Examples Of Prejudice In Othello

The tragedy that unfolds in Shakespeare's Othello (1604) is caused by societal prejudice that triggers Othello's inherent naivety and susceptibility to jealousy. The Jacobean era's newfound creative nature influenced Shakespeare to include certain religious ideologies such as The Great Chain of Being. Through consistent racial prejudice directed towards Othello, we witness the belief that those of African descent are low class. Through prejudice, Othello gains a reverence for social status, which manifests into jealousy that allows him to be easily manipulated. The nature of Venetian society made it exceptionally difficult for Othello to gain social status. Consequently, Othello views his high-status wife as an accomplishment rather than his

In Act 1 Scene 1, Iago tells Brabantio "... you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse, you'll have your nephews neigh to you…" it’s obvious that Iago’s use of animalistic language insinuates that Othello is a beast, highlighting that his marriage is unnatural. Iago’s description of Othello attempts to exploit his care for social status to make Othello doubt if he deserves Desdemona. In Act 1 Scene 3, Brabantio’s discovery of Desdemona’s marriage to Othello prompts him to question their union and to state that it is “against all rules of nature and must be driven to find out practices of cunning hell”. Brabantio uses hyperbole to emphasise the incorrectness of the marriage. This forces Othello to doubt his marriage and exposes his jealous and naive flaws. Alongside Othello, Desdemona has her own experiences with societal prejudice, as seen in Act 1 Scene 1 when Brabantio says “ How got she out? O treason of the blood. Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters’ minds”. This emphasises distrust for women’s critical thinking skills. Brabantio uses the imperative language of

Internalised societal prejudices allow their flaws to overpower their love. Othello’s experience with racial prejudice and Desdamona’s with misogyny make their relationship susceptible to distrust and selfishness. Othello’s view of Desdemona as an accomplishment is demonstrated in Act 5 scene 2, when Emilia exclaims “O, the more angel she, And you the blacker devil!” Emelia’s description of Desdemona and Othello is an oxymoron that forces them to oppose each other, where Othello is viewed as a demonic creature, and Desdemona as angelic. After hearing this, Othello doubts himself, triggering insecurity and jealousy. After Iago tells Othello about Cassio’s possession of Desdemona's handkerchief in Act 3 Scene 3, Othello doubts Desdamona’s faithfulness and grieves by saying “O that the slave had forty thousand lives! One is too poor, too weak, for my revenge…All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven. ‘Tis gone '' The description of Othello’s love dissipating as ‘blowing to heaven’ is a metaphor that amplifies the effects of internalised prejudice on the marriage. Othello demonstrates the destructive power this can have on love and the tragic ends to which Othello is willing to go to repent this love. In 2004, Jyotsna Singh (Ph.D.) published her modern interpretation of Othello, where she expressed her opinions on the tragic marriage by saying “Othello