate Bornstein’s definition of “gender roles”: the “positions and actions specific to a given gender as defined by a culture” (26).

    Read More

  • Racism and Cultural Differences Exposed in Othello

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin, race is the first and clearest of differences between Othello and other major characters. However race is also the least seen issue in the play. Racism is, as stated by Martin Okin “confined to Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio” (Orkin, “Othello: and the”). Emilia herself has her moments of racism, going from using Moor as a describer of Othello to using it as an insult. Brabantio shows this racism when he discovers that Othello has wed his daughter stating:

    Read More

  • What Way Would A Modern Audience React To The Way Race And Racism Is Portrayed In 'Othello'?

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Sixteenth century, as we see clearly from Othello and other works of both Shakespeare and Cinthio's original version of Othello, race was a topic of great debate and discussion. Today, in the twenty-first century the debate retains its controversy and passion. However, attitudes towards race have taken a dramatic turn during the last century. In the developed world people are now living in an increasingly cosmopolitan society would undoubtedly be more tolerant and would reject or even be offended by racial discrimination to any person or sections of the community. Openly 'racist' people today are seen as outcasts. Taking this into account, the way a modern audience would react to race and racism in Othello is dependent upon the way in which that modern audience would interpret 'Othello'. This prompts the questions of what sort of message Shakespeare wanted to send to his audience and was Othello the moor portrayed as a tragic hero or did his character eventually come to resemble the prejudices of which he was a victim. Shakespeare also discusses the issue of race with other characters such as the hateful Iago and the prejudices hidden deep in Barbantio.

    Read More

  • Racism and Interracial Marriage in Othello

    3668 Words  | 8 Pages

    Othello: The Moor of Venice is probably Shakespeare's most controversial play. Throughout this work, there is a clear theme of racism, a racism that has become commonplace in Venetian society which rejects the marriage of Othello and Desdemona as anathema. The text expresses racism throughout the play within the language transaction of the dialogue to question the societal ethos established by Othello, thereby making him nothing less than a cultural "other." Furthermore, the character of Desdemona is displayed as mad, or out of her wits, for marrying such an "other," and the audience sees her slip from an angelic state of purity to that of a tainted character. Also, the menacing Iago, a mastermind of deviant rhetoric, is able to play Othello and Desdemona against one another until their marriage fails, while at the same time destroying his adversary and friend, Cassio. Thus Iago has a specific agenda, not only to get back at Othello for choosing Cassio instead of him, but also to make Cassio the victim of his plan to destroy the forbidden marriage referred to by Brabantio as a "treason of the blood" (1.2.166-167). Essentially, Iago is a representative of the white race, a pre-Nazi figure who tries to inform the public of the impurity of Othello and Desdemona's marriage. He demonstrates how this miscegenation is threatening to the existing social order. Thus, through analysis of racism, the play represents the hatred possessed by mankind -- a hate so strong that society sees the mixing with an "other" to be a curse to humanity and a terrible threat to Aryan culture.

    Read More

  • Gender Bias in Othello

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello is an unfortunate example of gender bias, of sexism which takes advantage of women. The three women characters in the drama are all, in their own ways, victims of men’s skewed attitudes regarding women. Let us delve into this topic in this essay.

    Read More

  • The Breakdown of Sympathy for Othello

    1976 Words  | 4 Pages

    F. R. Leavis discusses the breakdown of sympathy for Othello, arguing that ‘Othello is too stupid to be regarded as a tragic hero’. Other critics also argue that Shakespeare ‘fully exploits the unique cultural opportunity to develop a more complex and sympathetic representation of black experience’ [The Noble Moor – Othello and Race in Elizabethan London, Roger Lees], implying that the sympathy that a contemporary audience would have felt for Othello was based oncultural context, given that the audience were predominantly white. However, it could be argued that it cannot just be the cultural context to Shakespeare’s audiences that has allowed Othello to become one of his most renowned tragedies; if this were the case, the play would have lost all critical interest by the 18th Century. It is Shakespeare’s use of the conventions of tragedy in attributing Othello with hubris that, although making it hard to empathise with at times, in the...

    Read More

  • Condemnation of Prejudice in Shakespeare's Othello

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    American history is a cornucopia of racial tension, beginning with the slave trade and spanning the centuries to the Ku Klux Klan and to the days of Martin Luther King. There is evidence that racial prejudice was just as prevalent in sixteenth century England as in modern day America. Othello can be seen as Shakespeare’s condemnation of racial prejudice.

    Read More

  • Othello Reflects the Context and Values of its Time

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    The role of the female has developed from being submissive and “obedient” in the Elizabethan era to being independent and liberated within the contemporary setting. The racism of the first text is overtly xenophobic and natural, whilst the “moor” is unnatural whereas the updated context portrays Othello’s race as natural and racism as unnatural. Therefore these examples show how Shakespeare’s Othello, and it’s appropriation, Geoffrey sax’s Othello, reflect the context and values of their times.

    Read More

  • Othello: A Study of Prejudice and Power Imbalance

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare does not give specific details of Othello’s background, however, it is apparent Othello is a dark-skinned outsider. The characters in the play call him the Moor. A moor is a member of a northwestern African Muslim people of mixed Berber and Arab descent. He is referred to as black by several characters including himself. Roderigo even calls him thick-lips which is a racial slur towards African Americans.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Perspective of Othello

    2396 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.

    Read More

  • Racism in William Shakespeare's Othello

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    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." (1, 2, 36-37) But Iago makes sure to use Othello's race against him as much as possible.

    Read More

  • Racism in Othello by William Shakespeare

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever thought about how much Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life? Othello struggled a lot during the play because of his dark skin color. He was called several racist names like “the Moor,” “old black ram,” “Barbary horse,” and “thick lips” (Shakespeare 1.1.40; 1.1.88; 1.1.111; 1.1.66).The term “racism” has been around for several years; it started in the twentieth century (Bartels 433). By the way the Elizabethan era viewed black people was similar to how racism is today with all of the racial comments, and stereotypes. Being a black person in a mostly white ethnicity area at that time had to be challenging based on Othello’s experience. Othello was the black sheep crowded around a herd of white sheep, he was an outcast. Racist comments were made by many of the characters like Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo, and Emilia. If there was an award for most used racial comment towards Othello, Iago would win. Racism in Othello had a tremendous impact on Othello. He was judged by the color of his skin and not his personality. Othello’s race and the racism around him affected his life by ruining his marriage with Desdemona, alienating him from everybody in Venice, and by making him an easy target to be manipulated by Iago.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Prejudice In Othello

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his 17th century tragedy, Othello, Shakespeare, through his characters’ actions and speech, amplifies the negative aspects that are ingrained in human nature. Overt themes of sexism and racism are sustained throughout the play by way of the characters’ judgements and efforts. Additionally, hate and jealousy plague many of the characters, prompting malicious thoughts and acts. The unnatural attributes of extreme prejudice and spite cause death and tragedy throughout the play. By demonstrating the adverse impacts of these traits, Shakespeare’s play is a commentary on the danger of the hatred that is all too common in human society.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Bigotry In Othello

    1936 Words  | 4 Pages

    Othello is conceivably the most celebrated scholarly exploration of the distorting forces of desire and doubt. In the meantime, it's among the most punctual artistic works managing race, bigotry and hypocrisy. Othello—evidently gallant regardless of whether eventually defective—is the most unmistakable black hero in early Western writing. Othello faces steady prejudice from different characters, particularly when he weds Desdemona, a special white lady whose father objects to the union.

    Read More

  • Prejudice In Othello

    2568 Words  | 6 Pages

    “An unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc.” and “a feel of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not reasonable or logical” are two definitions that Merriam-Webster uses to definite prejudice (Prejudice). Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice are both told with the help of prejudice. The Merchant of Venice is told with the help of prejudice against one’s religion and Othello is help told with racial prejudice. Within these two plays, prejudice against race or religion is the main part of the plot. Unsure of as to whether or not the play accurately depicts the time period correctly or not, I will find out.

    Read More

More about Prejudice And Racism In Shakespeare's Othello

Open Document