All For Love And Oroonoko Research Paper

Throughout history there has always been a worry and curiosity about other races than ones own. This curiosity has lead to misunderstandings and great prejudices among many different races in many parts of the world. In England this curiosity was not only spread verbally but was also written down and made known to the general public. In many of the dramatic works that played on the London stage the idea of different cultures was present but in the worst possible way. Two plays that are brought to mind are All for Love and Oroonoko. These two plays focused on very similar races, one of those races, Egyptian, and one on the coasts of Africa. These plays brought out ideas of what those foreign people of Africa, where supposedly like, to the general populace of London. Many of these ideas were not

Though these races were actually acknowledged by English playwright, they were acknowledged with negative connotations that stuck with them not only in England but to the English colonies as well. The English stage was one of the most popular attractions to attend in the 18th century. With the dramatic and comedic plays that seemed to be playing almost every night and the monarchy that would be in attendance. The London stage was a golden beacon of sorts for people to come see that day's play. Though many did not know that the play they were watching would actual shape opinion of other races. Though there were a lot of negative ideas about those of other races, there was also many positive as well. In the play All for Love the setting is set in Egypt, which is known to be part of Africa. In the play Cleopatra is shown as being exotic and a queen of Egypt.