Racism And Racism In Othello

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The theme of racism has played a paramount role in works of literature throughout the ages. Othello by William Shakespeare is no exception to this. Race takes up many different roles in order to have a major effect on the play. Viewing the play through a racial lens one can see; the prejudices of Shakespeare’s time, Shakespeare’s own prejudices, the true meaning of Othello’s “blackness”, and the effects of each characters own prejudices. Racism leads to Othello’s downfall and other tragic endings and is thus a highly prevalent theme in Othello.
If one wants to examine Racism in Othello one must first look at the historical background of the period in which it was written. The way Othello is addressed in Venetian society clearly displays the racist tendencies of the period. He is known to the people within Venice and throughout Europe as The Moor of Venice (Bloom 67). After the conquest of the Moors throughout Europe most Europeans had come to dislike them. By creating Othello as a black Moor it made it very easy for Shakespeare to create characters with racist beliefs and in turn it was easy to create a play in which racism played a key role. Othello is constantly subjected to the racism within Venetian society. As he is more and more exposed to it, he effectively embodies the stereotypes that the people give him (Adelman 125).
Shakespeare had his own personal beliefs about racism, and he transferred those beliefs into Othello. The play actually begins with a white male, Iago. None of Shakespeare’s other plays put the main character through such scrutiny before he even appears in the play (Adelman 125). Before Othello even sets foot on stage Shakespeare brings forth Iago to set the prejudice tone of the play. Iago states the f...

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...perfect/That will confess perfection so could err/Against all rules of nature,” (Shakespeare ). Here Brabantio argues that Desdemona’s love for Othello is not natural and that it makes no sense for her to marry someone that she should fear to look at. Brabantio’s racism eventually leads to him dying of a broken heart.
As one can see, racism and prejudice leads to almost all of the characters’ downfalls. Brabantio, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia all seal their fates because of their racist beliefs. Othello epitomizes the stereotype that both the story and the Europeans of the period gave him and he brings his downfall upon himself. Othello is, in reality, a play about the way prejudice can affect people. Shakespeare goes to an extreme and ultimately kills all of the main characters to drive his point home. Overall, racism lead to multiple downfalls and tragic endings.

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