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Role Of Race In Othello

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Othello is a play primarily about race. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

William Shakespeare's Othello is a play primarily about race, as it drives the plot by influencing the characters' actions, their relationships with others, and their sense of identity. Race is an integral concept to Othello’s central conflicts and ultimately leads to the tragedy that unfolds. Othello's racial insecurity, along with other characters’ racial prejudices, contribute greatly to the play's central conflicts, as it causes them to believe, speak or act a certain way, guiding the plot with these racially charged decisions.

Othello’s perception of himself and his identity skewed by his racial status and his insecurity around this plays a crucial …show more content…

“Haply for I am black,” in the assertion of his identity in act 3 scene 3, whilst attempting to rationalise Desdemona’s supposed infidelity, Othello refers back to his skin colour, indicating at once Othello’s belief that his race signifies him. In this monologue, Othello continues to convince himself that Desdemona’s infidelity is a consequence of his race. “And have not those soft parts of conversation / That chamberers have, or for I am declined / Into the vale of years – yet that's not much – / She's gone.", Illustrates Othello’s belief that his race is a disadvantage to his marriage, making him unable to provide his wife with the companionship and conversation she desires. This heightened insecurity around his race fuels Othello’s paranoia in turn consuming him with jealousy and pushing him to make decisions resulting in his …show more content…

The presence of racial discrimination and stereotypes throughout Othello is used to illustrate how individuals’ attitudes towards race contribute to the tragic events that unfold by dictating their behaviour. Iago’s immediate racial biases hastily present race as a prominent theme that influences how the characters treat and think about one another. In act 1 scene 1 while expressing his resentment towards Othello for promoting Cassio, Iago says to Rodrigo, “Michael Cassio, a Florentine,” as well as repeatedly referring to Othello as “the Moor”, a term commonly used in Elizabethan times relating to people originating from North Africa. The stress placed on Cassio’s foreignness and Othello’s dark skin, suggests that Iago’s anger towards Othello is not limited to being denied the promotion, but is more firmly rooted in his racial identity. This is then confirmed In Act 1, Scene 3 when Iago reveals his true feelings about Othello, expressing, "I hate the Moor / And it is thought abroad that 'twixt my sheets / He's done my office." Iago views Othello as inferior due to the colour of his skin, these racial prejudices only fuel his already existing negative feelings towards Othello. Iago's envy towards Othello's marriage

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In William Shakespeare's play "Othello," racism and ignorance emerge as prevailing themes, delving into the complexities of societal prejudice and the devastating consequences they impose on individuals. This essay examines the role of race in the play, contextualizes racial prejudice in the Elizabethan Era, and analyzes how specific characters and their interactions highlight racial belittlement. Through the effective use of textual evidence, vivid description techniques, and the exploration of Geoffrey Sax's cinematic adaptation, the essay explores institutionalized racism, film techniques intensifying racial injustice, and the presence of racist ideologies through the character of Iago. By comparing and contrasting the film adaptation with

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white have created conflict between the members of the play. Since the 16th century dictates that black people, or Moors, are inferior to white people, Othello is stuck in the darkness as an outsider; thus suggesting that interlopers are alone, not part of a community. Within these contrasting worlds, outsiders, like Othello, try to integrate into society, but can’t. For instance, this ingrained mindset portraying the inferiority of black people is further shown when Othello exclaims, “Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black / As mine own face.”

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Othello is the General of the Cyprus army with honest Iago by his side. During this time racism was happening and Othello was a part of it. Othello tried his best for everybody to like him; people would talk behind his back, call him names, and would eventually ruin his life. Iago was an ensign in the army, and his “good” friend, who would put lies into Othello's head, which eventually, he took control of Othello. In this essay Othello will display cultural criticism and how it displays him as a person in the story.

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In ‘Othello’, our titular character has worked his way up from slavery to reach his high position of army general, but he still holds himself to particularly great standards because of how his double consciousness has affected him. In the opening of the play, the people of Venice are outraged at the fact he has eloped with the senator’s daughter, Desdemona, both because he was not one of the approved suitors, and because he is a “Moor”. Othello realizes he must change himself and behave in an acceptable manner for the white society around him in order to be accepted by the people, and so he boasts that he is “from men of royal siege”, making certain that his “demerits may speak unbonetted as to proud a fortune as this that I have reached”. He makes clear in his speech that he considers himself deserving of both his position and his wife, through using the intense, powerful language of the people around him, filled with beautiful imagery and recountings of the struggles he has been through, as though he feels the need to validate himself and prove his worth in their terms. This is further shown later, as we see Othello’s insecurities come to light, displaying that he is not as certain of his identity as that he presents to others.

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Annotated Bibliography Butcher, Philip. " Othello's Racial Identity." Shakespeare Quarterly 3.3 (1952): 243-247. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Article%204.pdf The article discusses the race of Shakespeare's Othello that has been debated since the publication of Joseph Hunter's New Illustrations of Shakespeare in 1845.

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By Iago’s own admission “I play the villain” (Shakespeare, 1310), and his internal feelings of evil are well founded as shown through his destruction of the lives of nearly everyone in the play, but he has his reasoning. Iago has grown up as a privileged white Christian male in a society that favors white Christian males and, notably, has the favor of at least three senators who would have been quite influential in Venetian society (Kiernan, Print). The catalyst for all this is the admission of Cassio to the position of second in command, which Iago had too been vying for. Iago believes this is taken from him by a Black, possibly Muslim, man, Othello. Thereby allowing Iago to use what influence and power he has retained to ruin Othello’s life and power dynamic.

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When people of one race believe themselves to be superior to those of another, only catastrophe can result. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, racism was extremely prevalent, and white supremacy was much more pronounced. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello. Most characters in Othello display both covert racism and overt racism towards Othello.

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Being a Moor is a strong contribution of Iago’s scheme to ruin Othello. One way Iago tries to get Othello in trouble is by snitching on his marriage with Brabantio’s daughter. Iago comments “... An old black ram is tupping your white ewe,” and “... the devil will make a grandsire of you,” when informing Brabantio of the marriage situation between Othello and Desdemona. The negative stereotype of Othello being sexually permissive comes from the society in Venice which sees Black males to have a strong need to be sexually

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We find both racial attitudes towards Othello even though he is a man that works hard to get what he wants. The racial attitude is only because of the era that they live in, the Elizabethan era in

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Perhaps Aristotle’s prioritizing of plot over visual performance in theater does not apply to Shakespeare’s Othello (especially given the complicated history of this play’s performance) since Othello’s race is of such an importance to this play in a way Othello’s plot cannot capture alone. More specifically, Othello’s status as a racial “other” alone among racially homogenous society must be translated to the play’s performance or else a major theme of this play (i.e. Othello’s self-doubt and understanding of the arbitrary prejudice the other characters harbor against him) would be lost or, worse, misconstrued. This could be exemplified by Othello’s audiences’ reaction to Edmund Kean’s “tawny Othello” as opposed to its reaction to Ira Aldridge’s

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Throughout history, societies have succumbed to the toxic concepts of racism, causing an unthinkable amount of chaos and devastation. While racism on its own can lead to many societal evils, racism coupled with jealousy can create a truly catastrophic force that can only lead to pure destruction. When someone of a different race and culture is placed in this kind of society, this destruction will only naturally follow. In the play Othello, William Shakespeare focuses on the tragic outcomes of Othello, a Venetian general and black Turkish Moor, and Desdemona, his white Venetian wife. Throughout the play, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello.

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This extent of hostility and aggression coming from several other sources in the play was enough to ruin Othello. Thus, Othello’s downfall was more of a result of his race being that the main underlying motive behind the characters’ efforts to destroy him was racism.   It is inadequate to bypass the sociology behind racism, the concept of race, prior to defining what racism actually is. The common understanding of race suggests the division of groups based upon the color of one’s skin, hair, eyes, etc. “Although biologically meaningless when applied to humans – physical differences such as skin color have no natural association with group differences in ability or behavior – race nevertheless has tremendous significance in structuring social reality” (Clair).

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He questioned “Why did I marry?” and then replies “Haply, for I am black”. This self-question and reply infront of Iago, his most trusted man, peels of his exterior self and gives the audience the insight of Othello’s honest inner thought. This self-doubt, significantly points out to the audience and confirms that Othello has accepted the fact that he is different, and conforms to the stereotype placed on him and admits that his difference causes it. Shakespeare used this scene, to voice out the doubts and his surrender to the battle of being accepted for who he is in the Venetician Society.

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Othello’s Role in Venetian Society If we take the textbook definition of ethnic groups and apply it to Othello and the Venetian society it is striking that he lacks a lot of features when compared to the “regular” Venetian society: no common background nor history and no shared customs. Therefore, not only his skin color sets him apart, but also his origin from another ethnic group, opening all kinds of

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Manipulation of the African Race in Othello In William Shakespeare’s Othello, racism is a principal theme that drives the plot of the entire play. An outlier in Venice, Othello the moor or African, is targeted by his ensign Iago because Cassio who seems to be unqualified, was promoted to a lieutenant before he was. Iago is driven by envy and jealousy and creates a confusing and elaborate plan to deprive Cassio of his position. Iago also shares these envious motives with Roderigo, a man lusting over Othello’s wife.

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